LostGettysburgAddress
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- Joined
- Nov 9, 2015
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- Santa Barbara, California
I want to hear from Sherman experts on the general's last-ditch effort to broker a separate peace for Georgia. Do you believe it was sincere? Does it say anything about Sherman's understanding (or lack thereof) of the Confederate political leadership? Here are the first two paragraphs of my article in the Fall, 2010 issue of The Georgia Historical Quarterly. The entire article can be downloaded free at:
http://www.davidtdixon.com/free-articles/
AUGUSTUS R. WRIGHT AND THE LOYALTY OF THE HEART
A telegram from General William T. Sherman arrived at the White House on October 24, 1864. With most of Atlanta’s commercial buildings in ashes, General Sherman stood poised to sweep, virtually unmolested, across the state and to deal a deadly blow to the fading hopes of the Confederacy. Before moving directly toward Savannah, however, Sherman hesitated. He had concocted a scheme that would remove Georgia from the Confederacy, spare the state further ruin, and lead to a reconstruction of the Union. His earlier efforts having failed, Sherman’s final attempt at brokering a separate peace for Georgia was left in the hands of “a man of high character and of true faith in the future.” That man was Augustus R. Wright.
Wright arrived in Washington City in early November. He met with Lincoln and Secretary Seward regularly for several days. Lincoln assured Wright that if the rebellious states renounced the Confederacy, the President would promise universal amnesty and restoration of their rights in the Union. The President also suggested that Wright might become military governor of Georgia when peace was restored. Lincoln insisted that he convey this message to Jefferson Davis, despite recent failed efforts of Wright and others to interest Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown in the proposal. Davis did not trust anyone involved in either plan. Lincoln’s peace proposal was never considered. Wright left Washington on November 14. Two days later, Sherman began his march to the sea.
http://www.davidtdixon.com/free-articles/
AUGUSTUS R. WRIGHT AND THE LOYALTY OF THE HEART
A telegram from General William T. Sherman arrived at the White House on October 24, 1864. With most of Atlanta’s commercial buildings in ashes, General Sherman stood poised to sweep, virtually unmolested, across the state and to deal a deadly blow to the fading hopes of the Confederacy. Before moving directly toward Savannah, however, Sherman hesitated. He had concocted a scheme that would remove Georgia from the Confederacy, spare the state further ruin, and lead to a reconstruction of the Union. His earlier efforts having failed, Sherman’s final attempt at brokering a separate peace for Georgia was left in the hands of “a man of high character and of true faith in the future.” That man was Augustus R. Wright.
Wright arrived in Washington City in early November. He met with Lincoln and Secretary Seward regularly for several days. Lincoln assured Wright that if the rebellious states renounced the Confederacy, the President would promise universal amnesty and restoration of their rights in the Union. The President also suggested that Wright might become military governor of Georgia when peace was restored. Lincoln insisted that he convey this message to Jefferson Davis, despite recent failed efforts of Wright and others to interest Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown in the proposal. Davis did not trust anyone involved in either plan. Lincoln’s peace proposal was never considered. Wright left Washington on November 14. Two days later, Sherman began his march to the sea.