Towns burned?

Virginia Dave

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Location
Waynesboro, Virginia
Can anyone confirm these numbers?
Towns burned by Confederate army:

1. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, July 30, 1864

Towns burned by union army (from the Official Records:

1. Osceola, Missouri, burned to the ground, September 24, 1861
2. Dayton, Missouri, burned, January 1 to 3, 1862
3. Frenchburg, Virgina (later West Virginia), burned, January 5, 1862
4. Columbus, Missouri, burned, reported on January 13, 1862
5. Bentonville, Arkansas, partly burned, February 23, 1862
6. Winton, North Carolina, burned, February 20, 1862
7. Bluffton, South Carolina, burned, reported June 6, 1863
8. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, burned, August 5 & 21, 1862
9. Donaldsonville, Louisiana, partly burned, August 10, 1862
10. Athens, Alabama, partly burned, August 30, 1862
11. Prentiss, Mississippi, burned, September 14, 1862
12. Randolph, Tennessee, burned, September 26, 1862
13. Elm Grove and Hopefield, Arkansas, burned, October 18, 1862
14. Bledsoe's Landing, Arkansas, burned, October 21, 1862
15. Hamblin's, Arkansas, burned, October 21, 1862
16. Napoleon, Arkansas, partly burned, January 17, 1863
17. Mound City, Arkansas, partly burned, January 13, 1863
18. Clifton, Tennessee, burned, February 20, 1863
19. Hopefield, Arkansas, burned, February 21, 1863
20. Celina, Tennessee, burned, April 19, 1863
21. Hernando, Mississippi, partly burned, April 21, 1863
22. Greenville, Mississippi, burned, May 6, 1863
23. Jackson, Mississippi, mostly burned, May 15, 1863
24. Austin, Mississippi, burned, May 23, 1863
25. Darien, Georgia, burned, June 11, 1863
26. Eunice, Arkansas, burned, June 14, 1863
27. Gaines Landing, Arkansas, burned, June 15, 1863
28. Richmond, Louisiana, burned, June 15, 1863
29. Sibley, Missouri, burned June 28, 1863
30. Donaldsonville, Louisiana, destroyed and burned, June 28, 1863
31. Columbus, Tennessee, burned, reported February 10, 1864
32. Meridian, Mississippi, destroyed, February 3 to March 6, 1864
33. Campti, Louisiuana, burned, April 16, 1864
34. Washington, North Carolina, sacked and burned, April 20, 1864
35. Grand Ecore, Louisiana, burned, April 21, 1864
36. Cloutierville, Louisiana, burned, April 25, 1864
37. Bolivar, Mississippi, burned, May 5, 1864
38. Alexandria, Louisiana, burned, May 13, 1864
39. Hallowell's Landing, Alabama, burned, reported May 14, 1864
40. Newtown, Virginia, ordered to be burned, ordered May 30, 1864
41. Ripley, Mississippi, burned, July 8, 1864
42. Harrisburg, Mississippi, burned, July 14, 1864
43. Oxford, Mississippi, burned, August 22, 1864
44. Rome, Georgia, partly burned, November 11, 1864
45. Atlanta, Georgia, burned, November 15, 1864
46. Camden Point, Missouri, burned, July 14, 1864
47. Kendal's Grist-Mill, Arkansas, burned, September 3, 1864
48. Shenandoah Valley, devastated, reported October 1, 1864 by
Sheridan
49. Griswoldville, Georgia, burned, November 21, 1864
50. Guntersville, Alabama, burned January 15, 1865
51. Somerville, Alabama, burned, January 17, 1865
52. McPhersonville, South Carolina, burned, January 30, 1865
53. Lawtonville, South Carolina, burned, February 7, 1865
54. Barnwell, South Carolina, burned, reported February 9, 1865
55. Orangeburg, South Carolina, burned, February 12, 1865
56. Columbia, South Carolina, burned, reported February 17, 1865
57. Winnsborough, South Carolina, pillaged and partly burned,
February 21, 1865
58. Tuscaloosa, Alabama, burned, April 4, 1865

It seems the Confederate numbers are low. Found this on another site. Also what do they consider burned? Entire town, street, neighborhood, government buildings etc.
 
Can anyone confirm these numbers?
Towns burned by Confederate army:

1. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, July 30, 1864

Towns burned by union army (from the Official Records:

1. Osceola, Missouri, burned to the ground, September 24, 1861
2. Dayton, Missouri, burned, January 1 to 3, 1862
3. Frenchburg, Virgina (later West Virginia), burned, January 5, 1862
4. Columbus, Missouri, burned, reported on January 13, 1862
5. Bentonville, Arkansas, partly burned, February 23, 1862
6. Winton, North Carolina, burned, February 20, 1862
7. Bluffton, South Carolina, burned, reported June 6, 1863
8. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, burned, August 5 & 21, 1862
9. Donaldsonville, Louisiana, partly burned, August 10, 1862
10. Athens, Alabama, partly burned, August 30, 1862
11. Prentiss, Mississippi, burned, September 14, 1862
12. Randolph, Tennessee, burned, September 26, 1862
13. Elm Grove and Hopefield, Arkansas, burned, October 18, 1862
14. Bledsoe's Landing, Arkansas, burned, October 21, 1862
15. Hamblin's, Arkansas, burned, October 21, 1862
16. Napoleon, Arkansas, partly burned, January 17, 1863
17. Mound City, Arkansas, partly burned, January 13, 1863
18. Clifton, Tennessee, burned, February 20, 1863
19. Hopefield, Arkansas, burned, February 21, 1863
20. Celina, Tennessee, burned, April 19, 1863
21. Hernando, Mississippi, partly burned, April 21, 1863
22. Greenville, Mississippi, burned, May 6, 1863
23. Jackson, Mississippi, mostly burned, May 15, 1863
24. Austin, Mississippi, burned, May 23, 1863
25. Darien, Georgia, burned, June 11, 1863
26. Eunice, Arkansas, burned, June 14, 1863
27. Gaines Landing, Arkansas, burned, June 15, 1863
28. Richmond, Louisiana, burned, June 15, 1863
29. Sibley, Missouri, burned June 28, 1863
30. Donaldsonville, Louisiana, destroyed and burned, June 28, 1863
31. Columbus, Tennessee, burned, reported February 10, 1864
32. Meridian, Mississippi, destroyed, February 3 to March 6, 1864
33. Campti, Louisiuana, burned, April 16, 1864
34. Washington, North Carolina, sacked and burned, April 20, 1864
35. Grand Ecore, Louisiana, burned, April 21, 1864
36. Cloutierville, Louisiana, burned, April 25, 1864
37. Bolivar, Mississippi, burned, May 5, 1864
38. Alexandria, Louisiana, burned, May 13, 1864
39. Hallowell's Landing, Alabama, burned, reported May 14, 1864
40. Newtown, Virginia, ordered to be burned, ordered May 30, 1864
41. Ripley, Mississippi, burned, July 8, 1864
42. Harrisburg, Mississippi, burned, July 14, 1864
43. Oxford, Mississippi, burned, August 22, 1864
44. Rome, Georgia, partly burned, November 11, 1864
45. Atlanta, Georgia, burned, November 15, 1864
46. Camden Point, Missouri, burned, July 14, 1864
47. Kendal's Grist-Mill, Arkansas, burned, September 3, 1864
48. Shenandoah Valley, devastated, reported October 1, 1864 by
Sheridan
49. Griswoldville, Georgia, burned, November 21, 1864
50. Guntersville, Alabama, burned January 15, 1865
51. Somerville, Alabama, burned, January 17, 1865
52. McPhersonville, South Carolina, burned, January 30, 1865
53. Lawtonville, South Carolina, burned, February 7, 1865
54. Barnwell, South Carolina, burned, reported February 9, 1865
55. Orangeburg, South Carolina, burned, February 12, 1865
56. Columbia, South Carolina, burned, reported February 17, 1865
57. Winnsborough, South Carolina, pillaged and partly burned,
February 21, 1865
58. Tuscaloosa, Alabama, burned, April 4, 1865

It seems the Confederate numbers are low. Found this on another site. Also what do they consider burned? Entire town, street, neighborhood, government buildings etc.
By burned do you mean cities deliberately burned or in the case of Atlanta fires are caused by both sides not deliberately by by military actions?
As a general rule the Confederate Army fought mostly on the defensive with some major exceptions.
Also you forgot Lawrence, Kansas which was burned by Confederate guerrillas although Quantrill was a commissioned Captain in the Confederate Army.
Leftyhunter
 
That list of Confederate towns that were burned was longer and more extensive than I expected. Could Lawrence, Kansas be added to the list of towns burned or partially burned by the Confederacy? I know it was sacked at least. Still though, the two towns ravaged by Confederates pale in comparison to the one that were burned by Union forces. Of course, one must take into account that most of the war was fought on Confederate soil.
 
By burned do you mean cities deliberately burned or in the case of Atlanta fires are caused by both sides not deliberately by by military actions?
As a general rule the Confederate Army fought mostly on the defensive with some major exceptions.
Also you forgot Lawrence, Kansas which was burned by Confederate guerrillas although Quantrill was a commissioned Captain in the Confederate Army.
Leftyhunter
This is what I was trying to find out. I thought the numbers were low, and also not sure of what they meant by burned. "Also what do they consider burned? Entire town, street, neighborhood, government buildings etc. " from my original post.

Thanks
 
Cynthiana Ky caught fire the second time around - Morgan's raiders probably set fire to some downtown buildings. Morgan denied this very strongly but didn't last long enough to make his case.

Regards the Mississippi and west Tennessee towns, Sherman made a point of destroying them as he noted in his memoirs and correspondence. His overall strategy was to make it impossible for civilian support of CSA operations, especially cavalry. Most of it was, in fact, aimed at Forrest. The thoroughness of the destruction was relative to the fight put up by the citizens and/or the enemy forces shooting at them. Some towns were obliterated, some only partially burned, some only certain public buildings. Sherman mainly wanted to get his point across - resistance is futile!

There were a couple, three abortive or puny attempts by Confederates to do something big in New York or Vermont or Ohio but it all fizzled - pardon the pun!
 
By burned do you mean cities deliberately burned or in the case of Atlanta fires are caused by both sides not deliberately by by military actions?
As a general rule the Confederate Army fought mostly on the defensive with some major exceptions.
Also you forgot Lawrence, Kansas which was burned by Confederate guerrillas although Quantrill was a commissioned Captain in the Confederate Army.
Leftyhunter
Also, the fires in Atlanta and Richmond were set by retreating Confederates and Columbia, SC is a 50-50 fire. The vast majority of the towns Sherman set fires in had factories or railroad facilities or warehouses that supported the rebel war effort. The Shenandoah Valley was burned for the same reason - it had been the main commissary for the rebels and the main route the south used to come at the north.
 
In General Sheridan's report after his Valley campaign when he joined with Grant in eary 1865, and possibly Stoneman's report as well, both give an account of damage they incurred on their expeditions south, and many times the value of property destroyed. It is an eye-opener when taken in whole by listing the accounts.
Lubliner.
 
In Kentucky the rebs were generally selective when it came to striking their matches, seeming to prefer to torch the courthouses and all the important records therein.

From:
http://ohiocountykentuckyhistory.blogspot.com/2012/08/courthouses-burned-during-civil-war.html
Courthouses Burned During the Civil War
JOHN HUNT MORGAN DIDN'T DO IT ALL; COUNTY HOLDINGS - GALLATIN THROUGH GREENUP
(c) 1997 by Sandi Gorin

"Twenty-two Kentucky Courthouses were burned during the Civil War - 19​
of them in the last 15 months of the conflict."​

"The greatest 'courthouse burning spree' was conducted by Gen. Hylan​
B. Lyon, a native of Eddyville. He invaded Kentucky with 800 men in​
December, 1864, to recruit Confederate soldiers, securing supplies and​
divert forces from the defense of Nashville which was under attack.​
"With Confederate fortunes fading rapidly, Lyon found recruiting​
slow, and he undertook to enforce the Confederate Draft Law. In several​
towns he conscripted all able-bodied men and put them under oath to join​
him on Jan. 20. Later he complained bitterly that all failed to show up​
for induction.​

"Lyon's forces entered the state about Dec. 12th, and promptly burned​
the Christian County courthouse at Hopkinsville. As in most cases, he​
allowed officials to remove their records. After commandearing clothing​
and other supplies, he moved tdo Cadiz on Dec. 13.​
"The Trigg County courthouse there was occupied by Union soldiers who​
fled as the Confederate forces advanced. They left behind one soldier who​
was too ill to travel. A member of Lyon's command promptly decided the​
soldier was suffering from smallpox, shot him on the spot, and burned the​
"contaminated" building.​
Stories of some individual courthouses can also be found here.

https://explorekyhistory.ky.gov/items/browse?search=courthouse+burn&sort_field=relevance
 
Guyandotte, West Virginia, was burned on Nov. 11 1861, by Ohio militia and a detachment of the 5th WV Inf. (which was also mostly Ohioans).

https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/96

39934389423_557eaf9f8f_c.jpg
 
All the towns in Tennessee that are on the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, excluding Memphis. These are all small towns, about 5 to 10 miles apart, approximately 1000 people when the war started. All were burned, at least in part, some during the reconstruction period. The documentation for this can be located in the local libraries and newspaper archives.
 
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