"150 years today Atlanta fell." Topic

Really good article here about Sherman.
ricochet.com/sherman-150

Interesting article. Thanks for the link

Well worth reading. The modern analogies are very illuminating.
Thanks.

He burned plantations, freed slaves, destroyed factories, and tore up railroads—but more or less left alone the farms and small towns of ordinary Southerners.

And if you believe that sentence, I have some nice beachfront property to sell you…..

I disagree with the modern analogies. I also think that the destruction was more widespread than the article points out. Still Sherman is one of the greatest US generals ever, and considering the destruction wrought on southern boys by Grant the Southern hatred for him is misplaced.

I will now go anger all my confed-loving friends by listening to Marching through Georgia.

"Still Sherman is one of the greatest US generals ever, and considering the destruction wrought on southern boys by Grant the Southern hatred for him is misplaced."

Grant, Sherman and Sheridan how to wage the war and win it. Shame they weren't in command in 1862.e

If anything the destruction should have been worst as a result of Uncle Billy's Dixieland Tour.

YouTube link

Still Sherman is one of the greatest US generals ever…

Yeps…ask the Native Americans how "fond" they are of "Old Uncle Billy"…..

And? I did not say he was a nice person. He was probably a lunatic. But he is one of the greatest US generals. It is a pity that the Native Americans were on his receiving end, but so it is a pity that some many people true to the Union were on the receiving end of Robert E.Lee or Stonewall Jackson, both good CSA generals.

Turks are not fond of General Plastiras and greeks of Mustafa Kemal, and both were quite nasty persons to the people on the receiving end, but they were both probably the best generals the modern greek state and later Ottoman empire produced.

Speaking as a Southerner, I must admit that, compared to nearly every conqueror in history, Sherman treated the South with kid gloves. Also, he probably saved countless Southern lives by hastening the end of a war that could only have one outcome after Gettysburg.

In other words, it could have been far worse, and I've got better things to do than cry over a few burned-out mansions.

Well said, Ivan. As a Southerner, I feel the same way. Except I could add a few more benefits to that list, that helped the entire Country/World, not just the South. Again, well said.
Peter

Also, from what I've read, if you stayed at home the men in Sherman's armies rarely destroyed it. Sure, they stole everything and took all the food, but they didn't kill you, and normally didn't burn down the house. It was the abandoned houses that got torched in large measure. And buildings that contributed to the war effort or the economy, such as mills,etc.

But can we blame him for the traffic?

Actually Parzival you can blame the Bourbon Triumvirate that ruled Georgia in the 1880-1900 period. They pushed for industrialization which means urbanization. All of them were ex-Confeds :p Brought Jim Crow to Georgia in order to break the Populists who united poor white and african-american farmers who opposed industrialization. Worked well for them.

Before I clicked on this link, I told myself "There is no way that a bunch of people are arguing and fighting about this 150 years later"

We fight
We fight
We fight the good old fight!

Because we are brawling folk
and we do like to fight!