I remember that when i was a boy back in the 1960's that my grandfather took me to a place around Macon, GA and showed me so land where Sherman's soldiers poured salt on the land so it would not grow anything. At taht point it still would not.
My greatgrandfather was with Sherman on his march to the sea. He was in the 83d regiment, G company out of Indiana. I am looking for some pictures of maybe this regiment. He was wounded at Reseca GA.
Shermans army waged war upon civilians and non-combatants.
Just like terrorists do.
Now days we call these war crimes. And the soldiers who do this face court-martial or even murder charges.
Do you want specifics?
Sherman, whom i hate with a pashion, operated under the Liber Code, that made all he did legal, these laws replaced the Articles of war under which the Union and CSA had operated, and CSA would continue to moperate under, Sec Ofr War for the CSA echoed eurpean comments that the North had resorted to a leval of barbarity not seen since the 30 years war.
A good look at Shermans march is http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Hand-War-Mark-Grimsley/dp/0521599415
Sherman's march to the sea began in the early-mid 1864 when Sherman succeeded U.S. Grant as the commander of the Western forces after the Battle of Chattanooga. The plan was to cut the South into thirds (it was already cut in half after Vicksburg in July 1863) and to break the back of the region and the people in it. The plan was ambitious, since Sherman's army would be living solely off the land, but his plan to 'make Georgia howl' entailed that they would completely pillage the area.
Sherman's march ran easily and quickly defeated most of the opposition that it ran into until the Battle of Atlanta in mid-late 1864. The Confederate forces dug in around the city and held out for months before finally having to evacuate. When this happened the Confederate commander Joseph E. Johnson was replaced by John Bell Hood, who the government thought would pursue an offensive like the wanted him to.
Hood took the bulk of the Confederate forces with him and attempted an invasion of Tennessee, which left the way open for Sherman to continue his march through Georgia. I believe the rest of his march ran smoothly until he finally took the coastal city of Savannah in December 1864, thus effectively cutting the Confederacy into 3 parts. Sherman then sent a message to Lincoln saying "I present as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah" or something like that.