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♪

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>> ♪ And all the tears 
wept a-through the years ♪

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♪ by the dyin' 
Rebel lads ♪

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♪ couldn't quencher 
the fire of hate ♪

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♪ in the heart of 
that single Yankee man. ♪

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♪ Demons danced... 
Satan pranced. ♪

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♪ They say Sherman 
was his naaaa...ame. ♪

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♪ The night the devil fiddled 
in South Carolina, ♪

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♪

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♪ while Columbia went up 
in flaaames.... ♪♪

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♪ 
[acoustic guitar 
music continues]

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♪

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>> The march to the sea is an 
implementation of this idea...

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carry out warfare 
not only on enemy armies

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and logistical centers 
like Atlanta,

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but also 
widen it,

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a total war to embrace 
the civilian population.

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>> That  no one, nothing 
would be spared, um...

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which included property,

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which included slaves, 
that kind of property,

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that he... 
would no longer,

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essentially, 
restrain his soldiers

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to the extent 
that he had done before

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from pillaging and destroying 
private property,

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because he didn't think 
that Southerners would,

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in any other way,

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be convinced 
to give up this war.

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>> Troops could exist in the 
field for periods of time

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after breaking 
their supply line.

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It was his idea 
that he could...

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gut Georgia, 
basically.

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And his idea--

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as it had been through 
most of the north Georgia

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and Atlanta campaign--

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his idea was 
to avoid major battles

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and to deprive... 
the South

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of its major 
remaining breadbasket.

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>> Sherman's march, um... 
tied down troops

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that could have been used 
in other theaters.

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I think that had Lee been able 
to reinforce himself

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from some of 
the western armies,

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he would have fared 
much better against Grant.

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By Sherman's creating 
that second front,

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actually coming 
down into Georgia,

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he tied up troops that Lee 
would've been able to use

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and shortened the war 
quite a deal.

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>> It brought war home 
to the civilian population

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in a way 
they had not imagined.

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(female narrator) 
In the summer of 1863,

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Chattanooga, Tennessee, 
fell into Union hands.

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In May 1864,

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44-year-old Union General 
William Tecumseh Sherman

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moved his army of 100,000 men 
into north Georgia.

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His goal was to capture 
the vital railroad,

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supply, and manufacturing city

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of the Confederacy... 
Atlanta.

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Although Sherman 
faced an enemy

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with only half 
the manpower  he  enjoyed,

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there was an urgency 
to capture Atlanta

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before the November 
presidential election.

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Abraham Lincoln, 
running for a second term,

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needed to show a tiring public 
the war could be won.

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Sherman knew that 
if he did not capture

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Atlanta by the election,

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Lincoln would 
probably lose it.

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Dennis> 
The North is in the process

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of winning the Civil War,

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but it seems more clear 
to us as historians

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than those who lived 
through those times.

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The Mississippi head river 
had been opened up,

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and the South 
is split in two,

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but still 
the Confederacy's field armies

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are strong and powerful--

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with Lee's army 
in Virginia,

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the army of Tennessee 
here in Georgia--

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and these had to be 
knocked off, eliminated,

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by the Federal forces.

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On both sides, there is 
great weariness with the war.

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There's been bread riots 
in Richmond, Virginia...

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lack of sustenance there.

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There's been draft riots 
in New York City,

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the immigrant 
riots up there.

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So the war is, uh... 
its popularity is long gone.

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narrator> At the north Georgia 
town of Resaca,

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the townspeople got 
their first view

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of what Sherman and his 
soldiers were going to do.

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as they drove into 
the heart of the confederacy.

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David> The towns, which--

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some of which had been 
right pleasant little towns,

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railway stations 
on the way into Tennessee--

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after both the Confederate 
and Northern armies withdrew,

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there was 
little left

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both in the way of population, 
which had fled,

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or in the way of buildings 
and surviving improvements.

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They just basically 
stripped the places.

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narrator> Sherman enjoyed 
a string of victories

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as he pressed 
toward Atlanta.

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Earlier in his 
military career,

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Sherman had been 
stationed in Georgia.

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His knowledge 
of the rugged terrain

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gave him 
an additional advantage

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over his 
Confederate foes.

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[acoustic guitar music]

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♪

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♪

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Twenty miles northwest of 

Atlanta lies Kennesaw Mountain.

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Confederates were 
entrenched on the peak

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and along lines northeast 
and southwest of the mountain.

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Part of 
Sherman's success

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had been to use flanking 
movements around the enemy

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instead of 
frontal assaults.

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But after failing in his first 
flanking movement at Kennesaw,

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Sherman decided to go 
for a direct attack.

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The battle for Kennesaw 
Mountain had begun.

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(man shouting) 
Blast!

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[cannon booms]

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Blast!

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[cannon booms]

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Blast!

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[cannon booms]

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Blast!

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[cannon booms]

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Blast!

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[cannon booms]

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Blast!

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[cannon booms]

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Dennis> 
So on the 27th of June,

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following 
an artillery bombardment,

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he...directly attacks 
the Confederate front.

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Now, there were feints, 
demonstrations,

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deceptions 
on either flank,

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hoping that the Confederates 
would weaken their center

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where he 
would strike,

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but this 
did not happen.

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He attacks 
the Confederate strength.

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The Confederates 
are strongly dug in,

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and Sherman winds up 
taking a bloody nose

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here at 
Kennesaw Mountain.

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Now, Kennesaw Mountain 
was the last time

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that Sherman  directly 
attacked the enemy.

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In his maneuvers 
after Kennesaw Mountain,

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he preferred to  indirectly 
make his approach to Atlanta.

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narrator> Sherman continued 
his march to Atlanta,

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but soon found his troops 
in a stalemate

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with the rebels 
outside the city.

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Seeing the Confederates 
with well-fortified positions

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and not wanting 
a frontal attack,

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Sherman ordered 
another flanking assault

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toward the town of Jonesboro, 
southwest of Atlanta.

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Sherman hoped to cut 
the railroad there

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and disrupt the Confederates' 
supply line to Atlanta.

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This maneuver was successful, 

and with their supply line cut,

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the Confederates 
had to evacuate the city.

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On September 2, 1864,

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Atlanta fell 
into the hands of Sherman.

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President Lincoln had 
his significant breakthrough.

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Once inside Atlanta,

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Sherman corresponded 
with General Ulysses S. Grant,

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himself 
locked in battle

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with General Robert E. Lee 
in Virginia.

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Grant wanted Sherman 
and his men to head north

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to help him defeat Lee.

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Sherman had 
other plans.

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David> Whereas there 
would have been a benefit

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if Sherman had 
linked up with Grant,

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Grant and Sherman both, 
as well as Lincoln,

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had the idea that you needed 
to keep the Confederate armies

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from massing, 
or concentrating.

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At the time, 
everyone still thought

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in terms of 
Napoleonic tactics,

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and you had 
to concentrate  your  forces

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and prevent the concentration 
of the opponent's forces.

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Kip> Well, originally, 
Grant wanted Sherman

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to start his march in that 
direction to join forces.

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Sherman pushed real hard 
with the emphasis

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of cutting into the South 
and actually making them pay,

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in particular 
South Carolina.

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He knew once 
he got to Savannah,

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he would be open to the 
heartland of South Carolina.

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He pushed real hard to continue 
that march to the sea.

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narrator> Following two 
months in Atlanta,

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Sherman began 
his march to the sea.

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00:08:48,266 --> 00:08:51,266
In Atlanta, Sherman 
had planned his 270-mile march

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to the Georgia coast.

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Dr. Edgar> He's making the 
conscious decision

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to live off the land,

187
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to take whatever he wants 
in terms of food.

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Now, looting 
and destroying, uh...

189
00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,700
unfortunately 
are age-old, uh...

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00:09:08,700 --> 00:09:10,866
habits of 
a conquering army.

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narrator> 
On November 16, 1864,

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Sherman's army 
departed Atlanta,

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but not before 
burning the city,

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destroying 80% 
of its buildings.

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Dennis> Now, according 
to the Army Regulations,

196
00:09:24,733 --> 00:09:27,833
Field Orders 100,

197
00:09:27,833 --> 00:09:32,333
it's illegal to burn a city, 
enemy occupation.

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But when Sherman 
captured Atlanta,

199
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he banished all 
the civilian population

200
00:09:37,266 --> 00:09:39,433
and the government 
from Atlanta.

201
00:09:39,433 --> 00:09:43,200
Therefore, that turns 
Atlanta into a military post,

202
00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:45,666
property of the 
United States government.

203
00:09:45,666 --> 00:09:49,300
So...remember, 
Atlanta was burned twice,

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first when the Confederates 
evacuated the city.

205
00:09:52,266 --> 00:09:55,633
Then when Sherman begins 
his march to the sea

206
00:09:55,633 --> 00:09:57,633
on the 16th 
of November,

207
00:09:57,633 --> 00:10:00,633
he doesn't really burn 
the city of Atlanta...

208
00:10:00,633 --> 00:10:04,366
he burns his own military base, 
which is perfectly legal.

209
00:10:04,366 --> 00:10:06,633
narrator> 
Setting out with 60,000 men,

210
00:10:06,633 --> 00:10:09,233
Sherman split his soldiers 
and sent them

211
00:10:09,233 --> 00:10:11,966
along different paths 
to confuse the enemy.

212
00:10:11,966 --> 00:10:13,200
The Confederates 
were not sure

213
00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,566
if Union soldiers were 
threatening Macon to the west

214
00:10:16,566 --> 00:10:18,566
or Augusta 
to the east.

215
00:10:18,566 --> 00:10:21,866
What meager forces 
the South had in the area

216
00:10:21,866 --> 00:10:24,133
never formed 
into a concise unit.

217
00:10:24,133 --> 00:10:26,266
Dr. Edgar> In terms of 
military historians,

218
00:10:26,266 --> 00:10:30,666
Sherman's campaign is 
considered quite a major feat.

219
00:10:30,666 --> 00:10:33,133
He was operating...

220
00:10:33,133 --> 00:10:36,366
hundreds  of miles 
behind enemy lines

221
00:10:36,366 --> 00:10:38,633
and operating 
successfully.

222
00:10:38,633 --> 00:10:41,533
Um....

223
00:10:41,533 --> 00:10:43,533
He wasn't faced--

224
00:10:43,533 --> 00:10:46,233
facing an army 
equivalent to his own,

225
00:10:46,233 --> 00:10:48,866
but he was operating 
in hostile territory.

226
00:10:48,866 --> 00:10:50,766
Kip> Yes, there was 
a lot of burning.

227
00:10:50,766 --> 00:10:53,833
There was 
a lot of looting.

228
00:10:53,833 --> 00:10:57,200
Both sides tended to have 
some degree of that,

229
00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:59,466
but it's evident 
that Sherman's men

230
00:10:59,466 --> 00:11:02,166
had no regard for 
the Southern countryside

231
00:11:02,166 --> 00:11:04,433
on their march 
out of Atlanta,

232
00:11:04,433 --> 00:11:07,800
as evident by the 60-wide-mile 
swath of destruction

233
00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,433
they left on their way 
to Savannah.

234
00:11:10,433 --> 00:11:12,233
narrator> 
During his push to the sea,

235
00:11:12,233 --> 00:11:14,466
Sherman faced 
a growing problem.

236
00:11:14,466 --> 00:11:16,333
Slaves were 
following the march,

237
00:11:16,333 --> 00:11:19,300
believing soldiers 
were leading them to freedom.

238
00:11:19,300 --> 00:11:20,900
Sherman saw the slaves

239
00:11:20,900 --> 00:11:23,266
as slowing down the 
progress of his men.

240
00:11:23,266 --> 00:11:27,266
Thavolvia> Sherman was not at 
all eager that these slaves,

241
00:11:27,266 --> 00:11:31,933
or emancipated slaves, 
continue to follow him,

242
00:11:31,933 --> 00:11:35,733
and neither were many officers 
under his command,

243
00:11:35,733 --> 00:11:40,033
so many slaves, as a result, 
were drowned in the swamps

244
00:11:40,033 --> 00:11:43,600
because as the pontoon 
bridges were cut

245
00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:47,066
when the rear of Sherman's 
army crossed them,

246
00:11:47,066 --> 00:11:51,666
slaves were unable to forge 
the swamps or the rivers.

247
00:11:51,666 --> 00:11:54,466
It's estimated 
that out of 25,000

248
00:11:54,466 --> 00:11:56,633
that followed him 
across Georgia,

249
00:11:56,633 --> 00:11:59,266
by the time 
he got to Savannah,

250
00:11:59,266 --> 00:12:03,033
there were only about 7,000 
remaining with his armies.

251
00:12:03,033 --> 00:12:07,033
It was a problem that many 
Union generals and armies

252
00:12:07,033 --> 00:12:09,033
faced in the South.

253
00:12:09,033 --> 00:12:11,300
narrator> 
Slavery was not what fed

254
00:12:11,300 --> 00:12:13,400
Sherman's hatred 
of the Confederacy.

255
00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:16,400
It was the secession 
from the Union.

256
00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:20,900
Dr. Edgar> Sherman, like many, 
...White Americans of his day,

257
00:12:20,900 --> 00:12:24,200
was not opposed 
to the institution of slavery.

258
00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,200
Many Northern Whites 
were not opposed to slavery.

259
00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:29,833
Sherman, of course, 
during his military career,

260
00:12:29,833 --> 00:12:32,166
had been stationed 
in the South.

261
00:12:32,166 --> 00:12:37,400
He had been president of what 
eventually would become LSU.

262
00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:43,733
So he had a lot of knowledge 
and experience in the South.

263
00:12:43,733 --> 00:12:46,966
What angered him, 
as an American,

264
00:12:46,966 --> 00:12:50,200
was the dissolution 
of the Union, was secession.

265
00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:51,866
narrator> 
Sherman's march was having

266
00:12:51,866 --> 00:12:53,533
far-reaching implications.

267
00:12:53,533 --> 00:12:57,366
Wives of soldiers stationed with 
General Lee's army in Virginia

268
00:12:57,366 --> 00:13:00,000
were writing their husbands 
about the punishment

269
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,166
the Union soldiers were 
inflicting upon the land.

270
00:13:03,166 --> 00:13:05,800
Dennis> All of these 
Southern wives down here

271
00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:09,533
are writing to their husbands 
up there in Lee's army

272
00:13:09,533 --> 00:13:11,700
that they need 
protection.

273
00:13:11,700 --> 00:13:14,166
And there was 
great desertion

274
00:13:14,166 --> 00:13:17,900
on the part of the Georgia 
soldiers in Lee's army

275
00:13:17,900 --> 00:13:19,900
by this 
influence...

276
00:13:19,900 --> 00:13:23,533
wives telling husbands, 
sons, and so forth,

277
00:13:23,533 --> 00:13:24,733
to come home 
and defend them.

278
00:13:24,733 --> 00:13:27,366
narrator> It was now clear 
to Confederates

279
00:13:27,366 --> 00:13:29,366
that Sherman's objective 
was Savannah,

280
00:13:29,366 --> 00:13:33,466
but they did not know how badly 
Sherman needed to reach

281
00:13:33,466 --> 00:13:35,466
Union ships 
off the coast.

282
00:13:35,466 --> 00:13:38,133
>> Since they didn't have 
a supply line

283
00:13:38,133 --> 00:13:39,700
coming from Atlanta,

284
00:13:39,700 --> 00:13:41,100
they were living 
off the land,

285
00:13:41,100 --> 00:13:43,366
and 60,000 men 
eat a lot.

286
00:13:43,366 --> 00:13:45,366
As long as they were moving

287
00:13:45,366 --> 00:13:46,733
through the interior 
of the state

288
00:13:46,733 --> 00:13:48,733
that food 
kept coming in.

289
00:13:48,733 --> 00:13:52,100
Once they arrived at Savannah, 
the troops stopped moving,

290
00:13:52,100 --> 00:13:55,466
and there was no fresh 
territory to move into.

291
00:13:55,466 --> 00:13:58,100
As a result, 
food stopped coming in.

292
00:13:58,100 --> 00:14:02,066
narrator> Savannah in 1864 was 
a picturesque Southern port.

293
00:14:02,066 --> 00:14:04,466
The city's population 
had survived

294
00:14:04,466 --> 00:14:06,900
the war-long 
Union naval blockade.

295
00:14:06,900 --> 00:14:09,400
There were only 
10,000 Confederate troops

296
00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:11,400
to defend Savannah,

297
00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:13,566
but despite being 
greatly outnumbered,

298
00:14:13,566 --> 00:14:16,566
they had entrenched 
themselves around the city.

299
00:14:16,566 --> 00:14:19,200
Not wanting to attack 
the Rebel fortifications,

300
00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:22,300
Sherman probed for weaknesses 
in the Southern defenses.

301
00:14:22,300 --> 00:14:24,933
The Ogeechee River 
just south of Savannah

302
00:14:24,933 --> 00:14:29,033
is where Sherman hoped to 
link up with the Union ships.

303
00:14:29,033 --> 00:14:31,033
However, 
his objective was blocked

304
00:14:31,033 --> 00:14:33,200
by the Confederate 
Fort McAllister,

305
00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:36,200
located on the south side 
of the river.

306
00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,566
The Confederate battery, 
built in the summer of 1861,

307
00:14:39,566 --> 00:14:42,200
weathered several naval 
attacks during the war

308
00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:44,500
and was never 
successfully neutralized.

309
00:14:44,500 --> 00:14:47,866
Now the fort blocked Sherman 
from reaching his navy

310
00:14:47,866 --> 00:14:49,866
and reestablishing 
communications

311
00:14:49,866 --> 00:14:51,866
with Washington 
and General Grant.

312
00:14:51,866 --> 00:14:54,866
Sherman knew a land assault 
would be necessary

313
00:14:54,866 --> 00:14:56,866
to capture 
the fort.

314
00:14:56,866 --> 00:15:00,233
At this location, Sherman 
and some of his soldiers

315
00:15:00,233 --> 00:15:02,933
had come to see 
how heavily armed

316
00:15:02,933 --> 00:15:05,933
a battery stationed 
down the railroad tracks was.

317
00:15:05,933 --> 00:15:07,933
Looking at the 
Confederate parapet,

318
00:15:07,933 --> 00:15:12,433
Sherman saw its cannon fire and 
the ball come  straight  at him.

319
00:15:12,433 --> 00:15:14,700
Sherman got 
out of its way.

320
00:15:14,700 --> 00:15:16,966
The incoming ball 
struck the ground

321
00:15:16,966 --> 00:15:19,600
in front of 
an unsuspecting man, bounced,

322
00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:23,266
and hit the man in the jaw, 
instantly killing him.

323
00:15:23,266 --> 00:15:25,366
Sherman beat 
a hasty retreat.

324
00:15:25,366 --> 00:15:27,366
Surveying 
the area further,

325
00:15:27,366 --> 00:15:30,000
Sherman's troops found 
a series of creeks,

326
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,133
flooded rice fields, 
and acres of swamps.

327
00:15:33,133 --> 00:15:36,300
Confederate batteries 
dotted the watery terrain.

328
00:15:36,300 --> 00:15:38,966
A frontal assault 
seemed impossible.

329
00:15:38,966 --> 00:15:41,966
With food for his men 
now running low,

330
00:15:41,966 --> 00:15:45,133
Sherman had to knock out 
Fort McAllister.

331
00:15:45,133 --> 00:15:47,633
On December 13, 1864,

332
00:15:47,633 --> 00:15:51,133
about 4,000 of Sherman's men 
stormed the fort.

333
00:15:51,133 --> 00:15:54,133
The first wave of men 
were blown away

334
00:15:54,133 --> 00:15:57,500
when they hit land mines 
buried outside the structure.

335
00:15:57,500 --> 00:16:00,133
Soon the superior numbers 
of Sherman's troops,

336
00:16:00,133 --> 00:16:02,600
against the fort's 
250 soldiers,

337
00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:04,600
overwhelmed 
the resistance.

338
00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:06,866
With Fort McAllister 
in Union hands,

339
00:16:06,866 --> 00:16:10,233
Sherman was able to make 
contact with the Navy,

340
00:16:10,233 --> 00:16:13,133
opening up a supply 
and communication line.

341
00:16:13,133 --> 00:16:15,133
Roger> The primary 
significance of it

342
00:16:15,133 --> 00:16:18,066
was that it removed 
the last obstacle

343
00:16:18,066 --> 00:16:20,700
of Sherman reaching 
the outside world

344
00:16:20,700 --> 00:16:24,533
and reestablishing a line 
of supplies to feed his troops.

345
00:16:24,533 --> 00:16:28,266
narrator> The Confederates knew 
they had to evacuate the city,

346
00:16:28,266 --> 00:16:30,566
and on 
December 20, 1864,

347
00:16:30,566 --> 00:16:32,833
rebel troops crossed 
the Savannah River

348
00:16:32,833 --> 00:16:34,933
into South Carolina.

349
00:16:34,933 --> 00:16:37,700
The following day, 
Sherman's troops marched in.

350
00:16:37,700 --> 00:16:40,333
The Union general 
had reached the sea,

351
00:16:40,333 --> 00:16:42,966
and on December 22 
presented Savannah

352
00:16:42,966 --> 00:16:45,600
as a Christmas gift 
to President Lincoln.

353
00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:47,600
While in 
the port city,

354
00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,866
Sherman decided 
to solve the problem

355
00:16:49,866 --> 00:16:51,866
of slaves 
following his troops

356
00:16:51,866 --> 00:16:54,166
by issuing 
a special field order.

357
00:16:54,166 --> 00:16:56,366
Thavolvia> 
That field order set aside

358
00:16:56,366 --> 00:16:58,666
the territory 30 miles inland

359
00:16:58,666 --> 00:17:02,033
from the South Carolina 
Sea Islands downward,

360
00:17:02,033 --> 00:17:04,833
southward to Georgia,

361
00:17:04,833 --> 00:17:08,133
for the settlement 
of slaves.

362
00:17:08,133 --> 00:17:10,633
And... 
with this territory,

363
00:17:10,633 --> 00:17:15,266
slaves were to be given 
no more per family

364
00:17:15,266 --> 00:17:17,700
than 40 acres 
of land.

365
00:17:17,700 --> 00:17:21,333
Sherman hoped, in this way, 
to accomplish two things...

366
00:17:21,333 --> 00:17:26,066
to address concerns expressed 
by Blacks in the Sea Islands

367
00:17:26,066 --> 00:17:31,900
and, secondly, to remove 
this encumbrance from his army.

368
00:17:31,900 --> 00:17:34,333
But as he later 
found out,

369
00:17:34,333 --> 00:17:36,800
slaves would continue 
to follow him,

370
00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:40,566
especially as he moves 
into South Carolina.

371
00:17:40,566 --> 00:17:43,066
narrator> 
In mid-January 1865,

372
00:17:43,066 --> 00:17:45,333
Sherman's army 
departed Savannah

373
00:17:45,333 --> 00:17:47,466
and entered 
South Carolina.

374
00:17:47,466 --> 00:17:49,466
Roger> Savannah was spared...

375
00:17:49,466 --> 00:17:53,200
primarily because there 
was no real need to destroy it.

376
00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,566
Confederate defenses were 
far enough outside of the city

377
00:17:56,566 --> 00:17:58,966
that Sherman's artillery 
couldn't reach it,

378
00:17:58,966 --> 00:18:01,033
and the city 
was evacuated

379
00:18:01,033 --> 00:18:03,666
before heavy artillery 
could be brought in.

380
00:18:03,666 --> 00:18:05,933
Savannah was also 
the oldest city

381
00:18:05,933 --> 00:18:08,200
many of Sherman's men 
had seen,

382
00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,933
and a lot of them 
were very taken with it.

383
00:18:11,933 --> 00:18:13,933
narrator> 
As in Georgia,

384
00:18:13,933 --> 00:18:15,933
Sherman moved 
in different directions

385
00:18:15,933 --> 00:18:18,566
in the lower part 
of South Carolina.

386
00:18:18,566 --> 00:18:21,933
The Confederates did not know 
what his destination was.

387
00:18:21,933 --> 00:18:24,566
They thought it could be 
Charleston, Augusta,

388
00:18:24,566 --> 00:18:26,833
or, as a long shot, 
Columbia.

389
00:18:26,833 --> 00:18:29,100
One thing 
the Rebels  did  know...

390
00:18:29,100 --> 00:18:32,466
Sherman was in the heart 
of the state's swamplands.

391
00:18:32,466 --> 00:18:35,100
Many a Confederate soldier 
thought to himself

392
00:18:35,100 --> 00:18:37,366
that there 
would be no way

393
00:18:37,366 --> 00:18:40,000
Sherman could march 
an army through that.

394
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,000
But Yankee troops 
made progress,

395
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,366
and in early February, they 

entered the Salkehatchie Swamp.

396
00:18:45,366 --> 00:18:48,033
The area today looks 
much as it did

397
00:18:48,033 --> 00:18:49,866
when Sherman came through.

398
00:18:49,866 --> 00:18:51,866
In addition to 
unfavorable terrain,

399
00:18:51,866 --> 00:18:53,866
the Northern troops 
also faced

400
00:18:53,866 --> 00:18:57,233
one of the worst winters 
in the state's history.

401
00:18:57,233 --> 00:18:59,866
David> It was a period 
of tremendous rainfall.

402
00:18:59,866 --> 00:19:01,933
It was cold.

403
00:19:01,933 --> 00:19:04,133
It was rainy and wet.

404
00:19:04,133 --> 00:19:08,466
There are accounts of staff 
officers looking for generals

405
00:19:08,466 --> 00:19:11,700
while they were 
in the Salkehatchie Swamp

406
00:19:11,700 --> 00:19:14,333
and finding the generals 
and their staffs

407
00:19:14,333 --> 00:19:17,233
perched in trees, 
like roosting turkeys,

408
00:19:17,233 --> 00:19:19,866
to get up 
out of the water.

409
00:19:19,866 --> 00:19:24,033
There were people that had 
to sleep in standing water.

410
00:19:24,033 --> 00:19:27,533
It was a real... 
a real difficult campaign.

411
00:19:27,533 --> 00:19:29,866
Roads had to be 
corduroyed...

412
00:19:29,866 --> 00:19:31,866
in other words, 
felling trees

413
00:19:31,866 --> 00:19:34,133
and laying them 
side to side

414
00:19:34,133 --> 00:19:36,766
so that you ride 
over the logs

415
00:19:36,766 --> 00:19:40,866
in order to get what wagons 
Sherman had along the road.

416
00:19:40,866 --> 00:19:43,333
They had entire brigades 
of pioneers

417
00:19:43,333 --> 00:19:45,600
out in front 
of the soldiers

418
00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:47,866
felling thousands 
of trees per day

419
00:19:47,866 --> 00:19:52,733
and corduroying as much as 

10 and 12 miles per day of road

420
00:19:52,733 --> 00:19:55,366
in order that 
the armies could move.

421
00:19:55,366 --> 00:19:59,633
It was a hard campaign, in 
the sense of creature comfort.

422
00:19:59,633 --> 00:20:03,900
It was not a hard campaign 
from the Northern standpoint,

423
00:20:03,900 --> 00:20:06,666
in view 
of the lack of...

424
00:20:06,666 --> 00:20:08,666
military engagements.

425
00:20:08,666 --> 00:20:10,766
narrator> 
That would soon change.

426
00:20:10,766 --> 00:20:12,766
Crossing the 
Salkehatchie River,

427
00:20:12,766 --> 00:20:16,500
the Union soldiers entered 

an area known as Rivers Bridge.

428
00:20:16,500 --> 00:20:20,066
Two thousand Rebel soldiers 
awaited their arrival.

429
00:20:20,066 --> 00:20:23,633
Kip> Rivers Bridge was 
one of three crossings, uh...

430
00:20:23,633 --> 00:20:26,800
that led across 
the Salkehatchie Swamp.

431
00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,800
There was a series 
of bridges and causeways

432
00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,166
that led up to the actual 
Rivers Bridge breastworks

433
00:20:33,166 --> 00:20:35,166
that are 
still there today.

434
00:20:35,166 --> 00:20:38,166
The Confederate forces 
manned those breastworks

435
00:20:38,166 --> 00:20:42,166
in an attempt to stop Sherman's 
march into South Carolina.

436
00:20:42,166 --> 00:20:44,800
He originally went 
south of these works

437
00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:47,066
to another area 
called Broxton's Bridge

438
00:20:47,066 --> 00:20:49,333
where the Confederates 
had also fortified.

439
00:20:49,333 --> 00:20:52,333
In reading reports 
from some of his officers,

440
00:20:52,333 --> 00:20:54,333
they felt 
it was suicide

441
00:20:54,333 --> 00:20:56,966
to try to go against 
these breastworks,

442
00:20:56,966 --> 00:20:59,133
they were 
so well maintained.

443
00:20:59,133 --> 00:21:01,366
They came 
to Rivers Bridge.

444
00:21:01,366 --> 00:21:03,800
They attempted 
a crossing there.

445
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:06,533
A battle 
of several days ensued,

446
00:21:06,533 --> 00:21:10,900
after which the 
Confederate forces realized

447
00:21:10,900 --> 00:21:12,733
that, one, they were 
not only outnumbered,

448
00:21:12,733 --> 00:21:14,800
but they were being 
outflanked on both flanks.

449
00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:19,600
They fired massive volleys 
of cannon and rifle fire

450
00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,300
to put out dense 
amounts of smoke,

451
00:21:22,300 --> 00:21:24,766
and in that noise 
and confusion and smoke,

452
00:21:24,766 --> 00:21:26,200
they withdrew 
their forces

453
00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:28,033
and left the 
Rivers Bridge area.

454
00:21:28,033 --> 00:21:32,600
Um...in terms 
of battle casualties,

455
00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:34,266
it was a very 
small engagement.

456
00:21:34,266 --> 00:21:37,000
In terms of the morale booster 
for South Carolina,

457
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,266
it was probably one 
of the best.

458
00:21:39,266 --> 00:21:43,433
[rifle and cannon fire 
crackling and booming]

459
00:21:43,433 --> 00:21:53,433
[rifle and cannon fire 
crackling and booming]

460
00:21:53,433 --> 00:21:57,433
[bugle tooting, 
sounds of battle]

461
00:21:57,433 --> 00:22:07,500
[shouting, 
sounds of battle]

462
00:22:07,500 --> 00:22:17,500
[rifle and cannon fire 
crackling and booming]

463
00:22:17,500 --> 00:22:27,500
[sounds of battle continue]

464
00:22:27,500 --> 00:22:37,500
[gunfire]

465
00:22:37,500 --> 00:22:47,500
[sounds of battle continue]

466
00:22:47,500 --> 00:22:57,500
[gunfire]

467
00:22:57,500 --> 00:23:07,566
[sounds of battle continue]

468
00:23:07,566 --> 00:23:17,566
[gunfire]

469
00:23:17,566 --> 00:23:27,566
[sounds of battle continue]

470
00:23:27,566 --> 00:23:37,566
[gunfire]

471
00:23:37,566 --> 00:23:47,566
[sounds of battle continue]

472
00:23:47,566 --> 00:23:57,566
[gunfire]

473
00:23:57,566 --> 00:24:07,633
[sounds of battle continue]

474
00:24:07,633 --> 00:24:15,633
[gunfire]

475
00:24:15,633 --> 00:24:17,900
[sounds of battle continue]

476
00:24:17,900 --> 00:24:19,133
narrator> 
Though the Confederates

477
00:24:19,133 --> 00:24:20,333
lost the Battle 
of Rivers Bridge,

478
00:24:20,333 --> 00:24:23,733
they took solace in the fact 
they did delay Sherman,

479
00:24:23,733 --> 00:24:26,733
even if only 
for a couple of days.

480
00:24:26,733 --> 00:24:30,633
Kip> It was the only 
organized...defense,

481
00:24:30,633 --> 00:24:32,800
or the  first 
organized defense,

482
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,066
of the state 
of South Carolina

483
00:24:35,066 --> 00:24:37,700
once Sherman 
came out of Savannah

484
00:24:37,700 --> 00:24:41,433
to show that a small force 
of some 1500 Confederates

485
00:24:41,433 --> 00:24:44,066
could hold Sherman's 
entire army at bay

486
00:24:44,066 --> 00:24:46,333
for a period 
of several days

487
00:24:46,333 --> 00:24:50,066
showed there was still a will 
amongst the average soldier

488
00:24:50,066 --> 00:24:52,700
to get out 
and defend his homeland.

489
00:24:52,700 --> 00:24:54,700
narrator> 
Following Rivers Bridge,

490
00:24:54,700 --> 00:24:56,700
Sherman emerged 
from the swamps.

491
00:24:56,700 --> 00:24:59,700
Dennis> I think Sherman said it 
in his autobiography,

492
00:24:59,700 --> 00:25:02,600
that his... 
his greatest achievement

493
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,966
was not the capture 
of the city of Atlanta

494
00:25:05,966 --> 00:25:08,600
or even 
the march to the sea.

495
00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:11,233
It was the movement 
across South Carolina,

496
00:25:11,233 --> 00:25:16,166
how he had moved his entire army 
through the frozen swamps

497
00:25:16,166 --> 00:25:19,833
in the winter 
of the January of 1865,

498
00:25:19,833 --> 00:25:23,000
marching northward 
across South Carolina.

499
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,366
By and large, people said 
it couldn't be done.

500
00:25:26,366 --> 00:25:28,633
Sherman did it, 
and he believed

501
00:25:28,633 --> 00:25:31,633
that was his greatest 
achievement as a soldier.

502
00:25:31,633 --> 00:25:34,533
narrator> Georgia had suffered 
over $100 million dollars

503
00:25:34,533 --> 00:25:36,066
in property damage

504
00:25:36,066 --> 00:25:37,633
at the hands 
of Sherman's soldiers,

505
00:25:37,633 --> 00:25:40,633
and the general's troops 
showed even more fury

506
00:25:40,633 --> 00:25:43,633
in their destructive march 
through the Palmetto State.

507
00:25:43,633 --> 00:25:47,033
David> There were other 
commanders within his army

508
00:25:47,033 --> 00:25:49,800
that were 
more plainspoken about

509
00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,766
their opinions 
on what ought to be done...

510
00:25:52,766 --> 00:25:55,600
one of them being 
Judson Kilpatrick.

511
00:25:55,600 --> 00:26:00,000
He jokingly wrote Sherman 
after having left Barnwell

512
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,833
that the residents were going 
to have to "rename it Burnwell."

513
00:26:02,833 --> 00:26:07,833
♪ 
[acoustic guitar music]

514
00:26:07,833 --> 00:26:17,833
♪

515
00:26:17,833 --> 00:26:21,366
(male singer) 
♪ We waited by the river, ♪

516
00:26:21,366 --> 00:26:23,766
♪ with rifles in our hands. ♪

517
00:26:23,766 --> 00:26:27,600
♪ A handful of 
the South's best and last, ♪

518
00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:30,766
♪ ready to make 
a stand. ♪

519
00:26:30,766 --> 00:26:33,566
♪ I turned 
to Billy Bratton, ♪

520
00:26:33,566 --> 00:26:36,733
♪ said, "Jesus, 
look at 'em come!" ♪

521
00:26:36,733 --> 00:26:40,266
♪ The long blue lines 
with sabers drawn, ♪

522
00:26:40,266 --> 00:26:43,066
♪ a-glitterin' 
in the sun. ♪

523
00:26:43,066 --> 00:26:46,066
♪ Billy chewed 
and spat and smiled, ♪

524
00:26:46,066 --> 00:26:49,066
♪ said, "Johnny, 
I tell you true, ♪

525
00:26:49,066 --> 00:26:53,166
♪ "afore this day's gone, 
there'll be hell to pay ♪

526
00:26:53,166 --> 00:26:57,133
♪ at the hands 
of them boys in blue." ♪

527
00:26:57,133 --> 00:27:00,933
♪ And all the tears 
wept a-through the years ♪

528
00:27:00,933 --> 00:27:03,566
♪ by the dyin' 
Rebel lads ♪

529
00:27:03,566 --> 00:27:06,566
♪ couldn't quencher 
the fire of hate ♪

530
00:27:06,566 --> 00:27:10,300
♪ in the heart of 
that single Yankee man. ♪♪

531
00:27:10,300 --> 00:27:12,133
narrator> 
By 1865,

532
00:27:12,133 --> 00:27:15,133
both sides in 
the War Between the States

533
00:27:15,133 --> 00:27:18,500
had been fighting each other 
for almost 4 years.

534
00:27:18,500 --> 00:27:21,500
For Confederates, a complete 
uniform was a rarity.

535
00:27:21,500 --> 00:27:24,900
Kip> Confederate soldiers 
of that time were, uh...

536
00:27:24,900 --> 00:27:26,900
although they 
were fairly ragged,

537
00:27:26,900 --> 00:27:29,166
we don't want 
to dress them

538
00:27:29,166 --> 00:27:32,533
or have them dressed in 
the completely ragged uniforms.

539
00:27:32,533 --> 00:27:35,533
They were wearing 
a lot of homespun articles,

540
00:27:35,533 --> 00:27:37,800
a lot of things 

they were able to get from home.

541
00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:40,500
A lot of the troops 
that were at Rivers Bridge

542
00:27:40,500 --> 00:27:44,533
were South Carolina Militia/ 
home guard units...

543
00:27:44,533 --> 00:27:48,400
more or less civilians armed 
to defend South Carolina.

544
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:50,400
They wore 
civilian attire,

545
00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,766
pretty much anything they 
could get their hands on.

546
00:27:53,766 --> 00:27:56,766
There were Confederate-issue 
uniforms amongst the ranks.

547
00:27:56,766 --> 00:27:59,766
A lot of officers 
were also in uniform.

548
00:27:59,766 --> 00:28:02,100
narrator> 

For soldiers of Sherman's army,

549
00:28:02,100 --> 00:28:04,500
the clothing situation 
was surprisingly similar

550
00:28:04,500 --> 00:28:06,500
to that 
of the Southerners.

551
00:28:06,500 --> 00:28:08,500
The Federals...

552
00:28:08,500 --> 00:28:11,500
you would think would 
be much better dressed,

553
00:28:11,500 --> 00:28:13,766
because they 
had the Northern Army,

554
00:28:13,766 --> 00:28:16,766
the whole North, 
supplying them with their wares.

555
00:28:16,766 --> 00:28:20,566
However, 
in their march to Savannah,

556
00:28:20,566 --> 00:28:23,466
they far outdistanced 
their supply wagons,

557
00:28:23,466 --> 00:28:26,366
and the Northern troops 
were fairly ragged

558
00:28:26,366 --> 00:28:28,866
when they got 
to Savannah.

559
00:28:28,866 --> 00:28:32,733
Once they arrived there, 
they were re-supplied by sea.

560
00:28:32,733 --> 00:28:36,100
They did have much better 
uniforms and equipment on

561
00:28:36,100 --> 00:28:38,733
than their counterparts 
in the Confederate Army.

562
00:28:38,733 --> 00:28:41,366
Of course, they were 
fairly well equipped,

563
00:28:41,366 --> 00:28:44,733
even though they had come 
through the Salkehatchie Swamp.

564
00:28:44,733 --> 00:28:47,033
narrator> Although the clothing 
of both armies

565
00:28:47,033 --> 00:28:48,833
was in similar, sad condition,

566
00:28:48,833 --> 00:28:50,533
the same 
could not be said

567
00:28:50,533 --> 00:28:53,766
for the thoughts of the 

Confederate and Union soldiers.

568
00:28:53,766 --> 00:28:55,966
In the winter 
of 1865,

569
00:28:55,966 --> 00:28:59,100
Sherman's army was 

deep inside Southern territory,

570
00:28:59,100 --> 00:29:01,166
while the Confederates 
felt themselves

571
00:29:01,166 --> 00:29:03,433
running out 
of land and time.

572
00:29:03,433 --> 00:29:05,700
Kip> I would have to say 
that the Federal troops

573
00:29:05,700 --> 00:29:09,066
were probably feeling 
a little high at that point.

574
00:29:09,066 --> 00:29:12,433
They knew the war 
was getting close to over.

575
00:29:12,433 --> 00:29:15,800
They were proceeding into 
the state of South Carolina,

576
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:19,900
one of the last states 
that needed to be gone into

577
00:29:19,900 --> 00:29:22,466
and cleaned out 
of the Rebel scum.

578
00:29:22,466 --> 00:29:25,533
They could smell 
the end of the war.

579
00:29:25,533 --> 00:29:28,133
On the other hand, 
the Confederates

580
00:29:28,133 --> 00:29:30,900
also knew 
that the end was near,

581
00:29:30,900 --> 00:29:33,833
but it was a different 
kind of meaning for them.

582
00:29:33,833 --> 00:29:36,766
They would be the conquered... 
they would be the vanquished.

583
00:29:36,766 --> 00:29:41,966
As a result, they knew they 
were going to suffer harshly

584
00:29:41,966 --> 00:29:45,100
at the hands 
of their captors.

585
00:29:45,100 --> 00:29:50,333
♪ 
[acoustic guitar music]

586
00:29:50,333 --> 00:29:55,566
♪

587
00:29:55,566 --> 00:30:00,066
♪ We hid there 
in them tall pine trees, ♪

588
00:30:00,066 --> 00:30:02,900
♪ breathin' 
soft and still. ♪

589
00:30:02,900 --> 00:30:05,900
♪ Columbia town 
stood tall and proud ♪

590
00:30:05,900 --> 00:30:08,900
♪ just over 
behind the hill. ♪

591
00:30:08,900 --> 00:30:11,533
♪ I looked 
across at Billy ♪

592
00:30:11,533 --> 00:30:15,100
♪ through the green leaves 
streaked with light. ♪♪

593
00:30:15,100 --> 00:30:18,466
narrator> As Sherman continued 
his push into South Carolina,

594
00:30:18,466 --> 00:30:20,733
it became clear 
to his enemy

595
00:30:20,733 --> 00:30:23,100
what his next major 
destination was...

596
00:30:23,100 --> 00:30:26,800
Columbia, a city ill-prepared 
for an invading army.

597
00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,066
David> This city was 
pretty well doomed.

598
00:30:29,066 --> 00:30:31,000
Again, they should 
have had a plan

599
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,166
for the defense of Columbia,

600
00:30:33,166 --> 00:30:35,166
but that's 
the big downfalling.

601
00:30:35,166 --> 00:30:38,366
There was no central plan

602
00:30:38,366 --> 00:30:40,266
made for the defense 
of South Carolina,

603
00:30:40,266 --> 00:30:43,366
and there were no adequate 
troops to execute such a plan.

604
00:30:43,366 --> 00:30:46,733
narrator> Officials in South 

Carolina called on General Lee,

605
00:30:46,733 --> 00:30:50,100
still tied down by General 
Grant's army in Virginia,

606
00:30:50,100 --> 00:30:53,100
to provide soldiers 
for the defense of Columbia.

607
00:30:53,100 --> 00:30:54,933
(Edgar) 
Lee's response is,

608
00:30:54,933 --> 00:30:57,200
Does the governor 
of South Carolina

609
00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:59,833
wish to have 
Generals Sherman  and  Grant

610
00:30:59,833 --> 00:31:02,533
in South Carolina 
at the same time?

611
00:31:02,533 --> 00:31:04,800
Lee's army 
was the only one

612
00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:08,533
that  might  have been able 
to do something with Sherman,

613
00:31:08,533 --> 00:31:11,533
and I'm not sure 
that even Lee's veterans

614
00:31:11,533 --> 00:31:13,533
could have 
hurried south

615
00:31:13,533 --> 00:31:16,600
and then defended 
South Carolina or Georgia

616
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:21,500
against Sherman's, by this time, 
veteran army of 60,000.

617
00:31:21,500 --> 00:31:26,666
[poignant bluegrass music] 
♪

618
00:31:26,666 --> 00:31:31,900
♪

619
00:31:31,900 --> 00:31:33,900
>> From the Confederate 
standpoint,

620
00:31:33,900 --> 00:31:36,700
Confederate troops were 
terribly demoralized.

621
00:31:36,700 --> 00:31:38,766
This is true 
not only

622
00:31:38,766 --> 00:31:42,333
of the common, rank-and-file 
private or corporal,

623
00:31:42,333 --> 00:31:45,233
but also 
of the command.

624
00:31:45,233 --> 00:31:48,600
The command, in many regards, 
had frankly given up.

625
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,600
Beauregard thought that 
South Carolina was indefensible.

626
00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:54,600
He was more 
interested in, uh...

627
00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:57,600
the West, 
the Trans-Mississippi.

628
00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,966
He was detailed to come 
back to South Carolina.

629
00:32:00,966 --> 00:32:04,033
He had been briefly absent 
from South Carolina

630
00:32:04,033 --> 00:32:07,400
and was ordered to come back 
in early February.

631
00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:10,033
He pretty well 
threw up his hands

632
00:32:10,033 --> 00:32:13,766
and didn't have any idea 
which way Sherman was heading.

633
00:32:13,766 --> 00:32:17,133
As late as the 9th, 
10th, 11th of February,

634
00:32:17,133 --> 00:32:21,233
he had no idea whether 
Columbia was the target or not.

635
00:32:21,233 --> 00:32:23,666
And that idea 
of, uh...

636
00:32:23,666 --> 00:32:27,000
confusion, 
lack of purpose,

637
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:29,333
demoralization, 
futility

638
00:32:29,333 --> 00:32:31,600
just permeated 
not only the command,

639
00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:34,600
but everybody right down 
to the lowest private,

640
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:36,866
and the civilians 
felt it too.

641
00:32:36,866 --> 00:32:39,866
They felt that they 
were not being defended.

642
00:32:39,866 --> 00:32:41,966
The troops 
were inadequate.

643
00:32:41,966 --> 00:32:45,200
The supplies, although here, 
couldn't even be defended.

644
00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,566
Many supplies had to be 
dumped into the river

645
00:32:48,566 --> 00:32:50,700
here in Columbia 
and elsewhere.

646
00:32:50,700 --> 00:32:52,966
So it was confusion 
and demoralization

647
00:32:52,966 --> 00:32:54,966
on the South's side

648
00:32:54,966 --> 00:33:00,733
and almost celebration and 
joviality on the Northern side

649
00:33:00,733 --> 00:33:02,800
because they could see light 
at the end of the tunnel.

650
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,500
narrator> Sherman's troops were 
just west of Columbia,

651
00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:07,500
with some soldiers 
stationed

652
00:33:07,500 --> 00:33:10,133
along the southern shore 
of the Saluda River.

653
00:33:10,133 --> 00:33:12,400
As the soldiers 
entered this section,

654
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,400
they had come upon 
the Saluda River Factory

655
00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:16,633
and promptly 
burned it.

656
00:33:16,633 --> 00:33:20,033
The ruins of the building 
are still evident.

657
00:33:20,033 --> 00:33:26,100
[contemporary 
instrumental music] 
♪

658
00:33:26,100 --> 00:33:35,300
♪

659
00:33:35,300 --> 00:33:44,500
♪

660
00:33:44,500 --> 00:33:53,700
♪

661
00:33:53,700 --> 00:34:02,966
♪

662
00:34:02,966 --> 00:34:12,166
♪

663
00:34:12,166 --> 00:34:21,366
♪

664
00:34:21,366 --> 00:34:30,500
♪

665
00:34:30,500 --> 00:34:39,700
♪

666
00:34:39,700 --> 00:34:48,900
♪

667
00:34:48,900 --> 00:34:51,900
Heading downstream, 

the soldiers came upon a bridge

668
00:34:51,900 --> 00:34:54,000
that retreating Confederates 
had burned.

669
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:57,000
A pontoon bridge 
was constructed at the site,

670
00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,633
and Sherman's men 
crossed the Saluda River

671
00:34:59,633 --> 00:35:02,700
at the present-day location 
of Riverbanks Zoo.

672
00:35:02,700 --> 00:35:05,000
From there, 
they crossed the Broad River

673
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:08,333
near the area 
of the I-126 bridge.

674
00:35:08,333 --> 00:35:10,333
Sherman was 
at Columbia's doorstep,

675
00:35:10,333 --> 00:35:13,700
and it was a place for which 
he had a great hatred.

676
00:35:13,700 --> 00:35:17,200
In Sherman's eyes, Columbia 
was not  an innocent city.

677
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:19,533
Dr. Edgar> Columbia, in terms 
of the Confederacy,

678
00:35:19,533 --> 00:35:23,433
was a very important, 
um...town.

679
00:35:23,433 --> 00:35:27,700
Not only was it 
a railroad center--

680
00:35:27,700 --> 00:35:30,900
railroads from the coast 
and from the south and west

681
00:35:30,900 --> 00:35:32,233
came through Columbia--

682
00:35:32,233 --> 00:35:35,266
but Columbia was a production 
center for the Confederacy.

683
00:35:35,266 --> 00:35:37,400
Munitions 
were produced here.

684
00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,500
The Saluda Factory 
produced

685
00:35:39,500 --> 00:35:42,866
blankets and cloth 
for the Confederacy.

686
00:35:42,866 --> 00:35:44,866
The Confederate 
printing plant,

687
00:35:44,866 --> 00:35:48,233
down on the corner 
of Gervais and Huger Streets,

688
00:35:48,233 --> 00:35:51,233
was producing Confederate 
currency--bills and bonds--

689
00:35:51,233 --> 00:35:53,500
for the Confederacy 
after 1863.

690
00:35:53,500 --> 00:35:55,766
Although the bills 
might say Richmond,

691
00:35:55,766 --> 00:35:58,666
they were printed 
here in Columbia.

692
00:35:58,666 --> 00:36:03,100
If you look at pre-1865 
maps of Main Street,

693
00:36:03,100 --> 00:36:06,466
it seems like scarcely 
a block of Main Street

694
00:36:06,466 --> 00:36:09,833
between the capitol 
and 6 or 8 blocks down

695
00:36:09,833 --> 00:36:12,200
didn't have some kind of 
Confederate office

696
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:13,766
located in it.

697
00:36:13,766 --> 00:36:16,933
So Columbia was 
a  major  production center,

698
00:36:16,933 --> 00:36:20,566
support center 
for the Confederate war effort.

699
00:36:20,566 --> 00:36:24,500
>> What Sherman would say 
over and over again,

700
00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:28,233
particularly 
after, um...

701
00:36:28,233 --> 00:36:31,033
he came 
to Columbia, um...

702
00:36:31,033 --> 00:36:35,466
and as various citizens 
of the city came to him

703
00:36:35,466 --> 00:36:37,466
and, um...

704
00:36:37,466 --> 00:36:40,933
addressed questions or issues 
relating to loss of property,

705
00:36:40,933 --> 00:36:43,733
he would say 
over and over again,

706
00:36:43,733 --> 00:36:46,066
"You brought this 
on yourself,"

707
00:36:46,066 --> 00:36:50,566
because by 1865, 
he was certainly convinced that

708
00:36:50,566 --> 00:36:55,566
the... 
entire Southern population

709
00:36:55,566 --> 00:36:59,566
had to take responsibility 
for the war.

710
00:36:59,566 --> 00:37:01,633
narrator> 
South Carolina had been

711
00:37:01,633 --> 00:37:03,733
the first state 
to break from the Union,

712
00:37:03,733 --> 00:37:05,566
and the first 
secession convention

713
00:37:05,566 --> 00:37:08,733
met here 
at First Baptist Church.

714
00:37:08,733 --> 00:37:13,366
[poignant bluegrass music] 
♪

715
00:37:13,366 --> 00:37:23,300
♪

716
00:37:23,300 --> 00:37:33,300
♪

717
00:37:33,300 --> 00:37:43,300
♪ ♪

718
00:37:43,300 --> 00:37:46,300
This is the west side 
of the Statehouse.

719
00:37:46,300 --> 00:37:49,833
Stars mark where Union artillery 
hit the unfinished building.

720
00:37:49,833 --> 00:37:52,300
[indistinct shout 
followed by cannon boom]

721
00:37:52,300 --> 00:37:54,766
[shout and 
cannon boom repeats]

722
00:37:54,766 --> 00:37:57,233
[third shout 
and cannon boom]

723
00:37:57,233 --> 00:37:59,700
[fourth shout 
and cannon boom]

724
00:37:59,700 --> 00:38:02,233
[fifth shout 
and cannon boom]

725
00:38:02,233 --> 00:38:04,700
[sixth shout 
and cannon boom]

726
00:38:04,700 --> 00:38:07,166
[seventh shout 
and cannon boom]

727
00:38:07,166 --> 00:38:09,633
[eighth shout 
and cannon boom]

728
00:38:09,633 --> 00:38:12,100
[ninth shout 
and cannon boom]

729
00:38:12,100 --> 00:38:14,566
[tenth shout 
and cannon boom]

730
00:38:14,566 --> 00:38:16,933
narrator> As shells fell 
upon the capital,

731
00:38:16,933 --> 00:38:19,566
Sherman could see 
a city in chaos.

732
00:38:19,566 --> 00:38:23,700
Dr. Edgar> Law and order broke 
down 24 hours earlier.

733
00:38:23,700 --> 00:38:26,333
Looters broke into stores 
on Main Street,

734
00:38:26,333 --> 00:38:28,966
including unfortunately members 
of Wheeler's cavalry

735
00:38:28,966 --> 00:38:30,133
before they left.

736
00:38:30,133 --> 00:38:31,666
That was 
Confederate cavalry

737
00:38:31,666 --> 00:38:34,666
who broke into stores 
on Main Street.

738
00:38:34,666 --> 00:38:37,666
Looters down 
in the railroad depots

739
00:38:37,666 --> 00:38:39,833
are breaking 
into warehouses

740
00:38:39,833 --> 00:38:43,566
and set off munitions and blow 
themselves to kingdom come.

741
00:38:43,566 --> 00:38:46,466
Anybody who can 
get aboard a train

742
00:38:46,466 --> 00:38:49,700
is getting 
aboard a train, um...

743
00:38:49,700 --> 00:38:52,700
and it's one 
of those crazy things.

744
00:38:52,700 --> 00:38:55,833
State records 
are being put on board...

745
00:38:55,833 --> 00:38:59,066
but wounded Confederate 
soldiers are not.

746
00:38:59,066 --> 00:39:01,133
People who 
have money

747
00:39:01,133 --> 00:39:04,133
are trying to bribe 
their way on board.

748
00:39:04,133 --> 00:39:07,466
All of the veneer 
of civilization

749
00:39:07,466 --> 00:39:09,866
has almost totally disappeared 
from Columbia.

750
00:39:09,866 --> 00:39:12,033
It's every man and woman 
for himself, just about.

751
00:39:12,033 --> 00:39:14,100
David> There were fires that had 
been burning

752
00:39:14,100 --> 00:39:15,400
in Columbia at the time.

753
00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:17,400
Cotton had been 
set afire.

754
00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:20,400
Certain warehouses were 
just stocked full of cotton,

755
00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:23,466
and those bales had been 
pulled out in the street.

756
00:39:23,466 --> 00:39:27,066
This was the South's most 
important, expensive commodity.

757
00:39:27,066 --> 00:39:29,266
They were destroying it 
so it couldn't fall

758
00:39:29,266 --> 00:39:30,633
into Northern hands.

759
00:39:30,633 --> 00:39:34,666
He probably saw a lot 
of smoke, panicked civilians,

760
00:39:34,666 --> 00:39:37,700
and the effect of, uh... 
artillery fire.

761
00:39:37,700 --> 00:39:40,533
narrator> 
On February 17, 1865,

762
00:39:40,533 --> 00:39:44,100
at the intersection 
of present-day Beaufort Street

763
00:39:44,100 --> 00:39:45,366
and River Drive,

764
00:39:45,366 --> 00:39:48,066
city officials 
surrendered Columbia.

765
00:39:48,066 --> 00:39:49,733
As Union soldiers 
entered the city,

766
00:39:49,733 --> 00:39:52,733
they saw burning cotton 
bales in the streets

767
00:39:52,733 --> 00:39:54,733
that had been 
set afire

768
00:39:54,733 --> 00:39:57,366
the night before 
by the departing Rebels.

769
00:39:57,366 --> 00:39:59,366
Sherman's men rushed 
the Statehouse

770
00:39:59,366 --> 00:40:02,366
to plant the United States 
flag on top of the building.

771
00:40:02,366 --> 00:40:03,700
All along 
the grounds,

772
00:40:03,700 --> 00:40:06,433
the soldiers destroyed 
construction supplies,

773
00:40:06,433 --> 00:40:09,433
and they gutted 
the interior of the structure.

774
00:40:09,433 --> 00:40:12,300
This monument, located today 
on the west grounds,

775
00:40:12,300 --> 00:40:13,700
of the statehouse

776
00:40:13,700 --> 00:40:17,133
had some of its leaves 
knocked off by the soldiers.

777
00:40:17,133 --> 00:40:18,300
Other damage 
still evident

778
00:40:18,300 --> 00:40:21,166
is the cane of 
the George Washington statue

779
00:40:21,166 --> 00:40:23,100
in front 
of the Statehouse.

780
00:40:23,100 --> 00:40:25,366
Sherman's men 
broke it in half.

781
00:40:25,366 --> 00:40:26,633
Dr. Edgar> When Sherman entered 
the city,

782
00:40:26,633 --> 00:40:29,466
there was a fierce wind blowing.

783
00:40:29,466 --> 00:40:31,466
Um....

784
00:40:31,466 --> 00:40:34,100
It was a very gusty 
February day,

785
00:40:34,100 --> 00:40:36,233
and there are 
reports--

786
00:40:36,233 --> 00:40:39,233
in fact, 
there is an old engraving

787
00:40:39,233 --> 00:40:43,900
from one of the newsmagazines 
of the day showing the trees.

788
00:40:43,900 --> 00:40:46,200
The trees look like, 
it looks like a snowstorm.

789
00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:48,633
This is supposed 
to represent

790
00:40:48,633 --> 00:40:51,800
the cotton 
that was floating around.

791
00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:55,466
The wind continued 
to blow very fiercely.

792
00:40:55,466 --> 00:40:58,266
In fact, 
it picked up about dusk,

793
00:40:58,266 --> 00:41:01,333
and until about 3:00 
in the morning

794
00:41:01,333 --> 00:41:04,633
on February 18, 1865,

795
00:41:04,633 --> 00:41:07,533
the wind was 
rather ferocious.

796
00:41:07,533 --> 00:41:10,333
Once the city 
did catch fire,

797
00:41:10,333 --> 00:41:12,600
the fire was spread 
very rapidly

798
00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:17,033
by burning debris that was 
just blown all over town.

799
00:41:17,033 --> 00:41:20,800
Thavolvia> Then the situation 
got completely out of hand.

800
00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:26,033
Sherman gave orders at 
various points to commanders

801
00:41:26,033 --> 00:41:28,666
to assist in 
putting out the fires,

802
00:41:28,666 --> 00:41:30,933
but then there 
were soldiers everywhere

803
00:41:30,933 --> 00:41:33,566
who were helping 
to start  more  fire.

804
00:41:33,566 --> 00:41:43,566
[fire crackling 
and wind whistling]

805
00:41:43,566 --> 00:41:53,566
[fire crackling 
and wind whistling]

806
00:41:53,566 --> 00:42:03,633
[fire crackling 
and wind whistling]

807
00:42:03,633 --> 00:42:13,633
[fire crackling 
and wind whistling]

808
00:42:13,633 --> 00:42:23,566
[fire crackling 
and wind whistling]

809
00:42:23,566 --> 00:42:33,566
[fire crackling 
and wind whistling]

810
00:42:33,566 --> 00:42:36,933
narrator> By the time 
the fire was put out,

811
00:42:36,933 --> 00:42:39,400
one third of Columbia 
lay in ruins.

812
00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:42,400
Every building 
on both sides of Main Street

813
00:42:42,400 --> 00:42:44,666
from Elmwood Avenue 
to Gervais Street

814
00:42:44,666 --> 00:42:47,133
was severely damaged 
or totally destroyed.

815
00:42:47,133 --> 00:42:50,500
David> So if it was 
a factory or a mill,

816
00:42:50,500 --> 00:42:53,500
a train station, 
anything of that sort,

817
00:42:53,500 --> 00:42:56,600
a government building, 
a courthouse...

818
00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:58,866
if it was 
a government building

819
00:42:58,866 --> 00:43:02,666
or if it was a civilian 
or privately-owned building

820
00:43:02,666 --> 00:43:04,933
which could render 
something of use

821
00:43:04,933 --> 00:43:07,433
to the Confederate 
war effort,

822
00:43:07,433 --> 00:43:11,400
it was regarded 
as, um...

823
00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:14,400
dispensable 
and should be destroyed.

824
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:16,833
narrator> As the population 
came to Sherman

825
00:43:16,833 --> 00:43:18,500
to ask for assistance,

826
00:43:18,500 --> 00:43:21,133
he was not sympathetic 
to their needs.

827
00:43:21,133 --> 00:43:22,900
Dr. Edgar> 
Some Columbians, thinking

828
00:43:22,900 --> 00:43:25,333
to pacify their conquerors,

829
00:43:25,333 --> 00:43:27,833
broke into the 
Confederate warehouses

830
00:43:27,833 --> 00:43:30,833
and brought out the supplies 
of medicinal whiskey.

831
00:43:30,833 --> 00:43:33,833
Now, we're not talking 
about 80-proof stuff.

832
00:43:33,833 --> 00:43:36,833
We're talking about good, 
old-fashioned corn liquor

833
00:43:36,833 --> 00:43:40,933
that would take the paint 
off the side of a house.

834
00:43:40,933 --> 00:43:44,300
And they ladled this out 
to incoming Union soldiers,

835
00:43:44,300 --> 00:43:47,666
many of whom 
had not slept for 48 hours,

836
00:43:47,666 --> 00:43:51,033
most of whom 
had not eaten for 48 hours.

837
00:43:51,033 --> 00:43:54,033
So you've got young soldiers 
on empty stomachs

838
00:43:54,033 --> 00:43:56,966
being given 
100-proof-plus whiskey,

839
00:43:56,966 --> 00:44:00,333
and it's no wonder 
that within a few hours

840
00:44:00,333 --> 00:44:02,933
they were 
a drunken...mob.

841
00:44:02,933 --> 00:44:05,566
narrator> Sherman and his troops 
departed Columbia

842
00:44:05,566 --> 00:44:08,400
less than 48 hours 
after their arrival.

843
00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:10,400
Photos taken 
after the fire

844
00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:12,666
show the magnitude 
of the destruction.

845
00:44:12,666 --> 00:44:15,300
Comparing the pictures 
with scenes of today,

846
00:44:15,300 --> 00:44:20,166
one can truly say that Columbia 
grew up and out of the ashes.

847
00:44:20,166 --> 00:44:24,933
[acoustic guitar music] 
♪

848
00:44:24,933 --> 00:44:28,300
♪ Rifle balls 
came buzzin' hot ♪

849
00:44:28,300 --> 00:44:31,666
♪ through the bushes 
and tall pine trees, ♪

850
00:44:31,666 --> 00:44:35,400
♪ like the skeeters 
on a hot summer night ♪

851
00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:39,133
♪ when there ain't 
no trace of a breeze. ♪

852
00:44:39,133 --> 00:44:42,133
♪ Back and forth, 
brave Hampton rode, ♪

853
00:44:42,133 --> 00:44:45,866
♪ sayin', "Boys, you 
got to hold them lines." ♪

854
00:44:45,866 --> 00:44:49,233
♪ "You mean ours or theirs?" 
Billy grinned, ♪

855
00:44:49,233 --> 00:44:52,966
♪ as we fell back 
through the pines. ♪

856
00:44:52,966 --> 00:44:59,800
♪ I heard a rebel yell become 
a brave lad's dyin' screams. ♪

857
00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:03,566
♪ Billy clutched his chest, 
grabbed my arm, ♪

858
00:45:03,566 --> 00:45:08,933
♪ and fell down 
on his kneeeeeesss.... ♪

859
00:45:08,933 --> 00:45:15,100
♪

860
00:45:15,100 --> 00:45:21,266
♪

861
00:45:21,266 --> 00:45:24,933
♪ The faces lit 
by a bright orange glow ♪

862
00:45:24,933 --> 00:45:28,100
♪ that filled 
the empty sky. ♪

863
00:45:28,100 --> 00:45:31,533
♪ That night I held 
poor Billy close. ♪

864
00:45:31,533 --> 00:45:34,833
♪ He whispered 
as he died, ♪

865
00:45:34,833 --> 00:45:38,200
♪ "We was with Longstreet 
at Antietam Creek, ♪

866
00:45:38,200 --> 00:45:41,566
♪ "rode to hell and back 
with Hood. ♪

867
00:45:41,566 --> 00:45:44,566
♪ "Never dreamed 
I'd see the Congaree ♪

868
00:45:44,566 --> 00:45:47,733
♪ "run red 
with Bratton blood. ♪

869
00:45:47,733 --> 00:45:51,233
♪ "Thirty miles away 
in Camden town, ♪

870
00:45:51,233 --> 00:45:53,733
♪ my Lucy 
waits alone." ♪

871
00:45:53,733 --> 00:45:57,833
♪ As he died, he chewed 
and spat and smiled ♪

872
00:45:57,833 --> 00:46:00,100
♪ and said... ♪

873
00:46:00,100 --> 00:46:04,766
[without guitar music] 
"Lord...I was almost...home."

874
00:46:04,766 --> 00:46:06,766
[no audio]

875
00:46:06,766 --> 00:46:10,500
♪ And all the tears 
wept a-through the years ♪

876
00:46:10,500 --> 00:46:13,133
♪ by the dyin' 
Rebel lads ♪

877
00:46:13,133 --> 00:46:16,133
♪ couldn't quencher 
the fire of hate ♪

878
00:46:16,133 --> 00:46:20,366
♪ in the heart 
of that single Yankee man. ♪

879
00:46:20,366 --> 00:46:23,233
♪ Demons danced... 
Satan pranced. ♪

880
00:46:23,233 --> 00:46:30,466
♪ They say Sherman 
was his naaaa...ame. ♪

881
00:46:30,466 --> 00:46:37,233
♪ The night the devil fiddled 
in South Carolina, ♪

882
00:46:37,233 --> 00:46:44,366
♪ while Columbia 
went up in flaaames.... ♪♪

883
00:46:44,366 --> 00:46:46,933
♪

884
00:46:46,933 --> 00:46:50,500
Dr. Edgar> In fact, I think one 
of the most gripping stories

885
00:46:50,500 --> 00:46:53,566
is that of 
Dr. Robert Wilson Gibbes,

886
00:46:53,566 --> 00:46:57,433
whose house was 
up on Taylor Street.

887
00:46:57,433 --> 00:47:00,066
About midnight, 
somebody broke into his house,

888
00:47:00,066 --> 00:47:02,133
a drunken 
Union soldier,

889
00:47:02,133 --> 00:47:05,500
and said, "A blue belly 
and a sulfur match

890
00:47:05,500 --> 00:47:08,866
are unwelcome guests 
on a dark and windy night,"

891
00:47:08,866 --> 00:47:13,366
proceeded to rough him up 
and set fire to his house.

892
00:47:13,366 --> 00:47:15,866
This happened 
on other occasions.

893
00:47:15,866 --> 00:47:18,366
There are firsthand 
accounts of it.

894
00:47:18,366 --> 00:47:20,366
There are also 
firsthand accounts

895
00:47:20,366 --> 00:47:23,300
of Union soldiers 
protecting civilian property,

896
00:47:23,300 --> 00:47:27,666
and, for example, the University 
of South Carolina survived

897
00:47:27,666 --> 00:47:29,666
because Union soldiers 
got up on the roofs

898
00:47:29,666 --> 00:47:32,266
and, along with 
the university faculty,

899
00:47:32,266 --> 00:47:35,066
helped keep 
the roofs from going up.

900
00:47:35,066 --> 00:47:37,466
narrator> A question which 
still evokes

901
00:47:37,466 --> 00:47:39,533
a wide range of debate is,

902
00:47:39,533 --> 00:47:42,000
Who was responsible 
for the burning of Columbia?

903
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:46,566
>> If you read accounts 
from Southerners,

904
00:47:46,566 --> 00:47:49,733
they point the finger 
at the Federal Army.

905
00:47:49,733 --> 00:47:53,133
If you read accounts 
from Sherman's officers,

906
00:47:53,133 --> 00:47:55,066
they say that the majority 
of the fires

907
00:47:55,066 --> 00:47:56,533
were started 
by the Confederates

908
00:47:56,533 --> 00:47:59,200
in their haste 
to get out of the city.

909
00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:02,033
I would say regardless 
of who was responsible

910
00:48:02,033 --> 00:48:03,766
for starting the fires,

911
00:48:03,766 --> 00:48:05,766
Sherman did 
absolutely nothing

912
00:48:05,766 --> 00:48:08,400
to  stop  the fires 
once they began.

913
00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:11,566
As a result, large portions 
of the city were burned down

914
00:48:11,566 --> 00:48:12,866
before the fires went out.

915
00:48:12,866 --> 00:48:15,133
Dr. Edgar> I'm not sure 
we will  ever  know

916
00:48:15,133 --> 00:48:17,966
who really and truly 
burned Columbia.

917
00:48:17,966 --> 00:48:20,933
We know who burned 
some specific buildings.

918
00:48:20,933 --> 00:48:23,566
The one thing 
that everybody agrees on,

919
00:48:23,566 --> 00:48:26,566
whether it's a Confederate 
account or Union account,

920
00:48:26,566 --> 00:48:29,033
and that is the fierce 
wind that was blowing.

921
00:48:31,166 --> 00:48:33,100
There was no way 
to stop the fire

922
00:48:33,100 --> 00:48:35,966
as long as the wind 
was blowing.

923
00:48:37,733 --> 00:48:39,666
Columbia's primitive 
fire department

924
00:48:39,666 --> 00:48:41,933
was hindered by 
the drunken soldiers.

925
00:48:41,933 --> 00:48:43,500
Fire hoses 
were cut.

926
00:48:43,500 --> 00:48:45,733
Even if they hadn't, they 
couldn't have made much headway.

927
00:48:45,733 --> 00:48:49,066
>> Sherman never intended 
to burn Columbia,

928
00:48:49,066 --> 00:48:53,366
but when things got out of hand 
and the city caught fire,

929
00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:57,333
he didn't lift 
one finger to stop it.

930
00:48:57,333 --> 00:48:59,600
narrator> April 9, 1865,

931
00:48:59,600 --> 00:49:02,100
Lee surrendered 
to Grant in Virginia,

932
00:49:02,100 --> 00:49:05,266
for all practical purposes 
ending the Civil War.

933
00:49:05,266 --> 00:49:07,900
A few days later 
in North Carolina,

934
00:49:07,900 --> 00:49:11,266
Sherman's march through 
the South came to a close.

935
00:49:11,266 --> 00:49:14,266
Thavolvia> The destruction in 
Georgia was immense,

936
00:49:14,266 --> 00:49:16,933
but it did not compare 
in intensity

937
00:49:16,933 --> 00:49:19,900
to the destruction 
in South Carolina.

938
00:49:19,900 --> 00:49:22,833
When Sherman moved 
out of South Carolina

939
00:49:22,833 --> 00:49:25,933
into North Carolina, 
the plundering stopped.

940
00:49:25,933 --> 00:49:28,433
narrator> As far as the North 
was concerned,

941
00:49:28,433 --> 00:49:31,200
Sherman's march 
was a major success.

942
00:49:31,200 --> 00:49:33,366
Success  was not 
a word used to describe

943
00:49:33,366 --> 00:49:35,800
Sherman in the years 
prior to the war.

944
00:49:35,800 --> 00:49:38,433
Dennis> Like many others, 
he left the army

945
00:49:38,433 --> 00:49:41,066
and pursued other occupations 
in civilian life.

946
00:49:41,066 --> 00:49:43,900
Tried to become a banker 
and failed at that.

947
00:49:43,900 --> 00:49:47,800
Tried to become a lawyer 
and failed there also.

948
00:49:47,800 --> 00:49:53,666
So when the war broke out, 
Sherman was a...

949
00:49:53,666 --> 00:49:57,300
the head of a railcar company 
in Saint Louis.

950
00:49:57,300 --> 00:50:01,666
He participated 
in the battle of Bull Run

951
00:50:01,666 --> 00:50:04,400
and did as miserably as 
the rest of the Federal Army.

952
00:50:04,400 --> 00:50:07,033
His brigade was driven 
from the battlefield.

953
00:50:07,033 --> 00:50:10,766
There was a part of Sherman 
that was a workaholic.

954
00:50:10,766 --> 00:50:14,133
He was very much 
of a type A personality.

955
00:50:14,133 --> 00:50:18,700
In his preparations when 
he was assigned to a, uh...

956
00:50:18,700 --> 00:50:20,700
duty in Kentucky,

957
00:50:20,700 --> 00:50:22,733
he literally 
worked himself

958
00:50:22,733 --> 00:50:25,866
into a frenzy, 
a nervous breakdown.

959
00:50:25,866 --> 00:50:29,466
narrator> Later Sherman joined 
Grant's campaign.

960
00:50:29,466 --> 00:50:32,066
It was during the long battle 
for Vicksburg,

961
00:50:32,066 --> 00:50:33,700
that Sherman learned 
from Grant

962
00:50:33,700 --> 00:50:35,700
a maneuver he would use 
during his march.

963
00:50:35,700 --> 00:50:38,666
Thavolvia> Grant's success in 
orchestrating

964
00:50:38,666 --> 00:50:40,266
the Union victory at Vicksburg,

965
00:50:40,266 --> 00:50:45,266
which entailed breaking loose 
from his supply lines--

966
00:50:45,266 --> 00:50:50,100
those two things would 
remain  fixed  in his mind

967
00:50:50,100 --> 00:50:55,000
when he gets to Atlanta 
and in his decision

968
00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:58,033
to cut loose from his 
supply lines from Atlanta,

969
00:50:58,033 --> 00:50:59,800
moving to Savannah.

970
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:02,233
narrator> The conflict which 
exists today

971
00:51:02,233 --> 00:51:03,600
between the public's 
need to know

972
00:51:03,600 --> 00:51:07,400
versus the armed forces need 
for military secrecy

973
00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:09,666
dates back 
to the Civil War.

974
00:51:09,666 --> 00:51:11,433
All during the march, 
the press was kept

975
00:51:11,433 --> 00:51:13,433
at arm's length from Sherman.

976
00:51:13,433 --> 00:51:16,500
Dennis> Sherman did not 
enjoy good press.

977
00:51:16,500 --> 00:51:17,966
When he suffered 
a nervous breakdown,

978
00:51:17,966 --> 00:51:20,966
the reporters reported 
that he was a crazy man,

979
00:51:20,966 --> 00:51:24,300
or, if he wasn't, he  should be 
locked away in an asylum,

980
00:51:24,300 --> 00:51:26,766
while he had suffered 
this nervous breakdown.

981
00:51:26,766 --> 00:51:31,766
Sherman had all the journalists 
thrown out of his camp.

982
00:51:31,766 --> 00:51:34,400
He said that they were 
publishing information

983
00:51:34,400 --> 00:51:37,400
that would be of use 
to the enemy.

984
00:51:37,400 --> 00:51:39,566
So as much 
as possible,

985
00:51:39,566 --> 00:51:43,733
Sherman controlled information 
that journalists wrote.

986
00:51:43,733 --> 00:51:46,400
Frankly, he preferred 
that there would not be

987
00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:47,833
any information whatever.

988
00:51:47,833 --> 00:51:50,666
He considered the, uh... 
the journalists

989
00:51:50,666 --> 00:51:53,666
to be almost 
in league with the enemy

990
00:51:53,666 --> 00:51:56,200
because, inadvertently, 
they supplied them

991
00:51:56,200 --> 00:51:58,833
with valuable 
military intelligence.

992
00:51:58,833 --> 00:52:01,566
So he hated 
and  despised  them.

993
00:52:01,566 --> 00:52:04,233
narrator> Perhaps key to the 
success of Sherman's march,

994
00:52:04,233 --> 00:52:05,633
despite his early failures,

995
00:52:05,633 --> 00:52:07,833
was the fact he had lived 
in the South

996
00:52:07,833 --> 00:52:10,266
during the years 
leading up to war.

997
00:52:10,266 --> 00:52:12,133
Dennis> Sherman was one 
of the few who realized

998
00:52:12,133 --> 00:52:17,400
that this would be a  long, 
costly, and bloody war.

999
00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:19,300
He knew 
the Southerners best,

1000
00:52:19,300 --> 00:52:23,800
having, uh...served 
in the South prior to the war.

1001
00:52:23,800 --> 00:52:25,800
He knew 
the Southern people.

1002
00:52:25,800 --> 00:52:27,666
Dr. Edgar> He had been president 
of what eventually

1003
00:52:27,666 --> 00:52:30,700
would become LSU.

1004
00:52:30,700 --> 00:52:35,600
So he had a lot of knowledge 
and experience in the South.

1005
00:52:35,600 --> 00:52:38,366
Thavolvia> He was convinced 
that Southerners had--

1006
00:52:38,366 --> 00:52:42,200
or at least they were 
deluded in their belief

1007
00:52:42,200 --> 00:52:48,466
that the Northern public 
was, um...

1008
00:52:48,466 --> 00:52:52,200
determined to, to... 
destroy slavery

1009
00:52:52,200 --> 00:52:55,566
and that they were also 
deluded in their belief

1010
00:52:55,566 --> 00:52:59,666
that the North would let 
the South go without a fight.

1011
00:52:59,666 --> 00:53:02,500
narrator> Following the war, 
Sherman was given command

1012
00:53:02,500 --> 00:53:05,266
of the Army's activities 
on the western frontier.

1013
00:53:05,266 --> 00:53:08,266
In 1869, he became 
general of the Army

1014
00:53:08,266 --> 00:53:10,266
upon Grant's election 
as President.

1015
00:53:10,266 --> 00:53:12,266
Despite 
strong support,

1016
00:53:12,266 --> 00:53:15,933
Sherman declined to run 
for President in 1884.

1017
00:53:15,933 --> 00:53:18,433
He died 
in February 1891.

1018
00:53:18,433 --> 00:53:23,200
[lively bluegrass music] 
♪

1019
00:53:23,200 --> 00:53:32,266
♪

1020
00:53:32,266 --> 00:53:41,333
♪

1021
00:53:41,333 --> 00:53:50,400
♪

1022
00:53:50,400 --> 00:53:59,466
♪

1023
00:53:59,466 --> 00:54:08,600
♪

1024
00:54:08,600 --> 00:54:19,333
♪

1025
00:54:19,333 --> 00:54:20,500
narrator> 
Total monetary damage

1026
00:54:20,500 --> 00:54:22,233
done by Sherman's troops 
during the march

1027
00:54:22,233 --> 00:54:25,600
is estimated in the hundreds 
of millions of dollars...

1028
00:54:25,600 --> 00:54:28,766
billions by 
today's values.

1029
00:54:28,766 --> 00:54:30,733
But perhaps 
the greatest destruction

1030
00:54:30,733 --> 00:54:32,966
to the people 
in the path of the march

1031
00:54:32,966 --> 00:54:35,700
was not physical, 
but emotional.

1032
00:54:35,700 --> 00:54:37,566
Dr. Edgar> Sherman and Grant, 
but particularly Sherman,

1033
00:54:37,566 --> 00:54:41,500
were practicing what today 
we would call a "total war."

1034
00:54:41,500 --> 00:54:45,233
And his march to the sea 
and through the Carolinas

1035
00:54:45,233 --> 00:54:49,900
is a very good 
example of how...

1036
00:54:49,900 --> 00:54:55,066
modern military planners 
look at the total picture.

1037
00:54:55,066 --> 00:54:57,000
They don't just 
deal with the army.

1038
00:54:57,000 --> 00:54:59,266
They deal with the support, 
with the home front.

1039
00:54:59,266 --> 00:55:02,766
The object is to bring 
the war to a conclusion

1040
00:55:02,766 --> 00:55:04,166
as quickly 
as possible.

1041
00:55:04,166 --> 00:55:08,466
If it means attacking the home 
front, the civilian population,

1042
00:55:08,466 --> 00:55:11,733
depriving them of food, 
transportation, housing,

1043
00:55:11,733 --> 00:55:15,000
what have you... 
you do it.

1044
00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:17,366
The idea is to reduce 
your casualties.

1045
00:55:17,366 --> 00:55:20,433
If the enemy suffers, 
that's too bad...he's the enemy.

1046
00:55:20,433 --> 00:55:28,500
♪ 
[poignant bluegrass music]

1047
00:55:28,500 --> 00:55:34,500
♪ 
♪

1048
00:55:34,500 --> 00:55:43,633
♪

1049
00:55:43,633 --> 00:55:52,766
♪

1050
00:55:52,766 --> 00:56:01,966
♪

1051
00:56:01,966 --> 00:56:11,100
♪

1052
00:56:11,100 --> 00:56:20,233
♪

1053
00:56:20,233 --> 00:56:29,300
♪

1054
00:56:29,300 --> 00:56:38,433
♪

1055
00:56:38,433 --> 00:56:47,566
♪

1056
00:56:47,566 --> 00:56:51,566
(music fades)