”Into the Belly of the Beast” - General Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign (1863)

[@anthonygriffin1936]

In Sherman's memoir, he recalled a conversation with several women from a girl's school in Columbia who asked him why he permitted the burning of their city. Sherman replied he did not burn their city. He told them "your husbands, brothers, sons and uncles lit the flames when they fired on Fort Sumpter, and the flames finally reached Columbia." A classic Sherman response.

[@patjacksonpodium]

Uncle Billy possessing both Truth Bombs AND The Audacity 😂 What an ultimate badass 🔥🔥🔥

[@SuperMatt352]

@@patjacksonpodiumterrorizing widows and orphans is badass?

[@pjmlegrande]

@@SuperMatt352 Atrocities were perpetrated by both sides. The confederates were quite adept at guerrilla warfare, which they waged to terrorize Union supporting civilian populations in Missouri and Kentucky. Some of those guerrilla bands didn’t hesitate to burn, pillage, kill and occasionally rape. As Sherman pointed out, war is hell and the aim of his much more comprehensive campaigns was to bring the war to a quicker end. He accomplished that purpose.

[@desertdetroiter428]

@@SuperMatt352 “widows and orphans?” Seriously?

[@Bramann1970]

@@SuperMatt352you at home watching Rocky getting geeked up for a second try at sedition?

[@eoin79]

Viewer from Ireland here. Knew very little about the American Civil War until a family member moved to Savannah and I became a regular visitor there. Have been fascinated by the history of the region, and the character of General Sherman in particular, ever since. Thank you so much for these videos, I find them hugely educational.

[@WesleyAnderson]

Do you know why the Union won??? They had enough Irishmen to do the job❤

[@waynelayton8568]

Sherman wasn't a very kind man. He suffered from mental issues. It's well documented

[@Conn30Mtenor]

The USCW is one of the most interesting conflicts in human history.

[@alejandrobetancourt8123]

Most people have mental issues. This was the 19th century, the amount of undiagnosed mental illness was everywhere

[@patjacksonpodium]

You've got some fine pedigree to look into as far as Irish soldiers in the ACW goes. The Irish Brigade was EVERYWHERE in the Eastern theater, and were total badasses. Saw heavy involvement at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, among many others. Took the third highest number of dead of the war on the Union side, only after the Old Vermont and Iron Brigade. Even the South had some notable Irishmen, the most famous being Patrick Cleburne, if you didn't already know, who was arguably the best Division commander they had. He even advocated freeing the slaves to get more soldiers for their side and to take away a major reason for the Union to be fighting post Emancipation Proclamation, but that was predictably shot down in horror by the higher ups. Kind of ruined his prospects for advancement too because that did NOT net him many friends among his superiors. He was killed at Franklin along with 5 other Confederate Generals that day. Interesting guy.

[@shark180]

I am so glad I found this channel. It reminds me of the lectures that my High-School teacher, Mr. Dave Finney gave. There is so much passion behind these videos, and it makes me glad to be a member.

[@evilstorm5954]

Sherman shows Grants greatness. Out ranking Grant, but knowing Grant would be better at the overall task Sherman shows his greatness. Then Grant reciprocated by putting Sherman in charge without oversight and Sherman achieved what he did. A great team, that’s what ended the war.

[@mitchellhawkes22]

Grant had the tougher, grungier job -- up against hunkered down Lee. But Sherman's great war of movement over 11 months has rarely been matched in history.

[@evilstorm5954]

@ Sherman was chosen by Grant to do this, no one else. Grant faced the main force and the only man he trusted to run the second front, on his own with Grants full trust was Sherman.

[@neoneyes3913]

You guys are my favorite channel on KZbin! Thank you for making such wonderful content.

[@johngalt11-22]

Totally agree. Fairly and eloquently covered.

[@zeferage2430]

I can say this, your program is better then anything the history Channel or any other modern media produces, thank you for the effort you put forth.

[@effieborchert985]

Thank you for all of the time and work you all put in to each of these episodes. My daughter and I love to listen to these and often just have them playing in the background during the day. The storytelling is always on point; the KZbin videos add another level.

[@karlmoles6530]

I am so grateful and glad you made a documentary about this. This part of the war is never covered.

[@jackmessick2869]

Thanks for covering a little talked about period. Most give up after Atlanta and go straight to the surrenders. Total War is so brutal.

[@alanaadams7440]

War is hell, you cannot reform it.....Sherman

[@CreatorInTrng]

The best History lesson - better than the books and lectures even at University. (However, to be said, I was able to read at University replicated source material that simply blows the mind.) I think the research, the voice, the cadence of the voice, the pauses and emphasis rightly placed brings the Story home in the Mind and Imagination. As a retiree my means are constrained monetarily. Thank you.

[@gene108]

On the pioneers that helped Sherman through the swamps of the Carolinas, many were slaves who ran to join Sherman’s army. They knew the area, knew what trees to use to build the corded roads, how to build them, and also worked as cooks, teamsters, etc. for Sherman’s army. Sherman’s March to the Sea and Carolinas campaign emancipated thousands of slaves. His Order 15 allocated 40 acres to freed slave families along a strip 30 miles inland along the route of his march, with unneeded Union draft animals (like mules) to be given after the end of the war. The “40 acres and a mule” didn’t last. Many of the former slaves got to march through Washington D.C. at the rear of Sherman’s army, in the grand parade of Union troops after the war’s end.

[@mariocisneros911]

Your talks are enthusiastically received. I find your monolog alive . Thank you.

[@jackmessick2869]

Thanks!

[@ThreadsfromtheNationalTapestry]

Thank you for watching!

[@davidlett3338]

Y'all do amazing work. Thank you so much for your dedication, passionate interest, and insight. Beautiful presentations and thoughtful insight of the most important aspects of the American Civil War.👍👍

[@DamonNomad82]

My 3rd great-grandfather took part in the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman's March to the Sea, and the Carolinas Campaign. He was with the 57th Illinois Infantry.

[@JoesWildlifeAdventures]

This is superb series and this episode my favorite! In my view, Sherman’s campaign from Atlanta through to the final Confederate surrender is one of the greatest campaigns in military history. His Army quite literally broke the back and spirit of the Confederacy and he did so while being very stingy with the lives of his men. He engaged in direct combat only when necessary, using maneuver and his keen sense of terrain and logistics to continually out maneuver and out think his opponents. Sherman’s Carolina campaign was a master class in maneuver warfare.

[@lorinpatterson7511]

Terrific video! One of the best channels out there for sure!

[@mitchellhawkes22]

What a team, Grant and Sherman. Grant had the tougher, grungier job -- up against hunkered down Lee. But Sherman's great war of movement over 11 months has rarely been matched in history. And much of it was accomplished in winter, when armies usually rest and refit.

[@royallen2624]

This account as narrated, would make a awesome mini, TV series.

[@JohnnySmithWhite-wd4ey]

You guys always do an outstanding job telling the story of the Civil War.

[@CM-sn4rn]

Thank you!! This made my weekend

[@EricHughes-z4y]

I have never heard about this part of the campaign .Very interesting,thank you❤

[@goosegander7712]

Love this channel

[@jon9021]

Another superb episode…

[@Thoreau-e4l]

SC here again, we have recovered just fine.

[@matthewlankford6533]

I love this channel I watch these videos on loop.

[@sydhendrix4853]

Great video, thank you guys

[@patjacksonpodium]

In this episode, the Carolinas enter their "Find Out" Phase. 🔥😎🔥

[@martymcpeak4748]

yep, what a great way to describe women and children dying in a war they had nothing to do with. they really found out didn't they?

[@patjacksonpodium]

@martymcpeak4748 Man, are you dramatic. You're talking about it like Sherman was personally sending people to the gallows in a conga line. It's a sad fact that civilians die in wars, especially in civil wars where the fighting happens where people generally live. Nobody is saying that's not terrible, because it is. But it happens. But it doesn't make the leaders of those armies some terrorist monsters. I'm not calling Robert E Lee a monster because civilians died when he invaded the North, the same way I don't think that way about Sherman. Neither one of those men ordered the deaths of "women and children," because they weren't villains in a Die Hard movie. The way I see it, Sherman did his job. And his job was to end the war. And when ending a war, you can't ask nicely. That doesn't usually work. That's why war is terrible and shouldn't be a thing that exists. Maybe the South should have thought about that before they started the damn thing.

[@jeffmilroy9345]

@@patjacksonpodium Maybe Lincoln should have considered what forcing the start by provisioning Sumter would mean (700,000 dead) ; and, the north should have considered what winning by scorched earth warfare would mean (destruction of half the country's states - leaving the freed slave in hostile territory penniless and thereby eventually the great migration). The freed slave deserved a stake in the land they toiled on. Not a stick in the eye. That would only come through farm mechanization and grass roots abolition support - not at gunpoint.

[@jeffro4kag206]

​@martymcpeak4748 Are you OK? I mean really, are you alright? Do you need a kitty to pet or something?

[@jeffmilroy9345]

@@jeffro4kag206 Thats a good one! I dont know about the Carolinas but Shenandoah Valley Union sympathizers could have used a kitty to pet when Sheridan started swinging his torches...

[@Carl-b3h1t]

Thank you for such an entertaining and accurate episode of our history. Sherman denigrated his own tactical skills, but as a strategist he was unsurpassed. He was one of the very few who foresaw the war ahead: at a dinner party before the war, a French doctor recorded him as remarking, "...where are your men and appliances to contend against them? The North can make a steam engine, locomotive or railway car. Scarcely a yard of cloth or a pair of shoes can you make.. Only in your passion are prepared for war. In all else are you completely unprepared, with a bad cause to start with." (more or less)

[@jeffmilroy9345]

No cotton no cloth. Did Sherman and his men wear clothes? Most likely Berkshire Hathaway was getting filthy rich cranking out textiles for Sherman's very underwear.

[@Conn30Mtenor]

Sherman told the politicians that the war would be long and bloody and was forcibly retired under a cloud. Then brought back when they decided that he wasnt nuts after all.

[@ajknaup3530]

Not entirely sure one can simply blame South Carolina for The War Between The States.

[@gene108]

I’m about 5:30 into this video, but Sherman’s March to the Sea and the Carolina campaign was to prevent Joseph E. Johnston’s army that withdrew from Atlanta to reinforce Lee in Virginia. If Sherman had waited, after the fall of Atlanta, to properly resupply his troops for the march to Savannah, as was normal procedure, Johnston would have been able to move his army by boat quickly to Virginia, reinforcing Lee and prolonging the war. Sherman decided and got approval to pursue Johnston, with minimal supplies, by having his troops “live off the land”, ie pillage what food they needed from the locals in their path. The secondary effect of the March to the Sea was to “bring the war home” to the South. The primary reason was to stop Johnston from reinforcing Lee. Carolinas campaign was to harass Johnston’s forces and prevent them from reinforcing Lee.

[@NewLifeDanville]

At least one church survived in Barnwell, SC. As a young pastor, my first church was in Hilda, SC, a tiny town less than 10 miles from Barnwell. I'm a Chicago native, and the Civil War did not hold a significant place in my psyche. But in that part of the country in 1989, it was (to my amazement) ever present. I was invited to speak at a church in Barnwell, built (I think) in 1842. When I arrived, the rector was showing me around, and pointed to broken flagstone he attributed to the horses Sherman's army had quartered there. He told me they used h he baptismal font to water the animals. I made the mistake of showing a history buff's excitement over that information. He quickly let me know that he, and his congregation, still took it personally.

[@KevinCharlesDavis]

Very fascinating. The Rebels knew the war was over (at least some of them), but they continued. All of that bloodshed for nothing. I do kinda feel sorry for the common people's homes being burnt or looted, but not the plantation owners.

[@Gwaithmir]

My last girlfriend was a beautiful black woman whose name was Georgia. She was not amused if anyone sang or hummed, "Marchin' Through Georgia," in her presence.

[@samanovic]

Hard not to argue that Sherman was not a war criminal, by either todays or contemporary standards. Waging war against civilians is always wrong. Lees conduct in the invasion of North was so much different.

[@jagsdomain203]

So much destruction has been put on Sherman even though he didn't do most of it is the stuff through the South Carolina campaign with that actually done

[@daviddavis7136]

he sure as hell don't mind, regardless of the goal, funny how Atlanta was on purpose but not Columbia

[@aaronmortimore8303]

Love your show

[@zhuting2795]

All these mentions of Blackjack Logan.... Any chance we'll get a full video on him? He's such a fascinating character, and it's such a shame he's pretty much forgotten these days. I grew up near his stomping grounds in Southern Illinois, and even there people know the name but not the man.

[@tomricketts7821]

This was great well done

[@tylerpetersen6226]

Am I the only one that thinks out of all the generals in the civil war Sherman was the greatest. He won the battle that secured Lincoln's reelection. Then cut his supply lines and used the recent census to plan an assault into enemy territory at a breakneck pace for the time only to emerge on the coast and reestablish his lines via the union navy. He had an understanding of logistics seldom seen in war.

[@williamwebster7325]

I love this channel you're my teammate 😂😊

[@Bluedevil82nd]

I appreciate the mention of Lt. Walsh. I visit his grave every April 13th. It was not a wise decision to fire at Kilpatrick's group. I understand why he was exexuted, but that story has always been bitter to me.

[@joearledge]

Glass half full.... you'll get to document the 2nd ACW or 2nd ARW in real time, likely alongside ww3..... So.... yay for historical times and all.... I love history, lived within 20 miles of a 1st ACW battlefield my whole life, from GA to NC. History is a lot more interesting when you're not square in the middle of it's writing..... Gotta get back to making preparations, keep up the good work guys!

[@andyzx9682]

first class !!

[@avenaoat]

1865! Sherman was under Grant near Mississippi and later in Tennessee (Chattanooga) in 1863.

[@tokinsloff312]

Simple mistake, easy fix. Replying to boost this comment.

[@juliehudson6539]

Outstanding video

[@desertdetroiter428]

Love General Sherman. This story warms my heart.

[@waynelayton8568]

Seriously? My family never thought to much of him or Lincoln

[@desertdetroiter428]

@ Sherman is the second greatest general in American history as far as I’m concerned after Grant. The man was a rock. He had balls, brains for days and his soldiers loved him. And as someone whose ancestors were slaves, I’m most certainly positively predisposed toward Union generals.

[@Matthew-rr4de]

​@@desertdetroiter428Union or Confederate...what would it matter in regards to the treatment of a civilian population of an entire region of a country? My ancestors were primarily Native American. Should I be predisposed to a genocidal mentality I'll person because of a particular uniform?

[@desertdetroiter428]

@@Matthew-rr4de that “entire region” was brutally enslaving 4 million people against their will. They routinely sexually assaulted the women, beat the men like dogs and broke up families…often selling children that were their own offspring. I’m actually supposed to care about the fate of such nihilists? Ehhhh…I’ll pass. If anything, Sherman was too lenient. I would’ve leveled every structure in South Carolina. My sympathies lay with the Union troops, period. That you’re a Native American is an experience that only you can speak to. I have no business telling you how to feel about anything. I have a right to my sympathies, and you have a right to yours. I’m anti-Confederacy…full stop.

[@pjmlegrande]

@@waynelayton8568Are you saying they would have preferred that the South were able to continue to enslave black people and export their slave economy to new territories of the U.S.? That, after all, was why the hot heads in the South, made up of the planter aristocracy and their paid for politicians, forced the issue of war on the North to begin with. The south began taking hostile actions first by seizing federal forts throughout the South and bombarding Fort Sumter. And please don’t bring up the “states’ rights” canard, a now discredited bunch of hooey. Sherman’s campaign was punitive, to be sure, but you can’t say that South Carolina didn’t have it coming. And, in any case, Sherman’s stated aim was to bring that horribly bloody and destructive war to a quicker resolution by literally bringing it home to the population that wildly supported it 4 years earlier. Thank God for Lincoln, Grant and Sherman. Without them, the U.S. might have turned out to be 2 separate nations, neither one of which would have become a world power a couple generations later.

[@alanaadams7440]

I don't believe any other General was prepared to do what Sherman did on his march to the sea

[@conradnelson5283]

This was different! I enjoyed it. Really needed a map though.

[@alanaadams7440]

Thank goodness Sherman had the fire and drive to do the march to the sea. I know the South hated Sherman he did what had to be done. He was 45 yrs old and then went to fight the Native Americans in the West

[@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw]

Longed for his childhood days relaxing in the long summers in good 'ole Kentuk

[@JackDavenport-e3j]

There is numerous earthworks where i live in colleton county s.c. also revolutionary works etc. have many artifacts ive picked up, dug up. etc.

[@phil20_20]

Apparently, the lead time that Sherman and the Union Army provided is running thin, and the Confederacy has comingled with the rest of the country. The future is less certain now than ever.

[@lestercrabtree1542]

If possible, I would like to hear about the experiences of the people on both sides who were held as prisoners of war.

[@eddielyles8930]

Have just found this channel in the last couple days, and appreciate the historical accuracy. Most always make the south ALWAYS the bad guys. I do wish though you'd covered the Battle of Aiken SC. I lived there for some time, and it's one of the only towns spared from Sherman's fiery rampage, as the Confederates held the Union off there.

[@johncordes7885]

From Rutledge, Calhoun, Truman to Lady Graham, uncle Tim and Mace

[@davidfowler4741]

A map or two for those unfamiliar with US geography would be helpful.

[@ChrisAnderson-ez4yk]

Fort Liberty. Your reference is a contemporary one.

[@jeffreycurtis4517]

My 3x great grandfather served in the 53rd Ohio Regiment and was in this campaign

[@edwardlowery6510]

put it simple it was madness

[@edwardlowery6510]

it’s a good thing Sherman ,grant and Sheridan were level headed

[@amyreynolds3619]

This General is still hated in South Carolina. There is still materials that his troops in South Carolina today.

[@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw]

Need to end this quick. Very taxing endeavor for all plus Europe eyeing us up.

[@edwardlowery6510]

you godda have guts to see the vision

[@GHYT-t3x]

Title says 1863 btw

[@shark180]

Meh close enough

[@tracypartin7408]

Still fighting in old N.C.

[@edwardlowery6510]

under what command

[@jueneturner8331]

He was "the Beast"!

[@Sturminfantrist]

i dont know why but when i hear what sherman and his army did in Georgia and the Carolinas, Gen. Tilly and his mercenary Army, looting and burning their way thru protestant northern Germany (during the first stages of the 30 years war), comes to my mind .

[@exharkhun5605]

Sherman is a true -conflagration- inspiration and a great beacon of -smoke- -fire- -heat- light. I shall never quite look upon a box of matches the same again.

[@Gwaithmir]

"We can make this march and make Georgia howl!

[@TomFynn]

"using such obscene language that we were forced to go indoors" Given that in 1950s the word "damn" in Gone With The Wind caused uproar, one wonders what words were considered obscene in 1860s.

[@patjacksonpodium]

Perhaps obscene for the aggressively conservative Production Code Era film industry, but not for the average person. In fact, not to be that guy but here's a fun bit of film trivia! Gone With The Wind was actually from 1939, and while films in that era were subjected to vigorous censorship under the Production Code despite self regulation being generally the norm, [per Wikepedia for brevity] the Motion Picture Association board passed an amendment to the Production Code on November 1, 1939, that forbade the use of the words "hell" or "damn" except when their use "shall be essential and required for portrayal, in proper historical context, of any scene or dialogue based upon historical fact or folklore ... or a quotation from a literary work, provided that no such use shall be permitted which is intrinsically objectionable or offends good taste". So the line was accepted without complaint by the MPAA, because it was dramatically essential. In fact, a review from the time, 1939, actually uses "damn" in the article, and not while quoting the famous line, either. (They call the director "damn good." The poor children and their virgin ears!!! 😮) So despite the stereotype that movies and TV taught us, there were far less pearls being clutched over "naughty language" from the average person than we were led to believe. That fantasy was pushed by conservative, often Catholic organizations in an effort to push their white-washed, homogeneous, conservative agenda. Apologies, I probably went way deeper than you wanted into a statement you probably mostly meant as a joke lol.

[@TomFynn]

@@patjacksonpodium Only half as a joke. The point was, that it would be interesting to follow over time what words were acceptable in "polite society" in everyday use, why these words were bad, mmkay?, and when and why people just couldn't give a damn about these words anymore. I focus on this layer of society, since there must have been more rural or working man's areas of society, where no one would clutch at pearls, even if they'd had them. PS: GWTW was 1940? Damn. Must calibrate my internal movie database.

[@Flackack]

@@patjacksonpodium The Scarlet Pimpernel said "damn" at the club.

[@jeffwalther3935]

"Peace is Our Profession", the principle motto of the USAF Strategic Air Command is the principle that describes and distinguishes Sherman and Grant's (and later Curtis LeMay of WW2), TOTAL war-winning strategy that ended the Civil War quicker, better, faster and SAVED more lives, property, etc. It is the very entirely INHUMANE mission, by necessity, to END wars and KEEP peace ABSOLUTELY. Sherman's "March to the Sea" IS a military offensive, not a war-crime, totally designed to end the war as fast as possible; NOT tactically, diplomatically, or anything less than MAKE peace by as much as completely eliminating the opposing whatever enemy/threat COMPLETELY and/or their capability to EVER threaten, physically, economically, psychologically, . . . ad infinitum by destroying them. It means "war to end all war." THAT necessity to get peace IS at all costs. That ferocity in combat matched and exceeded everything strategically the CSA was used to, had planned for, until it was too late to be any way else but Lincoln/Grant/Sherman's strategic war that has been a principle in American military strategy since the Civil War burned that into our brains like nothing else could.

[@kathrynclark1585]

I imagine this would be good for bedtime

[@edwardlowery6510]

after the railroad was built much less Lincoln was not to see it

[@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw]

Venom will be be dealt southward.

[@robertferguson533]

The night they drove Old Dixie down

[@edwardlowery6510]

by hunger and vacancy

[@fredeerickbays]

hell joke was good heard it before. Now here is one about Grant To mem standing guard winter of 63 on the Miss N of Vicksburg. One tunes ot the other and say "I wish all these rebs were in hell." 2md reply's "I dont" 1st "why not" 2nd "If they were Grant would have us standing guard at the gates."

[@edwardlowery6510]

that’s pride

[@billk8817]

Unca’ Billy let me and history down. After the War of 1812 this country and her policies were guided by laws approved in Congress (literally nation building). The three leading Senators ( and without match even to this day) were Clay, Webster and JOHN C CALHOUN. John C pretty much started the war with his policies in the mid 1800’s No southern senator would cast a vote until they heard from Calhoun. He, a defender of slavery and a South Carolinian, advocated to all Southern senators the minority vote and view was legitimate (ignore laws passed by majority votes in Congress). He advocated resistance to Federal law. The SOB did not have the dignity to live to see what he started, did not live to see it start. Nevertheless ‘cump (as US Grant called him) did not go to Pickens County SC where Calhoun’s clan (and descendants)had about six plantations. He should’ve burned and treated them like he did the plantations of Georgia. After the war Calhoun’s son-in-law was wealthy enough to start a university. His SIL’s last name was Clemson.

[@arielhamm-flores6893]

that's funny in the south in gorgia we don't like South Carolina even then Thay new something wrong with them love it

[@patriciareynolds2729]

ED, and what have we going on in our big cities? some communities cant have a party, funeral or wedding without a driveby or shootout! we still have a thug problem!

[@generaljacksoncsa]

Sherman, a great commander, but alas a war criminal.

[@nicklassalette]

1863? Wouldn’t this have taken place in 1864/65?

[@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw]

Must get the Babe back in office at all costs.

[@jacobhyde9367]

Yes, Fort Bragg. Very good!

[@larskunoandersen5750]

Hi from Denmark

[@terryeustice5399]

I never thought he was trying to shorten the War. He was doing payback on civilians and what was left of the Confederacy. Todestroy its people. Which was totally against what Lincoln wanted. Was not a fan of this tactic. Thanks for sharing this disturbing documentary that happened. 💯👊👍😢💕

[@bradleydass3075]

My Hero.

[@edwardlowery6510]

yes I get it 😊

[@astralclub5964]

Title 1863? Columbia was burned in Feb 1865!

[@edwardlowery6510]

it’s called black mail

[@wcg19891]

What I don’t understand is WHY the Union didn’t invade South Carolina much earlier in the war with an amphibious operation with the aim of cutting off Lee in Virginia from the rest of the Confederacy.

[@Matthew-rr4de]

Fort Fisher

[@wcg19891]

@ The union attempted in Dec 1864 and then succeeded in Jan 1865 to take the fort. But this isn’t really what I was talking about. Why didn’t the union attempt a large scale operation the size of Sherman’s army from the sea to land in the Carolinas and cut off Lee from the rest of the Confederacy? Not just from supplies from the sea but from the South and west. Essentially surrounding Lee? They seemed to have saved the Carolinas until last.

[@patjacksonpodium]

I would assume supply lines? I don't know the logistics of how it would work but from what I've come to realize is that, if there's an obvious solution to a military problem that they just didn't attempt, the answer is almost always "It was impractical for reasons that I do not have the military knowledge to immediately understand." And that usually boils down to "They couldn't supply or support the operation if anything went wrong." It's kind of like how the Fredericksburg/Chancellorsville area saw so much fighting when you could just say, "Well why didn't they just go around and hit HERE or THERE instead?" It's because that's where the roads were and roads are how you supply and feed an army. Easy to strategize when you're just looking at a map or playing a board game but in board games you rarely have to deal with logistics or the aftermath of a battle. I'm no expert but that's what I've come to understand anyway. It does seem weird though when it seems like there's an obvious solution. But again, if they didn't try it, there was probably a good reason. It's not like they didn't want to win, you know?

[@wcg19891]

@ I agree with you and the answer might be deep in the archives somewhere. I will note that the British did invade Charleston and then proceed to chase the southern colonial army up to Virginia that ultimately ended in failure at Yorktown. So the idea of invading the Carolinas was not unprecedented. I’m sure it was given thought. And I agree that logistics is a prime candidate. Just not sure. It seems that using the navy as a way of outflanking the South was an advantage that they weren’t using well.

[@patjacksonpodium]

@@wcg19891 Well the Union did throw up a blockade of all Southern ports in 1861 and there really wasn't anything the Rebels could ever do about it for the rest of the war. They captured New Orleans almost immediately and that was the South's biggest city. Made a big impact in the war for sure.

[@kennethrichardson8636]

The Greatest General the North had, was.............Gen Braxton Bragg. Had he NOT been in charge, and was replaced by Gen Benjamin Chatham, it very well might have been a different story.

[@Adamdidit]

There's a very real argument he was in the top 5 but I dunno that I tale him over Grant, Sherman, or Thomas. But Braxton Bragg did more to defeat the Confederate military than about 90% of the Union.

[@kennethrichardson8636]

@Adamdidit "Gen. Bragg is the only person I know who could snatch Defeat from the jaws of Victory" unknown Confederate Soldier..

[@edwardlowery6510]

There is no other way

[@HenryHahnsRifle]

You reap what you sew

[@Matthew-rr4de]

No Confederate general ever came anywhere close to the level or number of war crimes committed by Sherman. Fail.

[@willcrute7477]

General Sherman is a true hero of his time

[@jacklaurie100]

Sherman was an evil man. After the war he did this same thing to the Indians out west.