USA HISTORY

Sherman’s army destroyed everything in its path as it marched through Georgia. Sherman hoped his tactic of “total war” would ____

(A) make Southerners angrier

(B) ** break the South’s will to fight

(C) distract General Lee from Richmond

(D) destroy the system of slavery in the South

Concept note-1: -The tactic of destroying much in an army’s path is called “scorched earth". The Union soldiers would heat up rail road ties and then bend them around tree trunks. They were nicknamed “Sherman’s neckties".

Concept note-2: -To them, Sherman’s devastating march through the South opened the way to the kind of warfare that culminated in World War II. Called total war, it goes beyond combat between opposing military forces to include attacks, both deliberate and indiscriminate, upon civilians and non-military targets.

Concept note-3: -Sherman’s plan was to march his forces to Savannah, Georgia, and destroy anything in their path. To prove the power of the Union, he wanted to commit “total war” on the South. His goal was to terrify Southern civilians into giving up on the war.

Concept note-4: -The purpose of Sherman’s March to the Sea was to frighten Georgia’s civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. Sherman’s soldiers did not destroy any of the towns in their path, but they stole food and livestock and burned the houses and barns of people who tried to fight back.