sold Gen. Sherman Insists to His Troops, “No private property should be taken without consent of own

General Sherman earned everlasting renown, as well as vilification, for his March to the Sea. Taking his army from Atlanta to Savannah and then up into South Carolina, it was devastating not merely to Georgia but the Confederacy as a whole. Sherman himself estimated that the campaign had inflicted $100 million in destruction, about one fifth of which "inured to our advantage" while the "remainder is simple waste and destruction." The Army wrecked 300 miles of railroad and numerous bridges and miles of telegraph lines. It seized 5,000 horses, 4,000 mules, and 13,000 head of cattle. It confiscated 9.5 million pounds of corn and 10.5 million pounds of fodder, and destroyed uncounted cotton gins and mills. Military historian Herman Hattaway stated that "Sherman’s raid succeeded in knocking the Confederate war effort to pieces." Another historian, David J. Eicher, wrote that "Sherman had accomplished an amazing task. He had defied military principles by operating deep within enemy territory and without lines of supply or communication. He destroyed much of the South’s potential and psychology to wage war." While civilians suffer in most wars, Sherman is credited with developing this into a new and effective matter of strategy and style of warfare. That is his reputation.   

Was Sherman that way from the start??Did he always feel that destruction of civilian property was integral to a Union victory??Apparently not. Here is rather surprising evidence that earlier in the war, he sought to exclude civilians from the conflict, even down to rigorously protecting Southern civilians and their property.    

Grant selected Sherman to organize the Fifth Division of the Army of the Tennessee. This division fought hard at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862, and Sherman received two minor wounds. Grant gave Sherman credit for the Northern victory at this battle and Sherman was promoted to the rank of major general of volunteers in May 1862. In July of that year, Sherman was assigned to command the District of Memphis and held that post until November. During that time, he not only guarded the important river town and the Mississippi River, but battled constantly with guerrilla and Confederate cavalry units operating in Mississippi and Tennessee. Then, from December 1862-July 1863, he was one of Grant’s trusted commanders during the Vicksburg campaign.   

On October 29, 1862, a civilian named John Colby wrote Sherman a letter saying that he was a tenant dairy farmer, and that a twenty-five wagon Union forage unit had come onto his farm and taken full loads of corn and fodder. They cited quartermaster’s orders to do so. He went on to explain “By this loss I know not how I am to feed my cows and keep up my dairy…” The Sherman in Georgia would have turned away from that plea, but not so the Sherman of late 1862. He endorses the verso of Colby’s letter.   

Autograph Endorsement Signed, “Refer to Capt. J. Condit Smith. No private property should be taken without consent of owner, unless on a written order by  Brig. General.” Of course, written orders by generals to take private property without compensation would be virtually non-existant, so this was tantamount to prohibiting the practice. Of particular interest is the fact that rather than just respond to Colby’s complaint, Sherman chose to make a policy decision that would apply across the board. It is also the only time we have seen him make such a pronouncement.