Date of Award
1-1-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in History
First Advisor
April Holm
Second Advisor
Robert Colby
Third Advisor
Rebecca Marchiel
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
This dissertation argues that four communities in Confederate Georgia visited by Union soldiers during Sherman’s March to the Sea reorients our understanding about the state’s continued ability to resist the United States military, the level and variations of destruction, the rationales and motivations behind targeted actions, the multiplicity of experiences among diverse participants, willing and unwilling alike, and of the campaign’s broader effectiveness. The first two communities, Griswoldville and Milledgeville, were indispensable locations that set in motion a coalescence of military and political setbacks from which Confederate Georgia did not recover. As the march progressed and entered coastal communities, the shared mindset that previously emerged between Major General William T. Sherman and his entire command, manifested in ways both similar and dissimilar. One reality became abundantly clear to all amid an intensified conflict between warring civilizations; Union occupation changed everything. By analyzing the campaign at the local level and incorporating a diverse cross-section of participants to capture their experiences, a clearer picture emerges of a well-documented historical event, but one often trapped in the mold of wanton destructiveness or overarching narratives that simply do not place human actions as the central drama. Furthermore, the march carried much more than military importance, but rather delivered politically consequential messages on belonging, rights and entitlements, and contrasting visions for the future. Sherman’s march, and specifically these communities and the participants therein, laid a foundation for a post-war power structure that bent to the North as Reconstruction dawned.
Recommended Citation
Lempke, Matthew Ryan, ""'This May Not Be War, But Rather Statesmanship': Sherman's March Through Griswoldville, Milledgeville, and Greater Savannah"" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3018.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3018