Sherman’s March to the Sea.
Let us make the acquaintance of this remarkable man. He was at this time forty-four. Standing six feet high, with muscles of iron and a military bearing, he gave the impression of having great physical endurance. And no matter whether he was exposed to drenching rain, bitter cold, or burning heat, he never gave signs of fatigue. Many nights he slept only three or four hours, but he was able to fall asleep easily almost anywhere he happened to be, whether lying upon the wet ground or on a hard floor, or even amid the din and roar of muskets and cannon.
In battle he could not sit calmly smoking and looking on, like General Grant. He was too much excited to sit still, and his face reflected his thoughts. Yet his mind was clear and his decisions were rapid.
Route of Sherman’s March to the Sea.
His soldiers admired him and gave him their unbounded confidence. One of his staff said of him while they were on the “March to the Sea”: “The army has such an abiding faith in its leader that it will go wherever he leads.” At Savannah the soldiers would proudly remark as their general rode by: “There goes the old man. All’s right.”
During the trying experience of this famous march, Sherman’s face grew anxious and care-worn. But behind the care-worn face there were kind and tender feelings, especially for the young. Little children would show their trust in him by clasping him about his knees or by nestling in his arms. While he was in Savannah, large groups of children made a playground of the general’s headquarters and private room, the doors of which were never closed to them.
While General Sherman, in Georgia, was pushing his army “On to Atlanta” and “On to the Sea,” Grant was trying to defeat Lee and capture Richmond. With these aims in view, Grant crossed the Rapidan River and entered the wilderness in direct line for Richmond. Here fighting was stern business. The woods were so gloomy and the underbrush was so thick that the men could not see one another twenty feet away.
Lee’s army furiously contested every foot of the advance. In the terrible battles that followed Grant lost heavily, but he pressed doggedly on, writing to President Lincoln his stubborn resolve: “I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.”