In this intensively researched and carefully detailed study, listed in Civil War Magazine as among the one hundred best books on the Civil War, Joseph T. Glatthaar examines the devastating Savannah and Carolinas Campaigns from the perspective of the common soldiers in Sherman’s army, seeking, above all, to understand why they did what they did.
Glatthaar graphically describes the duties and deprivations of the march, the boredom and frustration of camp life, and the utter confusion and pure chance of battle. Quoting heavily from the letters and diaries of Sherman’s men, he reveals the fears, motivations, and aspirations of the Union soldiers and explores their attitudes toward their comrades, toward blacks and southern whites, and toward the war, its destruction, and the forthcoming reconstruction.
Joseph T. Glatthaar is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of several books, including The Civil War’s Black Soldiers, Partners in Command: Relationships Between Civil War Leaders and Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers.
Praise for The March to the Sea and Beyond
“Are new perspectives on Sherman’s march still possible? . . . As Joseph T. Glatthaar’s book demonstrates, the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’”—Journal of American History
“The reader—even a Georgian whose family fled before Sherman’s horde—finishes this book with a new appreciation for the soldiers of the Union ranks. Their competence, their intelligence, their dedication shine all through Glatthaar’s pages.”—Journal of Southern History
