December 21 marks the anniversary of the end of General William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea, the surrender of Savannah to United States armed forces during the Civil War, and Sherman’s Christmas “gift” of Savannah to President Abraham Lincoln. Sherman’s March was also an important part of the history of emancipation. This Dispatch examines that controversial event and its legacy in American history.
Off the Deaton Path
I don’t think Sherman burned Darien. It was a raving abolitionist who burned the empty town. Commander Shaw of the 54th Mass wrote to his mother how he protested the burning and how lovely the town was. After the War she donated money to help with rebuilding.
Darien was burned.. there were old men, women, and children in sparse occupancy and Sherman burned Darien, Georgia. No resistance by Confederate troops and none in the vicinity. War crimes! Let’s not gloss history and stay healed as Americans.
Stan gives us history buffs a lot to Ponder. My confederate descendants are buried in nearby Camden County- all Lang’s. I wonder what they thought of these events as they lived through them in a conquered Army.