Total War in the American Civil War: Sherman and Sheridan

Introduction: Total War as the Defining Strategy

The Western concept of total war best exemplifies warfare in the American Civil War because it was this definitive tactic that helped the Union completely crush any remaining hopes of Confederate victory. Two generals effected a policy of total war against the South: General Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley and General William Tecumseh Sherman in his March to the Sea campaign from Atlanta to Savannah, leaving devastation and ruin in his wake. Both military tactics were designed not only to cut off supply routes to Southern armies but also to undermine the morale of Southern civilians and destroy their very capacity to survive without surrendering.

Sherman himself stated his belief that the Union was fighting "a hostile people, and must make old and young, rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war" — in other words, Sherman believed the war had to be taken into the civilian sphere (Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies 798). It was an attitude of total war that would come to dominate modern warfare in the years to come, and it was this attitude that the North ultimately came to rely upon in order to defeat the Southern cause.

Trench Warfare and the Limits of Conventional Tactics

It took the Union Army three years to realize that in order to preserve the Union, a new military tactic would need to be employed. Up to that point, the typical style of warfare used by the Army was that of Grant's bold charge-and-seize brigades or the guerrilla warfare of the Confederates. In fact, despite fortifications, planning, and design, much of the fighting in the war was so indecisive that it eventually devolved into trench warfare. Trench warfare was seen during the Petersburg Campaign, which lasted nearly a year from June 1864 to April 1865.

Petersburg was not really an example of "formal siege warfare," as there was no surrounding of Lee's forces or blocking of his escape. In short, "Lee was never trapped at Petersburg," and so the warfare that took place was more properly trench warfare, in which soldiers are protected in long trenches from enemy fire ("Ten Facts about the Petersburg Campaign"). Trench warfare was common at both Petersburg and Vicksburg, but for the style of warfare that best exemplifies the spirit of the American Civil War, one has to look elsewhere. What really exemplified the Civil War was the willingness of Union generals to do whatever was necessary to crush the rebellion — a willingness that eventually led to total war.

Sheridan's Scorched-Earth Campaign in the Shenandoah Valley

Sheridan employed the "scorched earth" military tactic following the Battle of Fisher's Hill in the Shenandoah Valley. He burned everything that could possibly be of assistance to the Confederates as he pulled his army back down the Valley, leaving behind nothing but ruins and ash. Barns, factories, mills, plantations — everything was destroyed. Sheridan's aim was to incapacitate the Confederate Army and take away their sustenance and ability to survive. By taking the war to the civilian front, Sheridan effected a policy of total war — and an effective one that proved to be a forerunner to Sherman's policy of total annihilation of everything that stood between Atlanta and the sea.

Sherman's March to the Sea

Sherman initially opposed the war because he understood the toll it would take on the country and the carnage that would result (Foote). He saw secession as madness because it was an invitation to total war — a request to the Union to deliver a massive correction in the form of annihilation. Sherman understood this, and it horrified him that members of his own country could be so reckless. Nonetheless, he eventually volunteered his services to the Union.

Sherman's march was like a virus in a host body: it dispensed with the traditional model of supply lines and moved like a swarm, wreaking havoc on the Southern way of life in the process. It was akin to a Mongol invasion — raiders come for no other purpose than to destroy the civilian way of life and thus strike at the Southern Army at its very root: home.

Although the march had a secondary purpose — providing support for Grant by pressuring Lee's rear in Virginia — the primary purpose was to destroy the infrastructure of the South and break Confederate morale, a goal that Grant agreed had to be achieved for the war to end. Grant helped Sherman devise the march, and both drew on their own experience foraging for food and supplies, which allowed their armies to reduce dependence on supply lines — a dependency that caused delays and slow movement. By cutting loose from those supply lines, the march could move more quickly and be more destructive at the same time.

The march was not about locating an enemy: it was about immersing oneself in enemy territory and destroying everything in sight. Railroads were pried up, crops were burned, plantations sacked, food taken from farms, and livestock plundered — all of this permitted under Sherman's liberal foraging orders, instructions that essentially authorized the formation of raiding parties. Sherman ordered that in areas where his men passed unobstructed and met no resistance, destruction of property would not be sanctioned. But in areas where the enemy burned bridges to slow their advance or supported guerrilla warfare, destruction of civilian property was not only encouraged but ordered. It was an ironic command: burn the enemy's property — unless they pose no resistance.

The result was, of course, total war. And it was set to the rousing melody of "John Brown's Body," the tune to which Julia Ward Howe penned The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Sherman's men marched and sang "Glory, glory, hallelujah!" as though their mission were a divine one with a divine mandate — a sort of manifest destiny.

Confederate armies attempted to block his path, but as Sherman marched he gathered more men to oppose the dwindling Confederate numbers thrown up against him. Only at Savannah did he meet any substantial resistance, as General Hardee had placed his men in trenches in the typical trench warfare mode of operation. Sherman's plan — having dispensed with his own supply line — was to meet the U.S. Navy outside Savannah and restock that way. But the Confederate trenches were preventing him from completing this plan. He therefore made a separate movement, changing his course for the Ogeechee River, where the Battle of Fort McAllister was fought and won in a quarter of an hour. The supplies could now be reached, and with them Sherman was set to invade Savannah. He was also determined to crush the city and give his men full freedom to raid and plunder in revenge for the harm the rebels had done to the Union.

Sensing this, the Confederates withdrew from Savannah rather than withstand an assault. Seeing themselves defenseless and hoping to protect their lives and property, the mayor of the city rode out to offer surrender. Sherman took the city without a fight, five days before Christmas.

Conclusion: Why Total War Best Exemplifies the Civil War

Total warfare best exemplifies the warfare of the Civil War not only because it was decisive in destroying Southern infrastructure and rebel morale, but also because it typified a mindset shared by Union generals Sheridan, Grant, and Sherman — namely, that the strongest weapon sustaining the Southern Army was the Southern pride that emanated from its civilian population. Union warfare, therefore, had to be taken to the civilian front.

While other styles of warfare were present in the American Civil War — guerrilla warfare and trench warfare among them — the scorched-earth strategy of total war was what truly made the difference in the fight. For this reason it best exemplifies the warfare strategy of the Civil War, even though it did not become fully utilized until the final year of fighting. This policy was relatively new in Western warfare and grew far more prevalent in the twentieth century, but its underlying strategy was as ancient as the Roman destruction of Carthage, which Rome undertook to eliminate a perceived existential threat. Sherman's march and Sheridan's scorching were models of how to destroy the will of an enemy — by striking where it hurt most.

Works Cited

Foote, Shelby. The Civil War. NY: Random House, 1958. Print.

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Vol. XLIV. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901. Print.

"Ten Facts about the Petersburg Campaign." CivilWar.org. 22 Feb. 2015. Web.