Sunday, February 2, 2014

Andersonville

Andersonville
          Andersonville was a Confederate Prisoner of War camp located in Georgia. Tons of former Union soldiers died here each day. This camp was located in between two hills, and Confederate soldiers were stationed above which made it nearly impossible to escape. All of the waste the southern soldiers created, flowed down to where the prisoners were held. This made it very hard for captured soldiers to obtain clean water. Prisoners would attempt to create shelters out of clothes, mud, or any other materials that they could find. These flimsy shelters were called "shebangs". Conditions were so awful in this camp that the prisoners would often fight for clothes that dead soldiers had on. This camp was a horrible place to live, and many soldiers died here.
http://www.wright.edu/~jack.mcknight/andersonville/photo/p05.jpg

Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and his March to Sea

Sherman's Atlanta Campaign
        In the latter part of the war, the Union army was advancing into Confederate territory. William T. Sherman was a general who helped invade the South. He and his army marched toward the city of Atlanta to capture it. Sherman wanted to capture this city for two reasons. One reason was that Atlanta was a symbol of Confederate pride, and if the Union took it, it would be a major blow. The other reason was that the Union needed to make progress. The election of 1864 was coming up fast, and Lincoln was facing a challenge. He needed to improve how the public thought of him. When Sherman and his army captured Atlanta, it was very important. This event was crucial because it increased the waining northern support for the war. This event also led to Lincoln being reelected. Taking the city of Atlanta under Union control demoralized the South.
http://www.awesomestories.com/images/user/58873cea8c.jpg



Sherman's March to Sea
        After capturing Atlanta, Sherman wanted to continue South. He planned to march to the Atlantic Ocean, while taking Confederate cities under Union control. The march was risky because Sherman's and his army was cut off from all support. They had to live off the land. It was also risky because the Union had to travel through unknown landscape. Sherman's strategy was to bring the war to citizens, but not kill them. He wanted to make it miserable for the people living in the South. This strategy was called "hard war, total war, or scorched earth". The Atlanta Campaign, and the March to Sea were important because of four things. The first was that it ensured Lincoln's reelection. Also, it demoralized the South and Atlanta was destroyed. Southern citizens were miserable, and did not support the war anymore. The third reason why this is important is because the March destroyed southern supply lines. The Confederate forces were poorly fed, and living in horrible conditions. The final reason is that it caused the Confederate army to become unorganized. There were problems with leadership, like the North had in the beginning of the war, and the army was in disarray. While Sherman's army marched toward the Atlantic, they met many slaves. When they did meet, the army treated them respectively, and welcoming. Soldiers often offered them to join the March. Even though Sherman personally did not think of slavery as being wrong, he still treated the slaves very well. Sherman's March to Sea brought the war to citizens, and created miserable living conditions for soldiers and citizens.
http://thomaslegion.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/atlantacampaign.gif