diness of
invention, his electric surprises, his scientific strategy, his
ruthlessness in destruction, his courtesy to the conquered, his
devotion to his soldiers, his loyalty to his superior in command, his
restlessness, his energy, his determination to succeed. These all
contributed to the result that made "Sherman's army" famous the world
over, and stamped him as the hero of a campaign that, according to
military critics, "stands alone in the history of modern warfare."

His scientific fencing with General Joseph E. Johnston, the
Confederate leader, was as masterly as it was effective. He forced his
rival from the stand he had taken as warder of the gateways to the
South's supply land, fighting him step by step from Dalton backward to
Atlanta, and capturing that stronghold of the Confederacy by
persistent and desperate fighting. Then, when Atlanta was won,
Sherman's ability to cut the Gordian knot, as no other man dared, was
displayed with especial force. Instead of frittering away his precious
time by simply holding Atlanta, or wasting strength unnecessarily by
hunting up a baffled and elusive foe, or devoting all his energy to
keeping open his long line of communication and supply, he determined
to strike a disastrous blow at the Confederacy, swiftly and
unexpectedly. Cutting loose from his connection with the West, he
would live on the enemy and lay waste the storehouse of the
Confederacy--or, as he expressed it in outlining his plans to General
Grant, "move through Georgia, smashing things, to the sea."

The boldness of this desperate measure at first attracted, as it
afterward alarmed, the authorities at Washington. Consent was given
and then recalled, but, before the recall could reach him Sherman had
acted quickly, fearing this same countermand. Upon receipt of the
order consenting to his march, he cut the telegraph wires to the
north, then he burned his bridges, tore up the railroad that connected
him with the West, and, with his army reduced to its actual available
fighting strength of 60,000 men, with banners streaming, gun-barrels
glistening in the sun, bands playing, and the men singing lustily
"Glory, glory, hallelujah!" Atlanta was left behind, and "Sherman's
army" set its face eastward and commenced its memorable march to the
sea.

In two parallel columns the army of invasion and destruction moved
through the fertile land, cutting a swath of desolation forty miles
wide, and crippling the Confederac