that region. General Grant's plan was to send General
Sherman, in whom he had great confidence, against General Johnston, with
orders to capture Atlanta, which was now the workshop and storehouse of
the Confederacy. Grant himself was to march against Lee and capture
Richmond. The two great watchwords were: "On to Atlanta!" and "On to
Richmond!"

[Illustration: William Tecumseh Sherman.]

Early in May both Grant and Sherman began their campaigns. Starting from
Chattanooga, in Tennessee, Sherman began to crowd Johnston toward Atlanta.
In order to keep his line of supplies open from Nashville Sherman kept his
army close to the railroad, and to hinder him as much as possible, the
Confederates sent back bodies of troops to the rear of the Union army to
tear up the railroads. But so quickly were they rebuilt by Sherman's men
that the Confederates used to say: "Sherman must carry a railroad on his
back." His advance was slow but steady, and on September 2 he captured
Atlanta.

A little later Sherman started on his famous march "From Atlanta to the
Sea," with the purpose of weakening the Confederate armies by destroying
their supplies and their railroads in Southern Georgia. His army marched
in four columns, covering a belt of territory sixty miles wide. Four days
before Christmas he captured Savannah and sent to President Lincoln the
famous telegram: "I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of
Savannah, with one hundred and fifty guns and plenty of ammunition; also
about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." Sherman's "March to the Sea"
was a wonderful achievement.

[Illustration: Sherman's March to the Sea.]

Let us make the acquaintance of this remarkable man. He was at this time
forty-four. Standing six feet high, with muscles of iron and a military
bearing, he gave the impression of having great physical endurance. And no
matter whether he was exposed to drenching rain, bitter cold, or burning
heat, he never gave signs of fatigue. Many nights he slept only three or
four hours, but he was able to fall asleep easily almost anywhere he
happened to be, whether lying upon the wet ground or on a hard floor, or
even amid the din and roar of muskets and cannon.

In battle he could not sit calmly smoking and looking on, like General
Grant. He was too much excited to sit still, and his face reflected his
thoughts. Yet his mind was clear and his decisions were rapid.

[Illustration: Route of Sherman's March to th