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Battle of Bull Run
Among Sherman's first battles, the Battle of Bull Run ended in a disastrous Union defeat and caused Sherman to question himself and his troops. However, Lincoln was impressed by Sherman and promoted him to brigadier general. -
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Sherman's Early Battles
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Battle of Shiloh
Though outnumbered and surprised, the forces led by Sherman recaptured land and successfully fought off the enemy forces. Union generals agreed that “if General Sherman had fallen, the army would have been captured or destroyed”. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Major General. -
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Siege of Corinth
Sherman’s men scouted ahead and constructed camps, slowly and surely pressuring the Southern rebels as well as destroying bridges and other buildings to ensure the rebels could not surprise them. -
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Vicksburg Campaign
Led by general Ulysses S. Grant, Sherman's troops played a major part in this campaign. Sherman himself began to display a talent for leading troops. -
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Atlanta Campaign
Sherman invaded Georgia with three armies, battling against Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston. Sherman repeatedly flanked Johnston, forcing him to fall back further, and Johnston was eventually replaced by the more aggressive John Bell Hood, who challenged Sherman to battles on open ground. Eventually, after a series of battles, Hood was forced out of Atlanta. Sherman burned the city, setting the stage for his March to the Sea. -
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Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea is arguably his best remembered achievement and one of the first modern examples of total war. Following his successful Atlanta campaign, he set off for Savannah with the intention of breaking the morale of the South. As his troops marched through Georgia, they burned everything in their path and foraged from the land. Upon reaching Savannah, they found it abandoned, presenting it to Lincoln as a Christmas present with 25000 bales of cotton and 150 cannons. -
Battle of Appomatox Courthouse
This battle officilaly ended the Civil War, as the Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered and the remainder of the Confederate Army soon followed.
