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March to the Sea
| November 9, 1864 |
General William Tecumseh Sherman issues the first orders (Special Orders No. 120), from Kingston, Georgia (Bartow County) directly related to his "March to the Sea." Over the next few days the city of Rome will be destroyed and track from Atlanta to Chattanooga will be torn up, some transported to Tennessee for later use, some twisted into Sherman's hairpins or Sherman's neckties and left by the side of the railroad.
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Civil War - 1864 |
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William Tecumseh Sherman |
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March to the Sea |
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Rome, Georgia |
| November 10, 1864 |
General John Corse orders infrastructure in Rome, GA destroyed if it could be used for war. Among the buildings burned were two depots, warehouses, and a grist mill. |
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March to the Sea |
| November 12, 1864 |
Corse requests permission to destroy the towns of Cedartown, Van Wert and Buchanan, south of Rome. Sherman tells Corse to wait, effectively sparing the towns.
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March to the Sea |
| November 13, 1864 |
Confederate Cavalry commander Joseph "Fightin' Joe" Wheeler arrives in Jonesboro, Georgia
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March to the Sea |
| November 13, 1864 |
Downtown Marietta destroyed by Union Cavalry General Judson Kilpatrick
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Marietta, GA |
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March to the Sea |
| November 13, 1864 |
Federal troops destroy Acworth, Georgia
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March to the Sea |
| November 14, 1864 |
Sherman arrives at his Atlanta headquarters with some 45,000 troops. Some 15,000 more join him in the city.
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March to the Sea |
| November 15, 1864 |
Right Wing of Sherman's Army leaves East Point, heading to the southeast towards Stockbridge, where they spend the night. Sweeping the front of the Right Wing, Judson Kilpatrick skirmishes with men under Joseph Wheeler in Jonesboro. Wheeler pulls back to Griffin.
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March to the Sea |
| November 15, 1864 |
City of Atlanta burned under orders from General Sherman during the March to the Sea. A special battering ram was used to destroy the stone and brick railroad depot. Because of the city's size, it took the Union Cavalry nearly a day to complete the task, beginning this evening and completing the task the following afternoon.
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Civil War - 1864 |
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March to the Sea |
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William Tecumseh Sherman |
| November 16, 1864 |
Right Wing spends the night in McDonough.
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March to the Sea |
| November 16, 1864 |
Sherman leaves Atlanta having reorganized his men into two "wings" of two corps apiece. The Left Wing is commanded by Henry Slocum, the Right Wing by O. O. Howard. Sherman's strategic plan is for the Left Wing to make a feint on Augusta while the Right Wing makes a feint at Macon, forcing the remaining Confederate troops to be split between the two towns.
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City of Augusta, Georgia
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City of Macon, Georgia |
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March to the Sea |
| November 17, 1864 |
Kilpatrick engages Wheeler near Forsyth ahead of the Right Wing of Sherman's Army. Right Wing spends the night in Jackson and Indian Springs, Georgia
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March to the Sea |
| November 17, 1864 |
Lithonia's railroad depot, track, and some homes are destroyed by the Left Wing
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March to the Sea |
| November 18, 1864 |
Joseph Wheeler arrives to defend Macon. Along with Howell Cobb, William Hardee and G. P. T. Beauregard, the city had about 10,000 men to defend it.
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City of Macon, Georgia |
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March to the Sea |
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Howell Cobb |
| November 18, 1864 |
Forward elements of the Left Wing reach Social Circle.
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March to the Sea |
| November 18, 1864 |
Union troops pass through Covington, Georgia
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March to the Sea |
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Newton County, Georgia |
| November 19, 1864 |
Left Wing arrives in Rutledge. General John Geary is detached from the main column and ordered to make a feint on Augusta. He encounters resistance at Buckhead and burns bridges over the Oconee River and destroys a rail depot in the town.
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City of Augusta, Georgia
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March to the Sea |
| November 20, 1864 |
Investigating the lack of a Union attack, Joseph Wheeler heads northeast of Macon into the Right Wing of Sherman's army. The army had bypassed Macon.
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City of Macon, Georgia |
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March to the Sea |
| November 20, 1864 |
Henry Slocum spares Madison, Georgia (Morgan County). Joshua Hill, who knew Sherman's brother John, was the last Confederate senator to leave Washington D. C., and had met Sherman during the Atlanta Campaign, rode out to meet Slocum and ask that the town be spared destruction. Slocum granted the request, ordering the town be spared. In spite of the order the town was heavily looted.
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Morgan County, Georgia |
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March to the Sea |
| November 21, 1864 |
William Hardee orders militia from Macon under the command of P. J. Phillips to advance to Augusta to assist in defending the arsonal there.
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March to the Sea |
| November 22, 1864 |
Battle of Griswoldville. General P. J. Phillips advances into the Right Wing of Sherman's Army and attacks the battle-hardened veterans with militia. The result is a disasterous, pointless loss for the Confederates.
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March to the Sea |
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William Tecumseh Sherman |
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Brigadier General Pleasant J. Philips
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Battle of Griswoldville |
| November 23, 1864 |
Union troops arrive in Milledgeville early in the morning, having spent the previous night on the outskirts to the north of the state capital.
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March to the Sea |
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Milledgeville |
| November 25, 1864 |
Confederate Cavalry under "Fighting Joe" Wheeler attack a Union Cavalry detachment in Sandersville (Washington County).
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Washington County, Georgia |
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March to the Sea |
| November 26, 1864 |
Warehouses and Tennille railroad depot (Washington County) burned.
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Washington County, Georgia |
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March to the Sea |
| November 26, 1864 |
Washington County Courthouse burned by Union soldiers.
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Washington County, Georgia |
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March to the Sea |
| November 28, 1864 |
Battle of Buckhead Creek
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Civil War - 1864 |
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March to the Sea |
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William Tecumseh Sherman |
| December 3, 1864 |
Sherman's Left Wing attempts to liberate the prisoner of war compound, Camp Lawton, north of Millen, Georgia, only to find it empty. Its 10,229 prisoners had been moved to temporary quarters in Thomasville (Thomas County) and Blackshear (Pierce County). Sherman orders the depot and a nearby hotel in Millen burned. Today the site is part of Magnolia Springs State Park
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Thomas County, Georgia |
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Pierce County, Georgia |
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March to the Sea |
| December 4, 1864 |
Statesboro, Georgia, is the first major town visited by the Right Wing of Sherman's Army in almost two weeks.
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March to the Sea |
| December 4, 1864 |
Battle of Waynesborough
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Civil War - 1864 |
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March to the Sea |
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William Tecumseh Sherman |
| December 13, 1864 |
Sherman captures Fort McAllister. Two miles east of the fort his men make contact with the waiting Union fleet marking the end of the March to the Sea
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Civil War - 1864 |
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March to the Sea |
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William Tecumseh Sherman |
| December 21, 1864 |
William Tecumseh Sherman captures Savannah
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City of Savannah, Georgia |
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Civil War - 1864 |
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William Tecumseh Sherman |
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March to the Sea |
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