The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1865-02-03
sherman s March.

The foreign mails 10y tie Canada ar
rived here last night The London
papers had received the news Of the
capture of Savannah, and the Times
pays this tribute to Gen. Sherman:
General Sherman's campaign in
Georgia will undoubtedly rank here
after with the most memorable opera
tons OF modern war His principal
enterprise, il ia true, proved uneZpec-
teddy easy and practicable, but that
only reflects credit on the discernment
which could forecast the result, and it
must also be added that 40 slight por
ton Of this remarkable success is due
to the military skill with which the
great march was planned and con-
Quoted It should be remembered IN
estimating the tactics employed that
Sherman really commenced his ad-
vance, not from Atlanta, but from
Chattanooga, and the resistance which
he encountered between those two
points, when compared with the i'm
punity which has attended his subse
quent operations, appears ID show that
the strategy of General Johnston, the
commander originally opposed TO him,
deserved more approval than il OBJ
tanned From Chattanooga TO Atlanta
the distance is only ninety three miles
but in traversiug this distance the Fed
eral general consumed upwards Of ten
weeks, and lost IL is said, nearly forty
thousand men. From Atlanta to Sa>
yannah the distance is about two hun
dred and fifty miles; and yet Sherman
has now marched from the former city
10 the latter in twenty-three days with
out any loss worth recording. OF
course, the chief explanation of this
difference Is that in the first portion Of
the campaign the advance of the Fed
eral army was obstinately contested,
while in the latter portion it was un-
opposed but sherman owes his secu-
rity in great part 20 his own foresight
and science.
The Times then recites the particu-
lars of Sherman's march and continues:
1t thus appears that though there
was no army ia Georgia competent to
encounter Sherman on equal terms,
there were forces sufficient to have
given him considerable trouble had he
not evaded them by his skilful DISPOSE
tions. He deserves, too, no slight credit
for his acute appreciation of the work
before him 1t Is remarkable that the
New York journals, in giving descrip-
tions OF this famous march, introduce
their readers to the statistics, geOgraph-
ioal Conliguration and natural features
Of Georgia, exactly as if it were for
elgn country unknown to American
citizens, and it speaks well for Sher-
mans discernment and resolution that
he could plunge into such a region with
unwavering confidence At the same
time the circumstances were strongly in
his favor He had left far behind him
the only army which had already
marched from Chattanooga to Atlanta
and was familiarized with such expedi-
tions He trayersed the richest parts
Of Georgia, and escaped the swampy
and thinly settled districts Of the South
Still the great fact that after marching
nearly one hundred miles from Chatta-
nooga TO Atlanta, he should then have
marched two hundred and fifty more,
and brought his army, after al, IN good
condition and efficiency to the seacoast,
is testimony 70 professional qualities
of no common order.