The National tribune., 1909-07-15
Thinking Wen Over the Next Step.


flushed with victory upon victory from
Dalton to Atlanta
Thinking Well Over the Next Step.
Atlanta was certainly ours and fair
ly won," and Sherman had much reason
to want to stop and think well over the
next step required in the progress of
events"
While the people of the North were
exulting over the great victory. no one
knew better than Sherman it only
brought more momentous responsible
ties. Mcclellan and his school had
preached that all that was necessary
was to take places by grand strategy"
This is what he had learned from the
European books he had industriously
conned. With much larger understand
ing Sherman had said from the start
that this was war of peoples, and that
the people of the South would never
yield until physically beaten. In his
own words, 1T had to be shot out of
them" This was also the belief of
Grant. Thomas and Sheridan. and the
principle upon which they acted.
The situation was this:
Sherman had an army of approyi-
mately $1,000 infantry. 5000 cavalry
and $500 artillery-say, $4,000 all
told-at Atlanta, 500 miles south of the
Ohio River, and dependent for all of its
supplies upon a single line of poorly
built and equipped railroad A very
brief interruption of this vital cord of
communication would starve the army.
Hood had gotten out of Atlanta with
approximately $4,000 infantry and ar
tiIlery, while his 10000 or $4,000 cav
airy was far to the north, raging around
the railroads in Tennessee. No longer
having to defend Atlanta, Hood was
now free to move where he pleased.
Grants way would have been to
move directly upon and crush him, now
that he was in the open country. Sher-
man was evidently afraid that Hood
would elude his direct attack, and
manuver to draw him still farther away
from his base.
To Make Atlanta a Base.
At first Sherman decided to treat At
lanta as Nashville, Murfreesboro, Chat
tanooga, Dalton, Altoona and Marietta
had been treated; that is, make 1T a
base for future operations With bitter
experience at Memphis, New Orleans,
Yicksburg, Nashville and Chattanooga
| of the troubles caused by large civil
| population in a military post, he de-
cided upon the heroic plan of depopu-
Iating the city. Atlanta was then a
town of about 5000 permanent inhab-
itants, so that their interests were, after
all. relatively small in comparison to
Il
extended military operations.
| Gen. Sherman decided upon this
course as early as Sept. 4, and wrote to
Gen. Halleck, saying:
/ If the people raise a howl against
my barbarity and cruelty, will answer
that war is war, and not popularity
seeking. II they want peace, they and
their relatives must stop the war;
In his rMemoirs'' Cen Sherman says:
II knew, of course, that such a meas
lure would be strongly criticized, but
made UP my mind to do it with abse-
lutte certainty of its justness and that
time would sanction its wisdom. knew
that the people of the South would
Tread in this measure two important
conclusions: One, that we were in earn
est, and the other, il they were sincere
in their common and popular ciamor to
die in the last ditch that the oppor-
ttunity would soon come"
His Reasons.
In letter to Gen HalIeck Gen. Sher-
man succinctly stated his reasons.
I'VE want all the houses in Allan
ia for military storage and occupation.
we want to contract the lines OF
defense. so as TO diminish the garrison
to the limit necessary to defend its mar
row and vital parts, instead of embrac-
ling, as the lines now do, the vast
Esuburbs. This contraction of the lines,
with the necessary citadeIs and re-
doubts will make it necessary to de-
stroy the very houses used by famili-
IIies as residences.
Atlanta is fortified town, was stub
borniy defended and fairly captured
As captors we have a right to 1t.
The residence here of poor popu-
lation would compel US sooner or later
to feed them or see them starve before
our eyes.
THE residence here of the families
of our enemies would be a temptation
land means to keep up correspond
tence dangerous and hurtful to our
lcause;. civil population calls for pro-
tvost guards, and absorbs the attention
Iof officers in listening to everlasting
complaints and special grievances that
are not military
Any one of the reasons given will
lstrike the man of common sense as
fully sufficient, and the last two as more
THAN sufficient. The War Department
tcordiaIly approved the plan.
| Sherman as a Correspondent.
The occasion demonstrated that Sher-
man was great in an unexpected direc.
Ition, and as mighty with the pen as
with the sword. Hood had some smart
Iyoung fellow on his staff, who was stuck
lon his literary style, and he wrote let
tier, which Hood signed, flinging the
lwhole vocabulary of Southern epithets
at Sherman. Replying, Sherman point
ed out that Gen. Johnston had careful
tly and wisely removed the families from
every town around which he had made
| a stand, that Hood had burned SO
houses along his line OF intrenchments
around Atlanta, and that he had made
his line of defense so close to the towr
that our cannon shots and many OF ouI
tmusket bullets had struck houses in
(which were women and children. III
conclusion Sherman said:
In the name of common sense I ask
lyou not to appeal to a just God in such
"a SacriIePinus r1annar Yor rrrhn liz