Article from the Daily South Carolinian anticipating Sherman's March through South Carolina, January 1865
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Document Description:
From September through December of 1864, after capturing and burning Atlanta, General William Tecumsah Sherman led his Union army through Georgia in his “March to the Sea.” Sherman and his men, who did not have provisions and survived from the land and the provisions they confiscated, swept through Georgia to destroy war materials and communication routes, as well as homes and plantations. In the first months of 1865, Sherman traveled northward through South Carolina. This excerpt from the Daily South Carolinian relates a letter from a woman in South Carolina, illustrating the wide communication of the destruction caused by Sherman’s army, and the belief of South Carolinians that, as their cause was just, they would stop Sherman. Sherman soon tore through the state, including the burning of Columbia on February 18th, and continued on into North Carolina.
Citation:
Untitled. Columbia Daily South Carolinian. 12 January 1865. Newspapers on microfilm, South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
Correlating SC Social Studies Academic Standards:
Standard 3-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the events that led to the Civil War, the course of the War and Reconstruction, and South Carolina’s role in these events.
Indicator 3.4-4 Outline the course of the Civil War and South Carolina’s role in significant events, including the Secession Convention, the firing on Fort Sumter, the Union blockade of Charleston, and Sherman’s march through South Carolina.
Standard 4-6: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the Civil War and its impact on America.
Indicator 4-6.4 Summarize significant key battles, strategies, and turning points of the Civil War—including the battles of Fort Sumter and Gettysburg, the Emancipation Proclamation, the significance of the Gettysburg Address, and the surrender at Appomattox—and the role of African Americans in the War.
Standard 8-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the causes and events leading to, and the course of, the American Civil War.
Indicator 8-3.5 Compare the military strategies of the North and South with regard to specific events and geographic locations in South Carolina, including the capture of Port Royal, the Union blockade of Charleston, and Sherman’s march through the state.
Standard USHC-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the causes and the course of the Civil War and Reconstruction in America.
Indicator USHC-4.3 Outline the course and outcome of the Civil War, including the role of African American military units; the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation; and the geographic, political, and economic factors involved in the defeat of the Confederacy.