'War Is Hell' (Sherman) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Scorched earth

The quote "the first modern general" comes from noted military historian B. H. Liddell Hart. Lightning war is a phrase that comes from WWII and the German use of Blitzkrieg, which literally means 'lightning war'. Sherman believed that not only did the Southern armies need to be defeated but that the South's ability and will to wage war needed to be destroyed. Both Grant and Lincoln shared this view but no one put it into better practice than Sherman.

The best examples of Sherman's use of this strategy can be seen in his March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign. Sherman wrote a telegram to Grant prior to his March stating, "I can make this march, and I will make Georgia howl!", clearly indicating that his intent was to inflict as much damage as possible not only on the military but on the state as a whole. Although Sherman was a practitioner of total war, many historians have noted that the warfare he conducted against 'non-military' targets was tempered with sound judgment. He only attacked those things that supported the South's ability to wage war and did not allow for wholesale slaughter or unbridled violence against the Southern people. Too many times throughout history, armies in his position take advantage of the situation but for the most part Sherman's men did not.

Answer: The Battle of Shiloh

Shiloh can mean 'peace' in Hebrew. The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was fought on April 6-7, 1862. At the time Grant was commander of the Army of West Tennessee, aka the Army of the Tennessee, and Sherman commanded that army's 5th division.

The Confederates under Albert Sidney Johnston launched a surprise attack on Apr. 6, catching the Union forces off guard. But Sherman rallied his troops and fought an orderly delaying retreat that kept the Union forces from being routed.

Sherman was instrumental in the Union counterattack of the 7th. At Shiloh, he was wounded twice and had three horses shot from under him.

Answer: The Vicksburg Campaign

The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou was the opening battle in the Vicksburg campaign in which Sherman commanded three divisions. His attempt to attack north of Vicksburg to open the way for a direct attack on Vicksburg failed when he met stiff resistance from Confederate forces led by John Pemberton.

The failure led Grant to change his plans for the campaign since a direct assault was now impossible. The failure was not one of leadership but rather of terrain with the Confederates holding high ground that the Union forces could not overcome.

Answer: The Army of the Tennessee

When Grant assumed command of the entire Western theater (the Military Division of the Mississippi), Sherman took over Grant's old command of the Army of the Tennessee. Chattanooga is in Tennessee hence the clue. Sherman played a critical role in Grant's defeat of Bragg's Confederate Army of Tennessee during the campaign.

This forced the eventual withdrawal of all Confederate forces from Tennessee. The success of the campiagn opened the door for Sherman's invasion of Georgia and the ensuing capture of Atlanta.

Answer: Joseph E. Johnston

After the success of the Chattanooga Campaign, Grant was ordered East to command all Union Armies and he appointed Sherman to take over the Western Theater (the Military Division of the Mississippi). As Grant faced Robert E. Lee, Sherman faced Joseph E. Johnston, who had replaced Bragg as commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Johnston proved a worthy opponent and slowed Sherman's progress considerably as he had to continually maneuver to overcome Johnston's fixed defensive positions. Later, Johnston was replaced as commander of the Amry of Tennessee but was brought out of retirement to face Sherman in the Carolinas Campaign. Johnston served as an honorary pallbearer at Sherman's funeral and caught a cold in the terrible weather. This developed into pneumonia and he died several weeks later.

Answer: Kennesaw Mountain

Sherman invaded Georgia from Chatannoga Tennessee. He and Johnston engaged in a time consuming campaign of maneuver, each seeking to gain an advantage over the other. Sherman resisted the temptation to attack Johnston's fixed defensive positions but instead chose to continually outflank these positions. Upon finally reaching the Atlanta region, Sherman engaged Johnston in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain.

The battle proved to be a costly Union defeat but it only postponed the inevitable and could not prevent the eventual fall of Atlanta.

The Confederates made a serious strategic error in replacing Johnston with John Bell Hood, whose style played right into Sherman's hands. Hood aggressively attacked the Union forces in futile attempts to slow their progress towards Atlanta.

His losses could not be replaced while the Union forces continually grew stronger.

Answer: Atlanta, GA

"Gone with the Wind" actually portrayed the destruction in Atlanta of military supplies and the like done by retreating Confederate troops under the command of John Bell Hood on the night of Sept. 1, 1864 to keep anything of significance from falling into Union hands.

Sherman did not order any destruction until November 15, when he left Atlanta on his March to the Sea. He ordered the destruction of any buildings or supplies that could be turned to military purposes.

Answer: Savannah, GA

Sherman's proposal to cut free from his supply lines and march 300 miles through enemy held territory was an audacious and risky plan that both Lincoln and Grant had serious reservations about. Nonetheless, Grant gave Sherman permission to carry out the plan.

Sherman's men carried enough supplies for 20 days and that was it. Everything else they needed they would gather by living off the land. Interestingly, Sherman used the 1860 census to determine what supplies would be available where throughout Georgia. For about a month Sherman and his men were not heard from in the North as they cut a swath of destruction across Georgia. On Dec. 13th he reached the outskirts of Savannah and by the 20th the city had fallen to his forces. He presented the city to Lincoln as a Christmas present.

Answer: South Carolina was the first state to secede and a rebel hotbed

Sherman held South Carolina in special disdain for being the first state to leave the Union. He did not hold back his men as they marched across the state, allowing them to wreak vengeance on the state for their sins. Sherman believed his march through the Carolinas, and South Carolina in particular, would have a severe psychological effect on the South because of its prominence in the rebellion. Sherman's army used corduroy roads, roads built using felled logs, to march through the swamps of South Carolina at as many as 12 miles a day. The feat greatly impressed Joseph E. Johnston who compared Sherman's army to that of Julius Caesar.

The destruction of the center of Columbia, SC the night of Feb. 17, 1865 has been the source of great controversy. Since the Union forces had just arrived there that day, it is clearly plausible that the fire could have been accidental, deliberately set by retreating Southern forces, or an act of vengeance by Sherman and his men. Clearly, Sherman was not upset by the destruction and whether a deliberate act or not, he felt no remorse for what happened. When Sherman's men reached North Carolina they were reigned back in and treated that state much more leniently, believing it to have been a reluctant participant in the rebellion because it seceded so late.

Answer: North Carolina

Bentonville was in North Carolina and was Johnston's last attempt to stop Sherman's push north. The battle took place March 19-21, 1865. At the time Sherman had divided his forces into two columns, one army commanded by Henry Slocum and one army commanded by Oliver Howard. Johnston concentrated what forces he could muster in order to attack Slocum's column and hopefully win a victory before the forces could be combined to face him.

Although the Union forces underestimated the will and ability of the Confederate forces as they attacked, the Union forces were able to hold their ground until reinforcements arrived.

The lines stabilized with little fighting on the 20th. On the 21st, Joseph Mower, commanding a Union division on the right flank, launched an assault towards Mill Creek Bridge and was having great success before Sherman ordered them to pull back.

The move allowed the Confederates to escape. Sherman later admitted he made a mistake as his forces could have captured Johnston's if he had let Mower proceed.