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Assured Victory: Sherman's March through Georgia

Introduction

On an unknown date in the midst of a sweltering Georgia summer in 1864, George W. Norton, a soldier with the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry, took a moment out of his day to write to his wife. This was not an unusual occurrence; most of the letters that George wrote home were addressed to his wife, Abby. However, on this particular occasion, George decided to write his wife during the middle of a picket skirmish. In his letter he tells his wife that they are camped so close to the Confederate lines that he can look up from his letter and see the "Johnnys," and hear the "continued firing between the pickets." Rather than sounding scared or even concerned with the proximity of the fighting, Norton writes with an air of indifference and states "we have got so used to these that we don't mind it" This lack of concern on the part of Norton is indicative of a general trend of confidence that is found throughout his letters. Moreover it is representative of many other Union sources concerning the campaigns in Georgia during the American Civil War. Letters written by soldiers in Sherman's Army, official records and documents from the war, unit histories, and Sherman's own memoirs all provide specific examples, as well as providing a general theme, of the soldier's in Sherman's Army asserting their confidence in themselves, the army, and the certainty of victory.

When researching the campaign of Sherman's Army in Georgia between 1864 and 1865, aside from reading the usual information about battles, camp life, and news from home, one also reads example after example of confidence on the part of the soldiers. Whether the confidence portrayed is implied in the general tone of the letters or histories of the campaign, or whether the soldiers state their assuredness in victory directly, the confidence portrayed by the soldiers is real and extensive. The first section of this article will provide examples of this confidence and how it is expressed in the various sources of letters and histories.
A sense of confidence expressed by the soldiers, at first glance, would not seem to be of such importance or concern. After all, they were fighting a war and it is important to keep ones' hopes up and to present the best possible outlook. However, the confidence that is expressed in the letters and other sources is more than just a positive outlook on the part of the soldiers. Some, studying Sherman's campaign after the fact, might

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