William T. Sherman, Commanding General of the Military Division of the Mississippi, 1864-1866

Author

• Henry W. Johnson, Xavier University of Louisiana

Date of Award

1953

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Keywords

William T. Sherman, Military Division of the Mississippi, Atlanta Campaign, Civil War Strategy, Union Army Logistics, Joseph E. Johnston, John Bell Hood, Fort Pillow Massacre, Civil War Reconstruction, Military Biography

Abstract

This thesis, submitted to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Xavier University in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in 1953, examines General William T. Sherman’s tenure as commanding general of the Military Division of the Mississippi from 1864 to 1866, focusing on an aspect of his career the author argues has been neglected relative to general Civil War scholarship. Drawing on official war records, including roughly five hundred microfilmed documents from the War Department’s archives, Sherman’s own memoirs, and the accounts of his fellow commanders, Johnson traces Sherman’s assumption of command from Grant in March 1864, his logistical and organizational preparations for the Atlanta campaign, and his coordinated advance against Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston and later John Bell Hood through Georgia and the Carolinas.

The thesis gives particular attention to Sherman’s handling of supply and transportation problems, including his seizure of railroad rolling stock over civilian objections, and to contested episodes such as the Fort Pillow massacre of Black Union troops by Confederate cavalry under Nathan Bedford Forrest. The study continues through the fall of Atlanta, Johnston’s surrender, and the Division’s postwar occupation duties, arguing that Sherman’s accomplishments in both military conquest and postwar rehabilitation of the region warrant renewed and more balanced historical attention than southern-sympathetic accounts have generally given them.

Note: No original abstract was included; this abstract is provided by the XULA Digital Commons editors.

Recommended Citation

Johnson, Henry W., "William T. Sherman, Commanding General of the Military Division of the Mississippi, 1864-1866" (1953). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 152.
https://digitalcommons.xula.edu/etd/152