Sherman's capture of Atlanta was politically important as
it convinced many people in the North that the war would soon end, and in fact aided in
the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. Up to that point, Lincoln's re-election had been
questionable. He was only re-nominated on the ninth ballot and was opposed on the
Democratic ticket by George B. McClellan, the former commander of the Union Army whom
Lincoln had fired. McClellan was supported by northern Copperheads, that is Democrats
who wanted an immediate end to the war.
Atlanta was one of
the major industrial cities in the South, and its loss was a devastating blow to the
Southern cause. Sherman turned it into a fortress and forced its residents to leave. He
ordered his troops to destroy major factories and railroad lines by setting them on
fire; but the fire burned out of control and destroyed over one third of the
city.
Sherman used his victory at Atlanta to convince
Lincoln and U.S. Grant, now commander in chief of Union forces, that he should wage
"total war," in order to break the spirit of the Southern people. On the strength of
this, he began his famous "March to the Sea" in which he destroyed immense amounts of
Confederate property and crops. His efforts led the South to believe the war was no
longer worth fighting.
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