Sherman's March  "I Wouldn't Have Believed It"  February - March, 1865

"I never saw a more confident army. The soldiers think I know everything and that they can do anything", wrote Union Gen. William T. Sherman to his wife. Sherman, too, thought his men could do anything, and go anywhere. When Sherman's army cut all communication with the North and set out from Atlanta to march through Georgia, President Lincoln described the situation as knowing which hole the mouse went in but not which hole he would come out. The hole Sherman eventually came out of was Savannah, and after a month of resting and refitting his 60,000 men, he was ready to duck into another hole, this time on a drive through South Carolina, the state most detested by Yankees.

The federal soldiers destroyed everything in their path as they marched through the "Cradle of Secession", but as remarkable as the devastation they caused was the march itself. These veteran troops, with their 2,500 wagons, 600 ambulances, and 68 guns, moved during the rainy season through the low country of South Carolina, with its many rivers and endless swamps, at a speed that was astounding. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it happen", said Confederate Gen. William J. Hardee, whose small command was helpless against the blue horde.

Pioneer units moved at the front of the army, building roads through the swamps and bridging creeks and rivers. They built corduroyed roads through the swamps by cutting down trees and saplings and laying them side by side across the road to create a solid surface. These corduroyed roads would sometimes continue for great distances to a river. Once pontoon bridges were constructed and the river crossed, the corduroying would begin again. In two weeks the army had passed through the low country and arrived at its first goal- Columbia, the capital of South Carolina.

Fascinating Fact:  Sherman's army had to cross no fewer than eight rivers and the accompanying swamps in the march from Savannah to Columbia.


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