What the Yankees Did to Us: Sherman's Bombardment and Wrecking of Atlanta
| By author: | Stephen Davis |
Product Code:
P554
ISBN:
9780881466409
Publisher:
Mercer University Press
| In stock |
Price:
$30.00
Qty:
*
The name of Union general William T. Sherman is still reviled in Atlanta, 150 years after his soldiers devastated this important Georgia city. Thirty-seven days of artillery bombardment, July-August 1864, wrecked countless downtown buildings and killed perhaps a score of civilians. Longtime Atlantan Stephen Davis describes Sherman’s shelling in detail unmatched in the Civil War literature. After capturing Atlanta, Federal troops occupied the city for two and a half months during September-November, further tearing down more buildings to make their huts and fortifications. Before leading his army across Georgia to the sea, Sherman ordered the leveling of much of downtown. His soldiers took up torches on their own and set fires throughout town. The “Burning of Atlanta” is thus only part of the city’s wartime travail. Davis tells the story with a thoroughness and understanding that makes What the Yankees Did to Us the definitive work on the subject.
Reviews
Review by: Gordon Jones, senior military historian and curator—Atlanta History Center - December 1, 2012
The “Burning of Atlanta” has taken on such mythical proportions that it long ago became separated from historical fact. In WHAT THE YANKEES DID TO US, Stephen Davis has re-examined original sources and discovered new ones to re-tell the story but this time with feet planted firmly in reality. The result is the best and most accurate work on this topic to date. If you think you already knew about this famous chapter in Civil War history, think again.