For, Savannah, Christmas 1864 was anything but a time

for merriment. Almost four years of war had taken the

lives of thousands of Georgians, destroyed millions of

dollars in property and left the state in chaos. As the

holiday approached, so did the relentless Union Army

led by William Tecumseh Sherman. For Union soldiers,

it was a time for jubilant celebration as Gen. Sherman

telegraphed President Lincoln, "Sir: I beg to present

to you as a Christmas gift, the City of Savannah with

150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition; also about

25,000 bales of cotton."

(Left picture)

Innocent Victims of War Face Uncertain Future

In November 1864, Sherman initiated his historic

March to the Sea. With 57,000 infantry and 5,000

cavalry, the Union Army cut a 40 to 60 mile wide

swath through " the soft underbelly of the

Confederacy." Within days of Savannah's

surrender a Union officer wrote, "We are in

Savannah, in the full enjoyment of superb

quarters, fish, oysters and other good things and

our army relishes the condition of the affairs."

In Southern circles, "All talk was of burning

homes, houses knocked to pieces by balls,

famine, murder and desolation."

(Top center picture)

Pontoon Bridges Hasten Mass Exodus

In anticipation of Sherman's occupation of

Savannah, Confederate generals ordered the

construction of pontoon bridges to assist in

the evacuation of the city. " Boards and

timbers from the city wharves and some

buildings were pried up to use for flooring,

and Rebels scoured the area for rice flats to

help float the bridges." An eyewitness

compared the stream of wagons, soldiers,

and civilians to an "immense funeral procession

stealing out of the city at the dead of night."

(Lower pictures)

(l) Burning Confederate Navy Vessels Light

Up the Christmas Season Sky, (r)

Captured Cotton on the Docks Made a White

Christmas

(Right picture)

(u) Sherman's Army Marching Down Bay Street

and

Cartoon Mocks General's Holiday Generosity

" Implacable in war," Sherman was viewed by

onlookers as possessing a "nervous, rumpled,

irritable" nature. Known by his men as

Uncle Billy, he had little toleration and respect

for journalists or politicians. Prior to his onslaught

on the Southern states, Sherman proclaimed,

" War is the remedy of our enemies have

chosen and I say let us give them all they want;

not a word of argument, not a sign of let-up,

no cave in till we are whipped - or they are."

Marker is on E. River St..

Courtesy hmdb.org

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