WHEN SHERMAN CAME

by Katherine Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

This latest book by the author of Ladies of Richmond, etc., consists of a series of contemporary accounts by Southern women telling what happened to them when Sherman's 600,000 men marched through their country. Sherman began his march on Nov. 16, 1864, at Atlanta, and ended it on April 20, 1865, in North Carolina, when General Joe E. Johnston surrendered to him. The object of the March, in Bruce Catton's words, was to ""destroy an economy and wreck a faith""; this Sherman accomplished. The letters, memoirs, newspaper accounts and other records in this book are all much alike; tales of panic and heroism, looting and destruction and terror--and also of unexpected kindnesses displayed by the hated Yankees. The final effect, unfortunately, is one of monotony, impossible to avoid in a collection such as this one, in which all the material is much the same and is also of necessity heavily one-sided; no Southern woman could be expected to welcome Sherman's army with open arms. The Southern editor-author, however, displays little bias; she is reporting the March through the eyes of women who saw it, not fighting the War herself. Southern War-buffs and Civil War historians will find little unknown material in this well-edited volume, one for reference rather than casual reading; students will value it for its excellent list of sources.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Bobbs-Merrill

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION