Via Billy
“Stories of Courage amid Civil War Destruction”
Americans need to be reminded of the terror and destruction that can be unleashed on innocent civilians by an invading army with leaders unrestrained by Biblical standards and soldiers desiring revenge with no compassion for the suffering of women, children and the elderly.
Such was the situation when over sixty thousand troops under command of Union General William T. Sherman cut a 40 mile wide swath of total destruction across South Carolina, murdering, raping, stealing and destroying everything they could not carry with them.
Confederate troops had withdrawn from the state in the face of an overwhelming enemy force, hoping to minimize damage to the state. The mayor of Columbia had surrendered the city to Gen. Sherman with a solemn promise that the city and it’s remaining women, children, and elderly would not be harmed.
Sherman lied!
South Carolina historian and archivist Karen Stokes has collected graphic first person accounts by civilians who experienced these atrocities through letters, diaries, memoirs and newspaper accounts, much of which is corroborated by Sherman’s own officers and soldiers.
Author Karen Stokes Discusses “Civilians in Sherman’s Path”Such was the situation when over sixty thousand troops under command of Union General William T. Sherman cut a 40 mile wide swath of total destruction across South Carolina, murdering, raping, stealing and destroying everything they could not carry with them.
Confederate troops had withdrawn from the state in the face of an overwhelming enemy force, hoping to minimize damage to the state. The mayor of Columbia had surrendered the city to Gen. Sherman with a solemn promise that the city and it’s remaining women, children, and elderly would not be harmed.
Sherman lied!
South Carolina historian and archivist Karen Stokes has collected graphic first person accounts by civilians who experienced these atrocities through letters, diaries, memoirs and newspaper accounts, much of which is corroborated by Sherman’s own officers and soldiers.
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