Off subject, but this dude was a war criminal who’s Mark is still left on the landscape of the south.
Surprised you see it that way. Anyone seeking to gain victory as expeditiously as possible would arrive at the doctrine of total war. To do less needlessly costs the lives of your own men and prolongs the conflict.
If the enemy mines roads to cover their retreat, you should march their POWs out front. Saves your men's lives, raises morale, and discourages them from doing it again. If their forces are provisioned by local supplies, consume or destroy the goods along with their ability to make more.
To pretend that a slaughter can be conducted humanely is as goofy as committing to a war without intending to fight it fully. We've been guilty of this quite a bit. The white hat it affords our politicians is purchased by men who would otherwise have remained alive.
Now, if you want to claim that the Northern incursion was predicated on a panic to subjugate the economy of the South, or that the secession which occurred was on the part of the North since the North, not the South, left behind the existing system, then yeah. At no point was it about some moral imperative to free slaves. But Sherman was doing what anyone would do if told to get the job done and don't fuck around.
