Political object first
Union, then union-and-emancipation -- strategy followed politics.
The eastern war was a short brutal corridor between two capitals. The western war was a river-and-rail war that split the Confederacy.
Sherman's march is described as political economy in motion -- not as a guide to destroying civilian infrastructure.
Principles
Coordinate theatres
Grant's 1864 insight: press everywhere so Lee cannot feed on transfers.
Sea and river control
The Confederacy was a land power that needed exports.
Hard war vs conciliation
Sherman and Lincoln's 1865 terms -- two tools, one end-state.
Memory is a campaign
The Lost Cause shows losers can win the statues.
Steps
- Sectional break
1860 election and secession winter.
Ballots can be a fuse when a labour system is on the ballot.
- Improvised war
1861-62: volunteers, early defeats, naval blockade.
Neither side had a European-size staff.
- Emancipation turn
1862-63: Antietam, the Proclamation, USCT.
War aims can widen in a civil war.
- Twin hinges
July 1863: Gettysburg and Vicksburg.
Two theatres, one weekend of news.
- Attrition and election
1864: Grant, Sherman, Lincoln re-elected.
Atlanta was a ballot-box battle.
- Surrender and after
1865-77: Appomattox, assassination, Reconstruction.
The last campaign was legal and terroristic, not only military.
Diagrams
East (capitals) vs west (rivers) -- a simple split that explains Grant's rise.
A schematic of contraband camps and USCT recruitment as the war moved south.
Limits
Death-toll method
Census-based estimates vs muster rolls -- we keep a band.
Guerrilla undercount
Missouri and the Indian Territory are still being researched.
No how-to
Tactical narrative is historical description.
Gettysburg was decisive as a raid that failed, not as the last battle.
Guerrilla war in Missouri and the border was a third map English films often skip.