In 1863, the Union army was trapped in the city of Chattanooga until Grant was able to open a supply line. Once this happened, the Union armies were able to continue south into Georgia. Chattanooga became the supply hub for the Atlanta Campaign. Meanwhile, Georgia's entire coast was tightly blockaded and Lee decided not to put up a fight and use troops elsewhere. The Atlanta Campaign was important because Atlanta was a symbol of southern pride and the Union had to conquer land and progress in order to secure Lincoln's reelection. Sherman and his army cut all of Atlanta's supply lines off to finally starve out and capture the city. Once he took Atlanta, Sherman ordered his men to burn all of the Confederate ammunition and supplies, however his soldiers got carried away and burned a large part of the city. Sherman's March to the Sea was very risky because the army didn't know if there were enough supplies along the way. He passed farms and met several slaves in the march. Even though Sherman did not like blacks, he treated them well. His army destroyed a lot of southern property and the march continued into South Carolina.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Sherman_sea_1868.jpg/1280px-Sherman_sea_1868.jpg
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