Somewhere Toward Freedom
Sherman's March and the Story of America's Largest Emancipation
Bennett Parten
- A
- groundbreaking
- account
- of
- Sherman’s
- March
- to
- the
- Sea—the
- critical
- Civil
- War
- campaign
- that
- destroyed
- the
- Confederacy—told
- for
- the
- first
- time
- from
- the
- perspective
- of
- the
- tens
- of
- thousands
- of
- enslaved
- people
- who
- fled
- to
- the
- Union
- lines
- and
- transformed
- Sherman’s
- march
- into
- the
- biggest
- liberation
- event
- in
- American
- history.In
- the
- fall
- of
- 1864,
- Gen.
- William
- T.
- Sherman
- led
- his
- army
- through
- Atlanta,
- Georgia,
- burning
- buildings
- of
- military
- significance—and
- ultimately
- most
- of
- the
- city—along
- the
- way.
- From
- Atlanta,
- they
- marched
- across
- the
- state
- to
- the
- most
- important
- city
- at
- the
- time:
- Savannah.Mired
- in
- the
- deep
- of
- the
- South
- with
- no
- reliable
- supply
- lines,
- Sherman’s
- army
- had
- to
- live
- off
- the
- land
- and
- the
- provisions
- on
- the
- plantations
- they
- seized
- along
- the
- way.
- As
- the
- army
- marched
- to
- the
- east,
- plantation
- owners
- fled,
- but
- even
- before
- they
- did
- so,
- slaves
- self-emancipated
- to
- Union
- lines.
- By
- the
- time
- the
- army
- seized
- Savannah
- in
- December,
- as
- many
- as
- 20,000
- enslaved
- people
- had
- attached
- themselves
- to
- Sherman’s
- army.
- They
- endured
- hardships,
- marching
- as
- much
- as
- twenty
- miles
- a
- day—often
- without
- food
- or
- shelter
- from
- the
- winter
- weather—and
- at
- times
- Union
- commanders
- discouraged
- and
- even
- prevented
- the
- self-emancipated
- from
- staying
- with
- the
- army.
- Racism
- was
- not
- confined
- to
- the
- Confederacy.In
- Somewhere
- Toward
- Freedom,
- historian
- Bennett
- Parten
- brilliantly
- reframes
- this
- seminal
- episode
- in
- Civil
- War
- history.
- He
- not
- only
- helps
- us
- understand
- how
- Sherman’s
- March
- impacted
- the
- war,
- and
- what
- it
- meant
- to
- the
- enslaved,
- but
- also
- reveals
- how
- it
- laid
- the
- foundation
- for
- the
- fledging
- efforts
- of
- Reconstruction.
- When
- the
- war
- ended,
- Sherman
- and
- various
- government
- and
- private
- aid
- agencies
- seized
- plantation
- lands—particularly
- in
- the
- sea
- islands
- off
- the
- Georgia
- and
- South
- Carolina
- coasts—in
- order
- to
- resettle
- the
- newly
- emancipated.
- They
- were
- fed,
- housed,
- and
- in
- some
- instances,
- taught
- to
- read
- and
- write.
- This
- first
- real
- effort
- at
- Reconstruction
- was
- short-lived,
- however.
- As
- federal
- troops
- withdrew
- to
- the
- north,
- Confederate
- sympathizers
- and
- Southern
- landowners
- eventually
- brought
- about
- the
- downfall
- of
- this
- program.Sherman’s
- march
- has
- remained
- controversial
- to
- this
- day.
- But
- as
- Parten
- reveals,
- it
- played
- a
- significant
- role
- in
- ending
- the
- Civil
- War,
- due
- in
- no
- small
- part
- to
- the
- efforts
- of
- the
- tens
- of
- thousands
- of
- enslaved
- people
- who
- became
- a
- part
- of
- it.
- In
- Somewhere
- Toward
- Freedom,
- this
- critical
- moment
- in
- American
- history
- has
- finally
- been
- given
- the
- attention
- it deserves.
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