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186415 November 1864 – 16 January 1865 · Savannah, Georgia

Sherman's March to the Sea and Field Order No. 15

The Gothic Revival Green-Meldrim House in Savannah, Sherman's headquarters after he took the city
Photo: Jud McCranie. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

William T. Sherman's army of about 62,000 left Atlanta in November 1864, wrecking railways, farms and stores across Georgia, and took Savannah on 21 December. In January 1865, after meeting twenty Black community leaders in the city, Sherman set aside the Sea Islands and coastal rice lands for freed families in plots of up to 40 acres. President Andrew Johnson returned most of the land to former owners that autumn.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Green-Meldrim House, Madison SquareGothic Revival house where Sherman lodged and met the city's Black leaders.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Fort McAllister State ParkEarthwork fort whose capture on 13 December 1864 opened Sherman's link to the fleet.Map ↗
  3. Site 3: Pin Point Heritage MuseumGullah Geechee community museum in a former oyster and crab factory.Map ↗

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