This Day in History September 1, 1864

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This might give you a hint as to what occurred on this date.  Those of you who are Civil War scholars will know that this was towards the end of the War.  And this was the day that Atlanta fell to Sherman.

William Sherman was a native of Ohio and a graduate of West Point.  He began serving right away with the Union Army, and eventually he commanded large numbers of forces under General Grant.  In spring of 1864, he became the supreme commander of the armies in the West.  It was General Grant that ordered him to take the city of Atlanta because it was a key military supply center and railroad hub.

The Atlanta campaign actually began in May of 1864.  But it was this day that saw the fall of Atlanta.  It was less than a year later that the war ended.  But as you can guess, Atlanta recovered quickly after the war, and it even became the capital of Georgia--as it is today.

Now how does this fit?  Well, I can't help but remember the movie Gone With the Wind.  I remember the scene when Scarlet and Rhett are trying to escape from Atlanta as it burns.  It is a dramatic scene indeed.  I remember learning in college (and here is the site to back it up) that the old King Kong set was burned during this scene in the film.  Of all things, it was my music professor who taught me this, and I don't even know why it was brought up!  But anyway, I guess that this is the only film I ever saw that helped me understand somewhat what the people must have felt as they fled the city.  I never questioned whether Sherman was in his rights until I saw that film.  This film actually made me feel sorry for the South.

But after all, what do I know?  I'm a Washington native, and we were busy fighting the Indians at this time in history!!  (That was a response I used as I was growing up because Washington State doesn't figure into a lot of exciting American history.)

What I will say is that at least slavery is over, and hopefully the U.S. will never fight like this again!  God bless the USA!

For more information (including a video), check out this site.