The Scourge of War: The Life of William Tecumseh Sherman

The Scourge of War: The Life of William Tecumseh Sherman
Socio-Cultural Features, Economic Conditions, and Political Structures
There are many socio-cultural features, economic conditions, and political structures of time and place in the total war strategy by General Sherman. In this regard, the book titled "The Scourge of War (Reid 15). The Life of William Tecumseh Sherman" highlights such economic and political structures that were relevant at the time. In this book, William Sherman was one of the initiators of the campaign of the American Civil War that concluded the operations of the Union in the State of Georgia, US. In this, Sherman was very instrumental in applying a scorched-earth policy that was intended to cripple the war-making capacity of the South.    
From an economic perspective, William Sherman devised a strategy to ensure that the Confederate did not succeed economically. In this regard, Sherman devised a mechanism to bring the economy of the Confederate to its knees that would lead to its eventual collapse. Sherman's primary intention was to neutralize and capture Atlanta so that it would collapse economically (Bailey 200). During the time, Atlanta was a significant economic hub not only in Georgia but also in the entire United States. When the seizure happened, Atlanta was immensely affected. Some affected areas included manufacturing hubs, supply depots, and railroad centers. 
From a socio-cultural perspective, General Sherman’s war was highly destructive and affected innocent civilians. In this regard, the dangerous path embraced by General Sherman's war strategy blazes a new formula that would see the forces conquer all the areas they had targeted. In addition, the devastating march of the General brought about a kind of warfare never witnessed before and resulted in the advent of the Second World War. In addition, the carnage of the war resulted in the death of many people never seen before (Ryan 276). The massacre left over 23,000 combatants dead, missing, or wounded, which resulted in a considerable humanitarian crisis. There were numerous cases of mistreatment of innocent civilians and guerilla attacks that made Sherman even angrier and firmer against the Confederates. In this regard, Sherman also blamed the Confederacy for all the suffering experienced by the people. 
The Total War strategy by General Sherman also exemplified the Union forces forcefully invading Tennessee in the early periods of the war. However, it was not easy for the armed forces, who faced immense challenges from the Federal commanders. In this case, they had to face a hostile population in their efforts to conquer and govern the territory. On the other hand, there were also challenges governing the area they conquered because there were no clear political structures (Freedman 105). Dealing with a hostile population not ready for change and suppressing the widespread guerrilla activities became some of the problems faced by the new forces. In this case, General Sherman and his troops found themselves on the receiving end because he had to deal both with the internal and external dissent from his forces and external troops whom he had to deal with. 
Major General William Sherman had a critical role in the development of the pacification policy of the Union in the Tennessee area. In this case, one of his primary goals and objectives was to ensure that the Confederacy did not have its way and that the Union had the sway. As would have been expected, General Sherman had a top mark as far as the policy was concerned. For example, his pacification theory became the epitome of winning the war against the Confederacy. On the other hand, he had a general view on various issues that mattered in the war, such as the relationships between the general meaning of the war, the counterinsurgency, and guerrilla warfare (Freedman 106). However, General Sherman had one weakness that seemed to work against him. Although Sherman had some brilliant policies, he could not suppress guerrilla activities by using some conventional field tactics. 
Connecting the Event to Historical Context
There is a connection between General William Sherman and American history as far as the American Civil War is concerned. In the book, Sherman played a pivotal role in the war by devising a winning strategy to ensure that the Confederate failed socially, politically, and economically. In this regard, Sherman directly connected to the historical war because his primary objective was to collapse the area's economy in question in Atlanta, Georgia, so that his forces could conquer the area (Ryan 270). At the time, Atlanta was a central economic hub, and interfering with the city's operations would lead to its eventual collapse.  
According to the book under review, General Sherman devised a campaign to put the city of Atlanta under siege. In this regard, his efforts were meant to ensure that the authorities surrendered to his rule, which would have given him political and economic mileage (Owens 140). Therefore, Sherman was primarily interested in ensuring that the authorities surrendered so that he and his forces could take over the area. In a historical context, General William Sherman ordered the evacuation of thousands of civilians so that he could take over the area with minor casualties. Sherman's primary mission was also to ensure that his soldiers would use the homes left out by the civilians as operating bases in the conquest process.  
The Total War by William Sherman has a clear historical context that makes it enumerates critical historical events as they happened during the time of war. In this case, the events of the war describe how the march to the sea of the General happened in 1865, which affected many civilians. There were very many tactics that the Union applied to win the war situation at the time. The actions of Major General Sherman after capturing Atlanta, Georgia, and marching to the sea were the primary highlights of the war in the 20th century. Some historical evidence has claimed that Sherman was much more responsible for the massacre and was a criminal war (Guttieri 32). Therefore, the historical perspective claims that Sherman authorized the looting and plundering of civilian property. The actions of General Sherman culminated in a Union Policy for the benefit of civilians. 
The Total War strategy by General Sherman had one primary parameter as far as the historical context was concerned. In this case, the General applied a psychological warfare strategy where most historians agree that Sherman was one of the most innovative individuals. Although many people define total war differently, the strategy fell short because it was limited in some way and was never targeting civilians directly. Most historians contend that Sherman was the most innovative person of the time regarding warfare (Reid 21). In this case, his application of psychological warfare in the war was one of the most thoughtful in the history of war situations. Sherman concluded that the best way to end the war was not to promote confrontational fighting. The General’s primary objective was to convince people from the South that their government could not defend their interests. In this case, he aimed to apply psychological and destructive warfare to convince the Southerners.
Throughout history, General Sherman is one of the most prominent personalities who assisted in making war a hell of its own. Historically, the thinking of a war situation makes someone...