296 pages / 5.50 x 8.50 inches / 12 halftones, 5 maps
History / United States - Civil War Period
Marching with Sherman: Through Georgia and the Carolinas with the 154th New York presents an innovative and provocative study of the most notorious campaigns of the Civil War—Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s devastating 1864 “March to the Sea” and the 1865 Carolinas Campaign. The book follows the 154th New York regiment through three states and chronicles 150 years, from the start of the campaigns to their impact today. Mark H. Dunkelman expands on the brief accounts of Sherman’s Marches found in regimental histories with an in-depth look at how one northern unit participated in the campaigns and how they remembered them decades later. Dunkelman also includes the often-overlooked perspective of southerners—most of them women—who encountered the soldiers of the 154th New York. In examining the postwar reminiscences of those staunch Confederate daughters, Dunkelman identifies the myths and legends that have flourished in the South for more than a century. Marching with Sherman concludes with Dunkelman’s own trip along the 154th New York’s route through Dixie—echoing the accounts of previous travelers—and examining the memories of the marches that linger today.
Mark H. Dunkelman is the author of Brothers One and All: Esprit de Corps in a Civil War Regiment; War's Relentless Hand: Twelve Tales of Civil War Soldiers; and Marching with Sherman: Through Georgia and the Carolinas with the 154th New York.
“Dunkelman’s scholarly effort is remarkable and thorough....A notable contribution to the literature on historical memory.”—Civil War History
“By systematically marrying known activities of the 154th New York to civilian accounts about the same places, the book conveys a better sense of specific Union activities and the resulting civilian experience than most accounts of Sherman's marches. This dual approach is a valuable contribution, allows ample reflection on the hard realities of Sherman's marches, and deserves an audience for trying to sort out fact and fiction on these matters.”—The Civil War News
“Marching with Sherman's narrative precision, crisp prose, and competent research deserve plaudits, as does Dunkelman's attempt to expand the analytical possibilities of regimental history.”—North Carolina Historical Review
“Dunkelman's achievement is to show in detail just how incommensurately northerners and southerners experienced, interpreted, and remembered the time Sherman came marching through, as well as how these differences in understanding and recollection have shifted by time and place . . . This is a path-breaking work in the study of Sherman's campaigns.” — The Civil War Monitor
“A welcome new account of Sherman's march through Georgia and the Carolinas. Well researched and engagingly written."—Mark Grimsley, author of The Hard Hand of War: Union Military Policy Toward Southern Civilians, 1861-1865
“A labor of love and dedication, this is a detailed account of the 154th New York regiment’s wartime exploits and an analytical look at the way Americans, North and South, have viewed William T. Sherman and his marches. A fascinating book which deserves a wide reading.”—John F. Marszalek, author of Sherman: A Soldiers Passion for Order
Guest blog entry by Mark Dunkelman
LISTEN: Mark Dunkelman discusses Marching with Sherman on Civil War Talk Radio.
Authors website, The Hardtack Regiment
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