General Sherman preferred the effects of fire and naps in Georgia, 1864. During Sherman’s march to Atlanta, his armies were constantly harassed by local cavalry or partisans, assisted and supplied by local sympathizers. Sherman’s orders were brutally simple, if residents furnished aid in any way to the rebel marauders, their homes, farms and sustenance would be confiscated, destroyed and burned.
Sherman chose to manuever his forces from the front, directing his center and wings personally. Once as the General sat a hill, near Kenesaw Mountain, reviewing his maps and observing the armies movements, he directed one of his subordinates regarding the intended line of march. General Sherman yelled his order to the officer below; ” See here, burn a few barns occasionally, as you go along. I can’t understand those signal flags, but I know what smoke means.” In this way Sherman could easily monitor the progress of his forces.
General Sherman was high-strung and exhibited nervous habits most of the time. These traits worried some of his staff, but they eventually came to realize, that as long as Sherman was fidgety, he was anxious to execute the battle strategy he had thought out the night before, a plan that normally meant success for his troops.
Sherman rarely slept well at night, going for lengthy walks, poking around the fire and if he did sleep he was up at least by 3:00 A.M. , not able to nod off until after daylight. The General related that the early morning hours were the, “best time to hear any movement at a distance.”
The night before the battle of Resaca, General Sherman stayed awake planning his strategy for the conflict to come. The following day found Sherman sitting on a log underneath a large tree, sound asleep. Several of his staff watched over him and were observing the troops as they marched to battle. One of the troopers asked; “Is that a general? A staffer responded; “Yes!” The trooper stated; “A pretty way we are commanded when our generals are laying drunk beside the road.”
Sherman awoke immediately and said; “Stop my man.” It had always been said that the General slept with one eye open, with one ear to the ground. “Stop my man” he repeated, “I am not drunk.While you were sleeping last night, I was planning, for you, sir, and now I am taking a nap. General Sherman never gets drunk, sir.”
The trooper, shame-faced, marched off having learned that it’s better to let “sleeping generals lie.”
Bummer
