.gif)
Sherman's March (2007 film)
Encyclopedia
Sherman's March is a 2007 American Civil War
television
documentary
first aired on the History Channel. The film is directed by Rick King and the executive producer is Jason Williams. The production combines narration with reenacted dramatic sequences as its foundation.
The film, narrated by actor Edward Herrmann
, tells the tale of Union
General William Tecumseh Sherman
, called "Uncle Billy" by his troops, and his five-week assault from Atlanta
to the Atlantic Ocean
(Savannah, Georgia
) and then north to trap Confederate States Army
General Robert E. Lee
.
Sherman's military campaign has become the mythic symbol of destruction during the Civil War. The opening sequence poses the question that reflects the film's theme:
's historic "March to the Sea
" through Georgia
, South Carolina
and North Carolina
during the fall of 1864. It shows Sherman marching 62,000 Union troops over 650 miles in less than 100 days, and losing only 600 men along the way. The march introduces a new concept to the already brutal Civil War: total war
, where the distinctions between combatants and civilians is blurred. While hated by white Southerners as a destroyer, Sherman is hailed by black Southerners as a liberator. It ends with Union victory and closes with Sherman as an old man living in New York and fondly remembering how his "nephews" and their "uncle Billy" would make ten miles a day.
The documentary utilizes state of the art production techniques including CGI
, special effects and historical re-creations. It relies on historical reenactors to play Sherman's soldiers and all dialogue is in fact quotes from historical sources: letters, Sherman's memoirs, diaries, etc. The documentary features a psychological profile on Sherman, stating that in the months leading up to the Civil War he was accused of being insane and that he contemplated suicide. Also, while the documentary was promoted as nuanced it mostly takes a pro-Sherman stance.
Bill Oberst, the actor playing Sherman, states in a behind-the-scenes featurette that whilst the general will always be a controversial figure, he nonetheless hopes that the documentary will shed light on why the man did what he did. It emphasizes that Sherman was loved by the enslaved blacks whom he freed and that while he did not see himself as fighting to destroy slavery, he nevertheless made a point of treating blacks whom he meet with courtesy and respect. (The documentary also shows the reactions of his soldiers as they met blacks along the March. Many had never seen a black person and they were surprised to learn that blacks were ordinary people.) The documentary also mentions that Sherman killed far fewer Confederate soldiers and civilians than did Ulysses S. Grant, his friend and fellow general, yet Sherman was the one vilified. The scholars interviewed postulate that the South had need for a scapegoat in the wake of the Civil War and that Sherman was the easiest target. For his part, Sherman is stated to have seen himself as only doing his duty and that he did not care what people said about him one way or the other.
Other cast
and also at Endview Plantation
and Lee Hall
in Newport News, Virginia
and in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
.
wrote, "Civil War documentaries are inevitably judged against the monumental work The Civil War by Ken Burns
. Sherman's March, different in tone and approach, more than holds its own. Whereas Burns used period photographs and regional music, Sherman's March leans on reenactments, maps and, like Burns, academic talking heads. If there is a quibble, it's that the music tends to distract, not enhance, the effect."
Broadcasting critic Dusty Saunders wrote of the scholarly aspects of the documentary, "...Sherman's March, [is] a compelling documentary on The History Channel that's must viewing for Civil War buffs. Even viewers with only passing knowledge about this military action will be mesmerized by this superb recounting."
Brian Lowry, critic for Variety
magazine, on the program's historical presentation: "... this tightly produced documentary provides a welcome primer on the military genius of William Tecumseh Sherman, whose famous march through the South remains a subject of controversy...this doc is among the better recent History Channel productions."
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
first aired on the History Channel. The film is directed by Rick King and the executive producer is Jason Williams. The production combines narration with reenacted dramatic sequences as its foundation.
The film, narrated by actor Edward Herrmann
Edward Herrmann
Edward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
, tells the tale of Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
General William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
, called "Uncle Billy" by his troops, and his five-week assault from Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
to the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
(Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
) and then north to trap Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
.
Sherman's military campaign has become the mythic symbol of destruction during the Civil War. The opening sequence poses the question that reflects the film's theme:
- Sherman: Terrorist or Savior?
Synopsis
The documentary chronicles General William Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
's historic "March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...
" through Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
during the fall of 1864. It shows Sherman marching 62,000 Union troops over 650 miles in less than 100 days, and losing only 600 men along the way. The march introduces a new concept to the already brutal Civil War: total war
Total war
Total war is a war in which a belligerent engages in the complete mobilization of fully available resources and population.In the mid-19th century, "total war" was identified by scholars as a separate class of warfare...
, where the distinctions between combatants and civilians is blurred. While hated by white Southerners as a destroyer, Sherman is hailed by black Southerners as a liberator. It ends with Union victory and closes with Sherman as an old man living in New York and fondly remembering how his "nephews" and their "uncle Billy" would make ten miles a day.
The documentary utilizes state of the art production techniques including CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
, special effects and historical re-creations. It relies on historical reenactors to play Sherman's soldiers and all dialogue is in fact quotes from historical sources: letters, Sherman's memoirs, diaries, etc. The documentary features a psychological profile on Sherman, stating that in the months leading up to the Civil War he was accused of being insane and that he contemplated suicide. Also, while the documentary was promoted as nuanced it mostly takes a pro-Sherman stance.
Bill Oberst, the actor playing Sherman, states in a behind-the-scenes featurette that whilst the general will always be a controversial figure, he nonetheless hopes that the documentary will shed light on why the man did what he did. It emphasizes that Sherman was loved by the enslaved blacks whom he freed and that while he did not see himself as fighting to destroy slavery, he nevertheless made a point of treating blacks whom he meet with courtesy and respect. (The documentary also shows the reactions of his soldiers as they met blacks along the March. Many had never seen a black person and they were surprised to learn that blacks were ordinary people.) The documentary also mentions that Sherman killed far fewer Confederate soldiers and civilians than did Ulysses S. Grant, his friend and fellow general, yet Sherman was the one vilified. The scholars interviewed postulate that the South had need for a scapegoat in the wake of the Civil War and that Sherman was the easiest target. For his part, Sherman is stated to have seen himself as only doing his duty and that he did not care what people said about him one way or the other.
Cast
- Bill Oberst Jr.Bill Oberst Jr.Bill Oberst Jr. is an American actor of German descent. His career includes projects in film, television, and one-man-show theater performances. He is best known for his portrayal of icon and humorist Lewis Grizzard, performed in theatrical tours across the southern United...
as General William Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched... - Jared Morrison as Major Henry Hitchcock
- Chris Clawson as Theodore Upson
- Mike Brown as General Oliver O. HowardOliver O. HowardOliver Otis Howard was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War...
- Allen Brenner as Brigadier General Jefferson C. DavisJefferson C. DavisJefferson Columbus Davis was an officer in the United States Army who served in the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, and the Modoc War. He was the first commander of the Department of Alaska, from 1868 to 1870...
- Harry Bulkeley as General Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
- Shaun C. Grenan as Confederate Officer, Union soldier
- Robert A. Guadagnino as soldier
- Lucas N. Hall as 1st Lieutenant C.S.A.Confederate States ArmyThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
- Russell Haynes as soldier
- Marc A. Hermann as Sherman's bummer, US Artillerist, CS Soldier
- Eric U. Lowman as executioner, Western Zouave
- Todd McCall as General Sherman's Staff Officer
- Joan Moses as Dolly Burge
- Gavin Peretti as hanged man
- Norman J. Pfizenmayer III as soldier
- A.J. Roberts as General Judson Kilpatrick
- Jeffrey F. Smith as General Joseph E. JohnstonJoseph E. JohnstonJoseph Eggleston Johnston was a career U.S. Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
- Timothy Smith as Union soldier
- Keith E. Whitehead as Griswoldville soldier
- Brad Wyand as soldier
Other cast
- Guy W. Gane III as Major Rhoads
- Bob Waters as leader of escaping slaves, Ebenezer CreekEbenezer CreekEbenezer Creek is a location in Georgia where hundreds of freed black slaves were abandoned during General Sherman's march during the American Civil War. After the army had crossed over on pontoons the commander in charge of the crossing, BG Jefferson C. Davis, cut them loose, leaving the escaped...
- Scott E. Zeiss as Chaplain John Height
History consultants
- John F. MarszalekJohn F. MarszalekJohn F. Marszalek, Ph.D., and a native of Buffalo, New York, taught at Canisius College, Gannon University and Mississippi State University, where he earned the distinction of being the William L. Giles Distinguished Professor in 1994. After twenty-nine years as a professor, Dr...
- Historian, Mississippi State UniversityMississippi State UniversityThe Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area... - Stephen Davis - Civil War historian
- Gordon Jones - Military historian, Atlanta History CenterAtlanta History CenterThe Atlanta History Center is a history museum located in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. The Museum was founded in 1926, and currently consists of 12 exhibits. There are also historic gardens and houses located on the grounds, including the Swan House and Tullie Smith Farm...
Background
Filming took place on location in High Definition in Washington County, MarylandWashington County, Maryland
Washington County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering southern Pennsylvania to the north, northern Virginia to the south, and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia to the south and west. As of the 2010 Census, its population is 147,430...
and also at Endview Plantation
Endview Plantation
Endview Plantation is a 17th century plantation which is currently located on Virginia State Route 238 in the Lee Hall community in the northwestern area of the independent city of Newport News, Virginia....
and Lee Hall
Lee Hall, Virginia
Lee Hall is a former unincorporated town long located in the former Warwick County. Since 1958, Lee Hall has been a suburban community in the extreme western portion of the independent city of Newport News in the Commonwealth of Virginia....
in Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
and in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
.
Critical reception
The documentary was well received by television critics. Tony Perry of the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
wrote, "Civil War documentaries are inevitably judged against the monumental work The Civil War by Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
. Sherman's March, different in tone and approach, more than holds its own. Whereas Burns used period photographs and regional music, Sherman's March leans on reenactments, maps and, like Burns, academic talking heads. If there is a quibble, it's that the music tends to distract, not enhance, the effect."
Broadcasting critic Dusty Saunders wrote of the scholarly aspects of the documentary, "...Sherman's March, [is] a compelling documentary on The History Channel that's must viewing for Civil War buffs. Even viewers with only passing knowledge about this military action will be mesmerized by this superb recounting."
Brian Lowry, critic for Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine, on the program's historical presentation: "... this tightly produced documentary provides a welcome primer on the military genius of William Tecumseh Sherman, whose famous march through the South remains a subject of controversy...this doc is among the better recent History Channel productions."
External links
- Sherman's March behind the scenes part #1 at You Tube
- Sherman's March behind the scenes part #2 at You Tube