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Destruction of Military Assets

When: November 7–16, 1864
Where: Atlanta, Georgia
Part of: Sherman's March to the Sea begins with the burning of Atlanta, 15 November 1864

Sherman ordered the destruction of military assets in Atlanta between November 7 and 16, 1864, culminating in fires set on November 15.

General Sherman notified Major-General Thomas of his planned March to the Sea on October 20, 1864. On November 7, Sherman sent a message to Maj-Gen. Poe regarding the destruction. The fires were set as Federal troops left the city on November 15, 1864, completing the destruction of military assets.

Sources

Atlanta in the American Civil War Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-18

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.