The fonts written on the cover of the notebook are not good-looking, they are not artistic, but they can shock the United States!
Even Ye Tian, an outsider, could not help holding his breath when he saw this text, felt the murderous aura soaring, and even heard the screams and screams!
This is what it says on the cover of the notebook:
"William Tecumseh Sherman, 1864, March to the Sea notes, plan for southward operations!"
Just this line of words is enough to shake the entire American historian and make every scholar who studies the history of the American Civil War go crazy.
Sherman, a famous military strategist during the American Civil War, ranks second only to President Lincoln and General Grant in the Union Army. He is the most fierce and ruthless military general in American history.
During the Civil War, he served as the commander of the Western Theater of the United States and succeeded in the war in the spring of 1864. After the war, he served as the commander-in-chief of the US Army and was awarded the rank of general.
In 1864, he proposed "March to the Sea". During the march, he led an army of 100,000 to sweep the American South frantically. No matter what the city or the county passed, no grass was left, and they were completely burnt to ashes!
"March to the sea" completely destroyed various military installations of the Southern Army, severely hit the economic power of the South, completely paralyzed the Southern economy, and laid the strongest foundation for the Northern Army's final victory.
This model of total warfare, which destroys the opponent's war potential, industrial, agricultural and economic systems, and undiscriminately attacks military and civilian facilities, began with Sherman and appeared for the first time in human history.
As a result, historians generally believe that he was the early advocate of "total war" and the founder of overall war in the industrial age.
Ye Tian was not surprised to find this notebook in Chattanooga.
This is Sherman's base camp during the Civil War, where he fought and garrisoned for a long time, and was also the initial starting point for his "March to the Sea."
At the top of Lookout Hill, not far from this courtyard market, is the Battles for Chattanooga Museum, which contains a lot of Sherman's historical materials and related cultural relics.
For the people of Chattanooga, although William Sherman was not born in this city, he is the pride and hero of this city!
There may be many reasons why this note appeared here. Perhaps Sherman's orderly brought this note back to Chattanooga, or Sherman himself left the note here.
Of course, it may also be some collector's collection!
As for why it was hidden in the legs of the table, it is unknown.
The desk was made in 1925, which may be related to the economic crisis of 1929.
At that time, many people left their hometowns to ask for life. Perhaps in order to save this note, they remodeled the furniture and concealed it!
But no matter what the reason, this march notebook is now in front of him, within reach, how could Ye Tian miss it? How can he miss it?
This is a treasure that belongs to him!
Compared with the top oil paintings, sculptures and so on before, this is the real priceless treasure. It cannot be measured in dollars at all. It is the national treasure of the United States, enough to make countless people crazy!
Ye Tian suppressed the excitement forcibly, and his heartbeat gradually calmed down!
This is not the time for excitement. When he take down these two pieces of furniture and this priceless march notebook, he can cheer and celebrate.
With this march note, even if he immediately returned to New York to end the treasure hunt in Corridor 127, Ye Tian would be 10,000 times happy, nothing better than this!
He did not immediately retract the perspective and went to inquire with the stall owner to take down the two pieces of furniture, but read the contents of the notes with interest.
Although the notebook is rolled up, many parts of the text are reversed, but under the perspective, it can barely be read, just a little dizzy!
Seeing the contents of the first page of the notes, Ye Tian immediately felt a murderous look.
There is a line like this at the top of the first page:
"The devastating, reckless, and costly destruction of the South will not only destroy the enemy's army, but also destroy the enemy's economic foundation and the fighting will of the enemy's residents.-Ulysses Grant"
This is a very famous combat command in American history, and the subsequent famous operations such as "March to the Sea" and "Burning of Atlanta" all came from this.
The overall strategy formulated by General Grant and Sherman has a great influence in the history of the US military!
The shadow of this strategy can be seen in later "unconditional surrender, nuclear deterrence, and large-scale retaliation."
Under this famous military order, it was a passage from Sherman.
"After consultation and discussion with General Grant, as well as the serious deductions of many staff officers, we jointly worked out the next stage of the combat plan, as follows:
The two theaters of east and west were divided into 3 routes and launched a coordinated attack to the south at the same time.
Relying on an uninterrupted series of battles, consuming the Confederate Army's troops, then the General Godfrey Weitzel captured Richmond, and Butler's troops went from east to west to take Richmond straight.
My army swept from west to southeast, went deep behind enemy lines to occupy Georgia, and went forward to the Atlantic coast, making an intermediate breakthrough in the eastern part of the south."
Seeing this text, Ye Tian couldn't help but shudder.
Anyone who understands the history of the American Civil War understands what this text represents!
It was a scene of remorseless blood and corpses everywhere! It is a hellish nightmare that every Southerner in the United States is unwilling to go and dare not face!
When Sherman led an army of 100,000 into Georgia, the American South became a hell on earth!
The first is the Battle of Atlanta, which lasted for a total of four months from May to September. Sherman successfully won the richest and most prosperous city in the South!
After occupying Atlanta, Sherman issued a notice to the local residents, asking all militiamen to lay down their weapons and all citizens to leave the city.
Later, he ordered the Northern Army to burn down the entire city when it left Atlanta in November!
Thousands of old people and women resolutely refused to leave to prevent the Northern Army from burning Atlanta. They thought that as long as they were still in the city, the Northern Army would not dare to set fire for their lives.
However, they were too naive!
When the North Army was about to set fire, the elderly and women knelt on the ground, clinging to the thighs of the North Army soldiers, crying loudly, and begging the soldiers hoarsely to see God's sake and forgive their cities and homes.
The North Army soldiers kicked them away without hesitation and started arson in the streets of the city.
Soon, the fire spread throughout the city, and the soldiers of the Northern Army quickly withdrew from the city, ignoring the old people and women in the city.
Before the overwhelming fire, the thousands of poor old people and women could only struggle and scream desperately, trample on each other and run for their lives!
In the end, no one escaped from the flames, and all were burned to ashes!
The Northern Army guarding outside the city severely warned the Atlanta residents who evacuated outside the city. Anyone who tried to put out the fire would be killed. The fire burned for half a month.
At night, the raging fire raged more than a hundred meters high, burning the entire sky like daylight, and the sky burned by the fire could be seen 20 miles away from Atlanta.
During the day, huge smoke billowing over the city obscured the sky, making the 200 square miles around Atlanta look like night.
Outside the city, countless horrified and desperate Atlanta residents could only watch their own city, homes, and relatives being ruthlessly swallowed by the fire, piercing their hearts, beating their chests, and crying.
The priests of Atlanta could only stand silently in front of the burning city, desperately facing the fiery sky, making cross and prayers, and seeing off their own city and the souls who were buried in the flames.
This was once the most prosperous and beautiful city in the South, Atlanta, after this catastrophe, disappeared, all turned to rubble, and only one street survived.
This street has now become a historical symbol of Atlanta. It is called the underground street. The whole street is indeed underground and can only be reached by descending by elevator.
In other words, the entire Atlanta today was built on the original ruins! The old city was completely destroyed and buried underground.
After the Atlanta was set on fire, Sherman began the famous "March to the Sea".
He picked 20,000 elite soldiers, most of them black, and only carried 20 days of dry food. Starting from Atlanta, he formed multiple columns and marched side by side, slaying the famous port of Savannah, Georgia, and destroying the southern army's back!
In more than a month, the Sherman Army drove more than 460 kilometers, destroying plantations, towns, villages, factories, and enterprises in the south along the way, crushing almost everything in the south!
This was a destructive march that received little resistance. Sherman gave up all the luggage and transported and moved forward lightly, burning and looting all the way to supplement supplies.
On the march, he uttered a famous saying that shocked all Southerners.
"We must remove and destroy all obstacles. As long as we think it is necessary, we will kill everyone, take away every inch of land, confiscate every property, in a word, ruthlessly destroy everything we see!
I just want the whole Georgia to cry and howl, I want the whole Georgia to turn into hell, I want all Georgians, men, women, young and old, poor and rich, to feel the unforgettable pain and my army will destroy Georgia then soon!"
Starting in Atlanta, the Sherman Corps burned and looted all the way.
Wherever the Sherman Army passed, it was like a road roller and everything on the ground was completely destroyed.
While advancing quickly, his army completely destroyed all materials and facilities wherever it went, robbed civilians of food and property, and killed civilians who resisted.
Burning farmland, blowing up villages, plugging wells with lime, smashing railways, looting and expelling townspeople after town, burning town after town.
Sherman's troops have not yet arrived, and the skyrocketing flames can be seen spreading more than ten miles away!
When Sherman's army left, there was only charred dirt and a lonely smoking tree trunk on the ground, and there was no one else living!
At this time in a speech, he said the famous saying that shocked all Americans.
"If people think I am cruel and ruthless, I will tell them that war is war, and its purpose is not to win people's favor!
War is hell! If you want to stop all this and want peace, you and your loved ones should lay down your arms and stop this war!"
In December 1864, with the cooperation of the Northern Navy, Sherman captured Savannah, Georgia. The eastern part of the Southern League territory was divided into two halves by Sherman's army.
At this point, Sherman successfully completed the battle plan to advance to the sea, from Chattanooga to Georgia, and then to the Atlantic coast, laying the foundation for the final victory over the South.