1. 14.6 Special Field Order NO.15 William T. Sherman
Redistributing the Land
to Black Refugees
Tiffany Lu
Daphinie Rivera
Anulika Ugwueze
Period 1

2. Who’s William T. Sherman?
Union Major General
Known for his outstanding
command of military strategy
Lead the March to the
Sea
Sympathized with the
planter class (P.O.V)
Felt that slavery upheld
social stability
Treated as a savior

3. March to the Sea 300 mile march from Atlanta to Savannah
captured Savannah on December 21, 1864
Army demolished everything in its path
Scorched Earth Policy
Developed the philosophy and tactics of
“hard war”
Did not harm civilians
Demoralized Confederate soldiers
“We are not only fighting hostile armies, but a hostile people, and must make old and
young, rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war.” – William T. Sherman

5. WHAT DO YOU SEE?

6. Sherman’s Order Also known as the 40 acres and a mule
Addressed the immediate problem of dealing with the tens of thousands of black refugees who had joined Sherman’s March in search of protection and sustenance
Set aside 400,000 acres of prime rice growing land exclusively for freedmen
About 40,000 blacks were cultivating “Sherman Lands” by June 1865
Refugees believed that the land was going to be theirs forever as a belated payment for generations of unpaid labor
President Andrew Johnson reversed Sherman’s Policy in the fall of 1865 after the war ended

7. HIPPOS
H - Wrote his special field order No. 15 in January 1865, dealt with the challenges of displaced former slaves, wrote after the fall of Atlanta and March to the Sea.
I - President Andrew Johnson and former slaves
P- Former slaves who followed his army were provided with the land they were promised and “to assure the harmony of action in the area of operation”
P-Felt that slavery upheld social stability and was against slavery
O- Grants’ war of attrition
S- Key Period 1: Indentured Servitude
Key Period 7: WWI

8. Reading and Discussion Questions
Summarize the policy regarding freed slaves that Sherman announced in January What need did he identify as pressing for those newly liberated former slaves?
Union Major General William T. Sherman’s policy regarding freed slaves enabled former slaves to obtain small sections of land on the Sea Islands in Georgia in his Special Field Order No. 15. It granted freed families “a plot [no] more than forty acres of tillable ground” and unneeded mules from the army. He identified the former slaves need for promise land, which was the acres of prime rice-growing land, since thousands of black refugees joined Sherman’s March to the Sea.
To what extent do you see Sherman’s order as part of the civil rights history of the United States? Explain.
President Andrew Johnson reversed Sherman’s order so his policy isn’t seen as part of the civil rights history of the US today. Johnson returned the land along the South coast to white planters who originally owned the land.

9. Comparative Questions
Analyze and evaluate Sherman’s policy regarding land redistribution. How does it compare to other resources related to the land as a meaningful part of citizenship?
Sherman’s policy required land redistribution to be under military jurisdiction during the war and a brief period after. However, during the Reconstruction era, federal and state policy emphasized wage labor, no land ownership for African-Americans. Several African-American communities lost their land because almost all land allocated during the war was restored to their pre-war owners, while some families obtained new land by homesteading.