Dictionary.net

General Sherman's celebrated march from Atlanta to Savannah with a Union army of over 60,000 men, November 15 to December 21, 1864. Burning the Confederate shops, depots and storehouses, and leaving Thomas with two corps to look after Hood, Sherman set out with the Fifteenth, Seventeenth, Fourteenth and Twentieth corps of infantry, 5063 cavalry under Kilpatrick, 1812 artillerymen, and enormous trains of wagons and ambulances. The line of march extended nearly sixty miles through the very heart of the Confederacy, passing through Rough and Ready, Jonesboro, Covington, McDonough, Macon, Milledgeville, Gibson, Louisville, Milieu, Springfield and many smaller towns. The march was 300 miles in length. The soldiers were allowed to pillage freely, discriminating between the rich and poor. The Georgia Central Railroad was wholly destroyed, besides thousands of dollars' worth of other property. Foraging parties preceded the army, and scouts were kept constantly on the lookout for Confederate attacks. Sherman lost 764 men on the march. Savannah was captured, after some days of siege, December 21, Sherman presenting the city to Lincoln as a "Christmas present."