Date of Award
5-2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Legacy Department
History
Committee Member
Dr. Vernon Burton, Committee Chair
Committee Member
Dr. Lee Wilson
Committee Member
Dr. Rod Andrew
Abstract
When General William T. Sherman's army marched through Georgia during the American Civil War, it did not travel alone. As many as 17,000 refugee slaves followed his army to the coast; as many, if not more, fled to the army but decided to stay on their plantations rather than march on. This study seeks to understand Sherman's march from their point of view. It argues that through their refugee experiences, Georgia's refugee slaves transformed the march into one for their own freedom and citizenship. Such a transformation would not be easy. Not only did the refugees have to brave the physical challenges of life on the march, they had to also exist within a war waged by white men. The refugees, therefore, were forced to legitimate their freedom in spite of the very people, institutions, and circumstances that made their emancipation possible. Resolving this conundrum represented the ongoing struggle of the march, and it would remain a struggle even after the refugees arrived Savannah. "Somewhere Toward Freedom" documents this tension from the moment the first refugees reached Sherman's army to their eventual resettlement on the Georgia coast.
Recommended Citation
Parten, Ben, ""Somewhere Toward Freedom:" Sherman's March and Georgia's Refugee Slaves" (2017). All Theses. 2665.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/2665