{"product_id":"general-shermans-christmas-savannah-1864-isbn-9780061702983","title":"General Sherman's Christmas: Savannah, 1864","description":"Historian Stanley Weintraub, author of \u003cem\u003eSilent Night\u003c\/em\u003e, combines two winning topics\u003cspan style=\"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA\"\u003e—\u003c\/span\u003eChristmas and the Civil War\u003cspan style=\"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA\"\u003e—\u003c\/span\u003ein \u003cem\u003eGeneral Sherman’s Christmas\u003c\/em\u003e, new from Smithsonian Books. Focusing on the holiday season of 1864, when General Sherman relentlessly pushed his troops across Georgia to capture Savannah, \u003cem\u003eGeneral Sherman’s Christmas\u003c\/em\u003e includes the voices of soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict and is illustrated with striking period prints, making it the perfect holiday present for every history buff. | \u003cblockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the author of the bestselling \u003cem\u003eSilent Night\u003c\/em\u003e comes a close look at the embattled holiday season of 1864, when Major General W. T. Sherman gave President Lincoln the city of Savannah and paved the way for the end of the Civil War. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGeneral Sherman's Christmas\u003c\/em\u003e opens on Thanksgiving Day 1864. Sherman was relentlessly pushing his troops nearly three hundred miles across Georgia in his \"March to the Sea,\" to reach Savannah just days before Christmas. His methodical encroachment of the city from all sides eventually convinced Confederate general W.  J. Hardee, who had refused a demand for surrender of his troops, to slip away in darkness across an improvised causeway and escape to South Carolina. In freezing rain and through terrifying fog, equipment-burdened soldiers crossed a hastily built pontoon bridge spanning the mile-wide Savannah River. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree days before Christmas, the mayor, Richard Arnold, surrendered the city, now populated mostly by women, children, and the slaves who had not fled. General Sherman then telegraphed to Abraham Lincoln, \"I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah with 150 heavy guns \u0026amp; plenty of ammunition \u0026amp; also about 25.000 bales of cotton.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe fight for Savannah took place as its inhabitants were anxiously preparing for Christmas. Weintraub explores how Christmas was traditionally fêted in the South and what remained of the holiday to celebrate during the waning last full year of the war. Illustrated with striking period prints, \u003cem\u003eGeneral Sherman's Christmas\u003c\/em\u003e captures the voices of soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict, as they neared the end of a long war.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003ePraise for GENERAL WASHINGTON’S CHRISTMAS FAREWELL:  “Stanley Weintraub chronicles [Washington’s] journey beautifully.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The story of [Washington’s] triumphal trip home, itself an act of nation-building...evokes the frail seedling from which the mighty American nation grew.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGeorge Will\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An engaging rendition of a few fleetign weeks that would come to speak volumes about the young American republic...fresh, fascinating, and delightful.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJay Winik, author of APRIL 1865: The Month That Saved America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePraise for SILENT NIGHT:  “A moving story of horror taking a holiday.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Weintraub’s graceful narration brings to life a distant time and place in America.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Beautiful, brutal, and deeply moving.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBaltimore Sun\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Weintraub has brought an obscure and bizarre incident to life with a flair that gives the reader a detailed glimpse at a unique Christsmas story.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSeattle Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Smithsonian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889389072613,"sku":"NP9780061702983","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780061702983.jpg?v=1730231142","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/general-shermans-christmas-savannah-1864-isbn-9780061702983","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}