Total War & Union Victory

Active learning works for this topic because total war is a complex concept that blends military strategy, ethics, and societal impact. Students need to engage with primary sources, maps, and debates to move beyond textbook definitions and examine the human and material costs of total war.

• 11th Grade
• US History
• 4 activities
• 20 min–45 min

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the strategic and ethical dimensions of 'total war' as employed by Union generals Grant and Sherman during the Civil War.
2. Analyze the impact of Sherman's March to the Sea on the Confederacy's infrastructure, economy, and civilian morale.
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of total war tactics in achieving Union victory, considering both military objectives and human cost.
4. Compare and contrast the military strategies of Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman in the context of total war.

Structured Academic Controversy

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Structured Academic Controversy: Was Total War Justified

Divide the class into two groups. One argues that Sherman's tactics were militarily necessary and shortened the war, saving lives overall. The other argues that targeting civilians and their livelihoods was morally wrong regardless of military effectiveness. After structured presentations, groups switch sides, then the class builds a consensus statement.

Prepare & details

Explain the concept of 'total war' and how it was implemented by Union generals like Grant and Sherman.

Facilitation Tip: During the Structured Academic Controversy, assign roles explicitly so students practice perspective-taking before debating the justification of total war tactics.

Setup: Pairs of desks facing each other

Materials: Position briefs (both sides), Note-taking template, Consensus statement template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Simulation Game

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Document Analysis: Sherman's Special Field Order No. 120

Provide students with excerpts from Sherman's orders for the March to the Sea, which specified what could be destroyed and by whom. Pairs annotate the document: what does it authorize, what does it prohibit, and how does it define legitimate military targets. The debrief discussion asks whether orders limiting violence are meaningful if soldiers do not follow them.

Prepare & details

Analyze the strategic importance of Sherman's March to the Sea in breaking the Confederacy's will to fight.

Facilitation Tip: For Sherman’s Special Field Order No. 120, have students highlight direct quotes from the order to ground their analysis in the general’s own words.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Simulation Game

⏱ 35 min·Small Groups

Mapping Activity: Grant's Coordinated Strategy

Using a map of the Confederacy in 1864, small groups trace the simultaneous Union offensives (Grant vs. Lee in Virginia, Sherman through Georgia, Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley). Students identify how these campaigns were designed to prevent Confederate forces from reinforcing each other and write a paragraph explaining Grant's strategic logic.

Prepare & details

Evaluate the ethical implications of total war tactics on civilian populations.

Facilitation Tip: When mapping Grant’s Coordinated Strategy, provide a blank timeline so students plot key battles and supply-line interruptions in chronological order.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 20 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Defining Total War

Ask students to propose a definition of total war using what they know about the Civil War, then compare it with a partner's definition. Share definitions with the class and discuss: does targeting an enemy's economy and morale make wars shorter or longer, and does it reduce or increase overall suffering. Connect to how students see these questions playing out in more recent conflicts.

Prepare & details

Explain the concept of 'total war' and how it was implemented by Union generals like Grant and Sherman.

Facilitation Tip: Use the Think-Pair-Share on defining total war to first have students define it individually, then refine their definitions in pairs before sharing with the class.

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Teaching This Topic

Experienced teachers approach this topic by framing total war as both a military strategy and a moral dilemma, not just a set of facts. Avoid presenting Grant and Sherman as villains or heroes; instead, focus on the historical context that made their strategies seem necessary to their contemporaries. Research suggests students grasp total war best when they see its connections to modern conflicts and current debates about war ethics, so link the Civil War to later uses of total war in the 20th century.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students who can explain the mechanisms of total war, evaluate its ethical implications using evidence, and connect strategic decisions to their broader effects on society and the war’s outcome. They should move from memorizing facts to analyzing decisions and their consequences.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Structured Academic Controversy, watch for students repeating the myth that Sherman’s March involved widespread killing of civilians.

What to Teach Instead

During Sherman’s Special Field Order No. 120, have students underline the order’s explicit prohibitions against harming civilians and note the language about destroying property and supplies instead. Reference these quotes when correcting misconceptions in the debate.

Common Misconception

During the Think-Pair-Share activity, watch for students claiming total war was invented during the Civil War.

What to Teach Instead

During the Mapping Activity on Grant’s Coordinated Strategy, provide a short pre-activity reading on the Thirty Years’ War and Napoleonic campaigns. Ask students to annotate the map with one example from history of earlier total war tactics to contrast with the Civil War.

Common Misconception

During the Structured Academic Controversy, watch for students oversimplifying Grant’s strategy as reckless attrition.

What to Teach Instead

During the Mapping Activity on Grant’s Coordinated Strategy, have students trace the movements of Union forces across multiple theaters. Ask them to write a one-sentence summary of Grant’s strategic goal for each theater to emphasize the coordinated pressure rather than simple casualties.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After the Structured Academic Controversy, facilitate a class debate using this question: 'Was the implementation of total war tactics by Union generals a necessary evil for achieving victory, or did it cross an unacceptable ethical line?' Assess students based on how well they use specific examples from Sherman’s Special Field Order No. 120 and other primary sources to support their arguments.

Exit Ticket

After the Think-Pair-Share activity, ask students to complete this prompt: 'Identify one specific tactic used during total war and explain its intended effect on the enemy's ability or will to fight. Then, briefly state one ethical concern associated with this tactic.' Collect these to assess their understanding of both strategy and ethics.

Quick Check

During the Mapping Activity on Grant’s Coordinated Strategy, present students with a map of Sherman’s March. Ask them to identify three types of targets Sherman’s army likely destroyed and explain why destroying these targets would weaken the Confederacy's war effort. Use their responses to check for understanding of the relationship between strategy and resource targeting.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students to research a modern example of total war tactics and compare it to Sherman’s March, focusing on similarities in targeting and intent.
• For students who struggle, provide a graphic organizer listing categories of targets (e.g., railroads, farms) and ask them to categorize Sherman’s actions from the order.
• Deeper exploration: Have students analyze how Lost Cause mythology shaped later interpretations of Sherman’s March, using primary sources from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Key Vocabulary

Total War	A military strategy that involves mobilizing all of a nation's resources, including civilians, for the war effort and targeting the enemy's economic capacity and civilian morale.
Sherman's March to the Sea	A military campaign led by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman from November to December 1864, characterized by the destruction of Confederate resources and infrastructure across Georgia.
scorched earth policy	A military tactic involving the destruction of an enemy's resources, such as crops, infrastructure, and supplies, to prevent them from being used by the opposing force.
attrition warfare	A strategy of wearing down the enemy by inflicting continuous losses in personnel and materiel until they are unable to continue fighting.