No other figure in the War Between the States is as vilified in Georgia as William Tecumseh Sherman. The Union general is blamed for countless depredations by his troops, from the burning of Atlanta and the looting and destruction of many North Georgia communities to the pillaging of a wide swath of the state in his March to the Sea. But was Sherman so depraved as to be called a "war criminal"? On the 150th anniversary of Sherman's invasion of Georgia, two Civil War historians argue opposite sides of the debate. (For more on the Civil War in Georgia and a calendar of 150th anniversary events, follow the AJC: http://www.ajc.com/s/opinion/)

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President Ronald Reagan, in 1984 in Atlanta, stood with Southern GOP Chairman Bill Harris (left), Newt Gingrich and Mack Mattingly as he promised a new "Solid South" for Republicans. (File)

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Public Service Commission candidate Peter Hubbard gets a hug from Brionté McCorkle, executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, during an election-night party in Southwest Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.  (Ben Gray for the AJC)

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC