Was Sherman a war criminal?

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/)