jeff shaara: he did not. when sherman left atlanta, one thing he made clear to grant an entire army, david cunningham, a character in the book and a real guy makes it plain, we are cutting off everything. there is a quote from lincoln -- i know what hole he went into. we will see which he comes out of. when sherman reaches the coast of savannah, the union navy is there. those people are wondering if they will ever see the guy. he finally shows up. that is a great scene. you have admiral dalgrin in command. terrific character. the navy is the first line of communication. they are sitting out there wondering what is going to happen. suddenly, there is a fight and here is the union army. it is a wonderful scene. but no. sherman tells the newspaper meant, i hope you sent your last telegram out of atlanta. there is no more until we get somewhere else. the newspaper men had to accept it. that is why grant was awfully nervous about giving authorization. people like stanton in washington were beside themselves, afrai

it is a pleasure to welcome our speaker jeff shaara to the smithsonian. jeff was last year in 2013 when he presented an outstanding program on the battle of vicksburg. prior to that he was here in 2012 when he presented a program on the battle of shiloh. jeff shaara's trajectory as one of the most proclaimed novelists on it the civil war, the revolutionary war, and world war ii. he has a degree in chronology from florida state university. at age 15 he operated a rare coin business, first out of his home and then at a retail store. in 1974 he moved to tap a florida, and eventually became one of the most widely known precious metal dealers in florida. but in 1988, things changed. his father, writer michael shaara wrote the classic novel " the killer angels." he died and jeff made the decision to sell his business and take over management of his father's estate. after the critical and commercial success of the film "gettysburg," jeff was approached about the possibility of continuing the story and finding someone to write a prequel and sequel to "the killer a

. >> up next, best selling historical novelist jeff shaara discusses the latter half of the civil war, focusing on general oleum and tecumseh sherman's burning of savannah. he argues against the depiction of sherman as a villain. the