On November 15, 1864, during the U.S. Civil War, which general in the northern army burned Atlanta?

The man behind the burning of Atlanta was Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. After a long and difficult campaign, his armies captured the city in September 1864. Before beginning his famous "March to the Sea," Sherman ordered his troops to destroy anything of military value within Atlanta. This included factories, warehouses, and the crucial railroad infrastructure that had made the city a vital supply and distribution hub for the Confederacy.

On November 15, 1864, his soldiers set the fires. While Sherman's orders were specifically aimed at military and industrial targets, the flames inevitably spread to commercial and residential areas, destroying a vast portion of the city. This act was a key part of Sherman's strategy of "total war," which aimed to cripple not only the enemy's army but also its economic resources and the morale of its civilian population.

The destruction of Atlanta served as the dramatic starting point for Sherman's march across Georgia to the port of Savannah. This devastating campaign brought the harsh realities of the war directly to the Southern home front and is considered a major factor in hastening the end of the Civil War. For his actions, Sherman remains a highly effective but deeply controversial figure in American history.