GEORGIA PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER PRESENT “WHEN GEORGIA HOWLED: SHERMAN ON THE MARCH”
Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Atlanta History Center have partnered to produce the gripping new documentary “When Georgia Howled: Sherman on the March,” premiering Thursday, September 10 at 8 p.m. on GPB Television. The program is the companion documentary to their Emmy-winning collaboration "37 Weeks: Sherman on the March,” a series of 90-second segments that premiered in April 2014 and commemorated the 150th anniversary of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s 1864 march into Georgia.
In April of 1864, as Sherman prepares to invade Georgia, the American Civil War is raging on, and more than half a million soldiers have died. Northern support for the war is wavering, and President Lincoln must show that the Union army can win the war. As “When Georgia Howled: Sherman on the March” demonstrates, Sherman’s march becomes the most decisive 37 weeks in American history, changing the nation’s identity and redefining freedom.
Thought to be one of the most fascinating wartime figures in history, Sherman’s chilling declaration about the march sets the tone for the wrath suffered by soldiers and citizens depicted in the documentary. “By this, I propose to demonstrate the vulnerability of the South and make its inhabitants feel that war and individual ruin are synonymous. I will push into the heart of Georgia...destroying all. I can make the march and make Georgia howl,” he says.
“When Georgia Howled: Sherman on the March,” brings Sherman’s history-making trek across the state to life, including an examination of his tactics as a commander. Civil War experts led by Atlanta History Center Senior Military Historian Gordon Jones, who served as the co-writer for the documentary, provide insight into Sherman’s strategies for executing the fall of Atlanta and his destructive course to Savannah from there.
Georgia Historical Society President Todd Groce, author and historian Dr. Stephen Davis, Clark Atlanta University’s Dr. Charmayne Patterson, Kennesaw State University’s Dr. Brian Willis, Georgia State University’s Dr. Wendy Venet and the University of Georgia’s Dr. Robert Pratt also provide insight on how Sherman’s march waged a war on southern morale and how African-Americans in the state viewed him as a sort of second Moses, leading them out of enslavement.
"GPB is honored to partner with the Atlanta History Center on this project,” said Teya Ryan, president and CEO of GPB. “The experience of working on ’37 Weeks: Sherman on the March’ inspired us to delve even more deeply into this subject matter with a complete documentary. We’ve been very fortunate to have the knowledgeable staff of Atlanta History Center, its rich resources and the input of esteemed historians from across the state while putting this project together.”
“When Georgia Howled: Sherman on the March” is produced by award-winning filmmaker Bruce Burkhardt, who also co-wrote the piece in collaboration with Atlanta History Senior Military Historian Gordon Jones. Jones is sharing his expertise and the vast collection of photos, maps, documents, diaries and newspaper accounts curated by the Atlanta History Center. Masud Olufani, an actor and visual artist from Los Angeles California, who served as the narrator for the “37 Weeks” series and who has worked with the Atlanta History Center’s Meet the Past Museum Theater program for four years, narrates “When Georgia Howled: Sherman on the March.”
ABOUT GPB:
As one of the largest PBS stations in the nation, Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB Media), has been creating content worth sharing for over 50 years. With nine television stations, 18 radio stations and a multi-faceted web presence, GPB strives to educate, entertain and enrich the lives of our viewers and listeners with programming that includes statewide radio news, current affairs, high school sports, educational resources for teachers and students and enlightening programs about our state like Georgia Outdoors and Georgia Traveler.
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