Over the course of the semester, we studied many different battles, complete wars, and different commanders, all through the lens of American military history. A key component of any battle or war is how the commanders leading the armies execute it. The way to measure a commander's performance is to compare his actions to the Principles of War, also known as MOSSMOUSE. The commander I will evaluate is William T. Sherman, widely known in the South for his infamous Atlanta Campaign. However he had a hiccup. This was his only bad move, the move he made at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain is a battle that took place on June 27, 1864 during the American Civil War, which ran from 1861 to 1865. This war began for many reasons. Many scholars like to point out the economic differences, the geographical differences, the ideals of the two different populations and more. But President Lincoln very clearly stated the purpose of this war: the war to end slavery once and for all. As the war began to shift more and more toward a Union victory over the Confederate states, General Ulysses S. Grant sent another general named William T. Sherman on a ferocious campaign across the South to gain control of the city of Atlanta for put an end to the war. war forever. The now infamous move is now called the Atlanta Campaign or Sherman's March to the Sea. Sherman had one main goal and that goal was total war. His goal was to devastate the South and force it to surrender by any means necessary. This meant sacking every city he came to, slaughtering every rebel he encountered, but doing so strategically. The commander leading the forces at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was ... middle of paper ... .ta in Savannah.Works Cited Agnew, John Holmes, Walter Hilliard Bidwell, and Henry T. Steele. The eclectic magazine. New York [etc.: np, nd Print.Bailey, Ronald H. Battles for Atlanta: Sherman moves east. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life, 1985. Print.Blount, Russell W. Clash at Kennesaw: June and July 1864. Gretna: Pelican, 2012. Print.Hess, Earl J. Kennesaw Mountain: Sherman, Johnston, and the Atlanta Campaign . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2013. Print.Luvaas, Jay, and Harold W. Nelson. Atlanta Countryside Guide: Rocky Face Ridge to Kennesaw Mountain. Lawrence: University of Kansas, 2008. Print.Royster, Charles. William Tecumseh Sherman: Memoirs. [Sl]: Library of America, 1990. Print.Watkins, Samuel R. "Co. Aytch", Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment: Or, A Side Show of the Big Show. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Pub., 1990. Print.