The March Begins!

Every march begins with a first step, and here is my first step in a new project.  Let me explain a little bit about myself and what I'm doing here.  I am a TV producer in Augusta, Georgia, and I am originally from Louisville, Georgia.  Louisville was taken by Sherman on his March to the Sea in late November of 1864.  The thing is, I was not fully aware of this history until recently.

I learned the full extent of my hometown's history in a book my father gave me by Noah Andre Trudeau, called Southern Storm.  In his book, Trudeau follows the path of Sherman's troops on a day-by-day basis from Atlanta to Savannah, giving the reader an excellent overview of the objectives and results of the march.

This was an inspiration to me on many levels. First of all, it bothered me that I literally had history happen in my backyard and I was never fully aware of it. You would think that a field trip in your own town would be in order while studying the Civil War in school.  That didn't happen.  

On top of this, the memory of Sherman's March to the Sea is shunned in this part of the state.  It is not to be celebrated or observed, owing to some lingering resentment that has lasted for more than one and a half centuries.  Go into any other state in the South and you will see history embraced.  In Virginia, for example, you can barely go a dozen miles without running into a monument or a park dedicated in some fashion to the Civil War.  Good luck finding anything more than a roadside marker in middle Georgia.

My desire is to create a documentary about Sherman's March to the Sea, but I do not want it to be a simple history lesson.  I want it to explore the myths and mysteries surrounding the march and why it remains such a touchy topic, generations removed from the event itself.

Right now I am in the preliminary stages of pre-production, which includes seeking funding.  More information is sure to follow, so stay tuned.  

I look forward to working on this project, and I am excited about the prospects.  Thank you for joining me on my new adventure.