Marching Through Georgia

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"Marching Through Georgia" is an 1865 American Civil War-era song written by Henry Clay Work. It is sung from the perspective of a Union soldier who had participated in Sherman's March to the Sea; he looks back on the triumph after which Georgia became a "thoroughfare for freedom" and the Confederacy neared collapse. Work made a name for himself in the Civil War for penning songs that reflected the Union's struggle and progress in the war. The music publishing house Root & Cady employed him in 1861, a post he maintained throughout the war. Following the March to the Sea, the Union's triumph that left Confederate resources in tatters and civilians in anguish, Work was inspired to write a commemorative tune, "Marching Through Georgia". The song was released in January 1865 to widespread success. One of the few Civil War compositions that withstood the war's end, it cemented its place at veterans' reunions and in marching parades. Sherman, to whom the song is dedicated, grew to despise it...

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