After greatly boosting Union morale by occupying the vital Confederate railroad center of Atlanta, Georgia, Major General William T. Sherman, who had assumed command of the western armies after Grant’s promotion to general-in-chief, proposed a daring operation to which Grant and Lincoln somewhat hesitantly agreed. Leading 62,000 troops divided into two main columns, Sherman embarked on a “March to the Sea.” The general intended to make the Confederates “howl” by having his men confiscate or destroy all materials useful to the Southern war effort as they marched across nearly 300 miles of hostile Georgia toward the port city of Savannah. Out of touch with the North and living largely off the land, Sherman and his forces kept Lincoln in suspense regarding the success of this operation for thirty-two days. December 22, Sherman relieved the president’s anxiety, and sparked renewed celebrations in the North, with a message dispatched by telegraph: “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah.”