<P> The March attracted a huge number of refugees, to whom Sherman assigned land with his Special Field Orders No. 15 . These orders have been depicted in popular culture as the origin of the supposed "40 acres and a mule" promise . </P> <P> From Savannah, after a month - long delay for rest, Sherman marched north in the spring through the Carolinas, intending to complete his turning movement and combine his armies with Grant's against Robert E. Lee . After a successful two - month campaign, Sherman accepted the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston and his forces in North Carolina on April 26, 1865 . </P> <P> Letter, Sherman to Henry W. Halleck, December 24, 1864 . </P> <P> Sherman's scorched earth policies have always been highly controversial, and Sherman's memory has long been reviled by many Southerners . Slaves' opinions varied concerning the actions of Sherman and his army . Some who welcomed him as a liberator chose to follow his armies . Jacqueline Campbell has written, on the other hand, that some slaves looked upon the Union army's ransacking and invasive actions with disdain . They often felt betrayed, as they "suffered along with their owners, complicating their decision of whether to flee with or from Union troops ." A Confederate officer estimated that 10,000 liberated slaves followed Sherman's army, and hundreds died of "hunger, disease, or exposure" along the way . </P>

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