From my history textbook: Shown in blue are the advances of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, pursuing his devastating "March to the sea" campaign during the Civil War. Grant was slowly wearing down Lee in Virginia, when Hood attacked Tennessee to keep Sherman busy. Hood was defeated in Nashville, and that's when Sherman decided to annihilate everything in his path (including Atlanta, which secured Lincoln's shaky re-election) and completely incapacitated the Southern war effort. After literally marching to the Atlantic ocean, Sherman went back North to meet Lee, but never had to. The last confederates facing Sherman surrendered just days after Lee surrendered to Grant, at the Appomattox courthouse in Virginia. There's some fuckin' blue for you, tng.