谢尔曼发展了“总体战”的思想,把摧毁敌方的经济资源同心理攻击结合起来,把恐怖作为战略工具。在“向海洋进军”中,其军队实行了烧光、抢光和毁光的“三光政策”,使南方经济遭到灭顶之灾。他提出了“用战争消灭战争”的辩证思想,要求用武力消灭奴隶制度,在战术上有高超的指挥艺术。内战后他为美国军队的职业化建设作出了贡献。 Sherman developed the idea of ​​an “overall war,” combining the economic resources that destroy the enemy with psychological attacks and using terror as a strategic tool. In “marching to the sea,” its armed forces implemented the “three-light policy” of burning down, grabbing light and destroying the light, which put the southern economy on the verge of catastrophe. He put forward the dialectical idea of ​​“waging war with wars,” demanded the elimination of slavery by force and the superb command art in tactics. After the civil war, he made contributions to the professionalization of the U.S. military.