# Sherman's March to the Sea

A 2-day, ~210-mile Southern road trip from Milledgeville, GA. It chains Sherman's March to the Sea.

- **Days:** 2
- **Distance:** ~210 mi
- **Starts in:** Milledgeville, GA
- **Themes:** History
- **Routes chained:** [Sherman's March to the Sea](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/sherman-march-sea)

Georgia's antebellum capital to the sea by the route the Union army burned across in 1864 — old statehouses, market squares, a prison camp and the creek where the march turned tragic.

## Why this itinerary works

Starting in Milledgeville, GA, this 2-day itinerary connects Sherman's March to the Sea. It suits travellers interested in battlefields, the movement & the past. The day-by-day bases let you split roughly 210 miles into a sequence of visits rather than trying to cover every linked route end to end. Use the daily highlights to decide which places deserve your longest stops.

## Day by day

### Day 1: Milledgeville → Millen

Georgia's Old Capital and the Governor's Mansion Sherman used as headquarters, then east through Louisville's 1795 market house to Magnolia Springs, where Camp Lawton's stockade held Union prisoners. Overnight near Millen. Give Milledgeville a proper morning, with a house tour only if its current schedule fits; the afternoon works better as a few deliberate stops than a race east. At Louisville, read the market house's history rather than treating it simply as old architecture. Camp Lawton adds the prisoners' experience to the military narrative. Choose lodging near Millen in advance and leave the Ebenezer Creek interpretation for tomorrow's approach to Savannah.

Highlights to consider:

- **Georgia's Old Capital** (Milledgeville) — The Gothic statehouse the legislature fled in 1864; Union troops convened a mock session and repealed secession for laughs. [Sherman's March to the Sea](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/sherman-march-sea)
- **Ebenezer Creek** (Rincon) — In December 1864, Union Gen. Jefferson C. Davis pulled his pontoon bridge, stranding hundreds of freed people who drowned fleeing Confederate cavalry. The marker holds nothing back. [Sherman's March to the Sea](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/sherman-march-sea)
- **Louisville Market House** (Louisville) — An open-air market from Georgia's 1790s capital era, long associated with sales of enslaved people; the town keeps it standing to say so plainly. [Sherman's March to the Sea](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/sherman-march-sea)
- **Magnolia Springs & Camp Lawton** (Millen) — A crystalline spring inside a state park that was briefly the world's largest prison stockade; archaeology keeps recovering the prisoners' buried lives. [Sherman's March to the Sea](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/sherman-march-sea)

### Day 2: Ebenezer Creek → Savannah

The quiet horror of Ebenezer Creek and the 1769 Jerusalem Lutheran Church at New Ebenezer, then into Savannah — the Green-Meldrim House, where Sherman offered the city to Lincoln as a Christmas gift.

Highlights to consider:

- **Ebenezer Creek** (Rincon) — In December 1864, Union Gen. Jefferson C. Davis pulled his pontoon bridge, stranding hundreds of freed people who drowned fleeing Confederate cavalry. The marker holds nothing back. [Sherman's March to the Sea](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/sherman-march-sea)
- **Jerusalem Lutheran Church** (New Ebenezer) — The 1769 brick church of the Salzburger exiles, often called Georgia's oldest standing church, swan weathervane and all. [Sherman's March to the Sea](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/sherman-march-sea)
- **Green-Meldrim House** (Savannah) — Sherman's Savannah headquarters, where he telegraphed Lincoln the city as a Christmas gift, 1864's most theatrical war dispatch. [Sherman's March to the Sea](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/sherman-march-sea)

## Practical planning

Budget an average of about 105 miles per day across the whole trip, or roughly 2.3–3.5 hours behind the wheel at an assumed 30–45 mph back-roads pace. This is a planning estimate, not a measured time for each leg: transfer days can be longer and rest days shorter. Add meal stops, tours, ferries, traffic and hikes separately; use each day's navigation link for current driving estimates.

### Overnight bases

- Day 1: near Millen
- Day 2: Ebenezer Creek → Savannah

### Best season & route notes

- [Sherman's March to the Sea](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/sherman-march-sea): Pair with Sherman's Carolinas route northbound for the campaign's full second act.

## Frequently asked questions
### How many days and miles is Sherman's March to the Sea?

Sherman's March to the Sea is a 2-day trip of about 210 miles.

### Where does Sherman's March to the Sea start?

It starts in Milledgeville, GA.

### Which routes does Sherman's March to the Sea chain together?

It chains Sherman's March to the Sea.

### Where are the overnight bases on Sherman's March to the Sea?

Day 1: near Millen; Day 2: Ebenezer Creek → Savannah.

## Related itineraries

- [Atlanta to Savannah to Charleston](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/atlanta-savannah-charleston) — 4 days, ~420 mi

---

Canonical URL: https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/sherman-sea  
Publisher: Dixie Media (Dixie Road Trip, https://dixieroadtrip.com/)  
Last updated: 2026-10-04