November 15 Birthday
On November 15, 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman began his March to the Sea. He divided his army into two wings of 30,000 men each and cut loose from his supply lines. They lived off the land, destroying infrastructure, burning plantations, and freeing enslaved people. Sherman said: "War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it." The march covered 285 miles in thirty-six days. Sherman reached Savannah on December 21 and telegraphed Lincoln: "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah." The march broke the back of the Confederacy. Georgia O'Keeffe, born this day in 1887, painted the landscapes and flowers of New Mexico. She moved to Ghost Ranch in Abiquiú in 1949 and lived there until her death in 1986 at ninety-eight. Her paintings — oversized flowers, bleached animal skulls, red hills — defined the visual identity of the American Southwest. People born on November 15 fall under the zodiac sign of Scorpio. The birthstone is Topaz and the birth flower is Chrysanthemum. Historical events on November 15 include 1864: General Sherman begins March to the Sea (Atlanta to Savannah), 1777: Continental Congress adopts Articles of Confederation, 1969: Dave Thomas opens first Wendy's restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. Famous people born on November 15 include Georgia O'Keeffe (1887), Sam Waterston (1940), Daniel Barenboim (1942).