If Augusta had burned down (Atlanta, Nashville: subsidized, airports, rail)

[therealpattman]

How do you think Augusta would be today if General Sherman had turned north and burned down Augusta? Do you think it would be the same, different, would the economy be the weaker or stronger? Highways, airports, downtown, what's your opinion? How would Augusta be today if Sherman had burned her down?

[Mutiny77]

Well Augusta suffered a big fire in 1916: A night to remember | The Augusta Chronicle

[Cardinalfan]

I don't see where Sherman's march to sea would have a major impact on Augusta. The areas in the South that flourished after the war were a result of economic innovation and and geographic fortune i.e. Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, and Charlotte. All of those cities benefited from being major rail hubs and being known for a particular industry. For example, Birmingham was a steel center, Atlanta a railroad logistics hub, Charlotte the East Coast gold-rush, and Nashville a junction between major heartland rivers (Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee).

So the question is, what would have been lost if Sherman assaulted Augusta? A couple of factories that subsidized the Confederate cause? There were many more cities that he knew meant more to the Confederacy (See aforementioned cities).I think Sherman saw back then of Augusta what most outsiders see now and that's a city with potential but being held back by it's inferiority complex of Atlanta, Greenville, Columbia, Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville, Charleston, and essentially every other mid-sized to large Southern city that has grown tired of the post-Antebellum mindset and petty politics shaped by race and greed. He simply didn't see Augusta as worth it. Matter of fact, he decided on Columbia because he knew it meant more to Southerners.

[All4Augusta]

Is augusta considered a major city to people in America or even the south east ?

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Cardinalfan

All of those cities benefited from being major rail hubs and being known for a particular industry. For example, Birmingham was a steel center, Atlanta a railroad logistics hub, Charlotte the East Coast gold-rush, and Nashville a junction between major heartland rivers (Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee).

I'd site the textile and banking industries for Charlotte as opposed to the antebellum gold rush (the economic effects of which weren't really that long-lasting).