Margie Bearss did a great job with the book, but 1) she really didn't cover the impact of the campaign on the civilian population and 2) she kinda ended the story halfway through the campaign ... the federal troops took a different route on the return trip and went as far north as Kosciusko, but Margie's maps stop at Meridian.

The interesting thing about the Meridian Campaign is that it really is the only instance where Sherman was taking the war directly to the people. He wanted to create a zone of destruction across the state that would eliminate any attempt to host a Confederate army in central Mississippi. By doing this, the garrisons could be reduced along the river. Just judging by the first two personal accounts I laid my hands on, it was unlike any other campaign Sherman managed. The path of the federal army only occasionally intersected the railroad; the goal was to denude the area of anything that would sustain life and the civilian population suffered the brunt of the effort.

The result would have been similar to a hurricane. With no Confederate infrastructure to facilitate an organized response, I'm sure there were civilian casualties ... but not sure how one would go about proving such a thing.

I don't believe Timothy Smith touches upon this in his recent book about the homefront in Mississippi during the Civil War. Margie doesn't cover the impact on the civilian population, but there are other books out on the Meridian Campaign that I have not read.