You might pick up Memoirs of W.T. Sherman in your local library. Sherman doesn't try to sugarcoat the destruction he wrought on Georgia and South Carolina at all. In his view it had both psychological and military effects. It took away the secessionists ability to feed, clothe and arm their armies as well as crushing their will to continue.
Brilliant strategy in my book. Much smarter than Lee and Grant who continued the idiocy of standing armies throwing human wave attacks at each other as Lee did at Gettysburg and Grant did at the Wilderness and Cold Harbor.
It took away businesses, farms, homes, broke apart families, and left women and children to starve.
My heroes treat people with dignity, even Native Americans.