Background:
Marching Through Georgia (sometimes called Marching Thru' Georgia) is a marching song written by Henry Clay Work in 1865, referencing U.S. Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea during the previous year. It was widely popular with Union Army veterans after the war. However, General Sherman himself despised the song, in part because it was played at almost every public appearance that he attended. Outside of the Southern United States, it had a universal appeal: Japanese troops sang it as they entered Port Arthur, the British sang it in India, and it was popular with the Allies in World War II. It remains a popular tune for brass bands, and has lent its tune to a number of other popular songs, including The Land, Billy Boys and Come In, Come In. It was also sung by a carpetbagger in Gone with the Wind.