Samuel Hawkins Marshall Byers (July 23, 1838 – May 24, 1933) was an American soldier and poet who wrote the poem "Sherman's March to the Sea", which was the origin of the eponymous term. Byers served in the 5th Iowa Infantry Regiment. He found success in a post-war writing career, including many poems about his native Iowa, including "The Song of Iowa", which was declared as Iowa's state song in 1911.
Early life and education
Byers was born in Pulaski, Pennsylvania, on July 23, 1838; his mother died shortly after. He moved with his father to Iowa, in 1851, ending up in Oskaloosa by 1853. He studied to be a lawyer under an Oskaloosa attorney, earning admittance to the Iowa bar in 1861.
Career
Byers' budding law career was cut short by the outbreak of the American Civil War in early 1861. Byers signed up for service with the 5th Iowa Infantry, and saw battle at the Battle of Iuka, the siege of Vicksburg, and in the Chattanooga campaign. He was captured at the Battle of Missionary Ridge in November 1863, along with about 80 others from his regiment. He was first imprisoned at Libby Prison, spending seven months there. He then was sent to a camp in Macon, Georgia, before escaping. He was recaptured and sent first to Charleston, South Carolina, before ending up at Camp Sorghum outside the city of Columbia, South Carolina. He escaped Camp Sorghum, but was again recaptured and sent back to Camp Sorghum. The prisoners of Camp Sorghum were eventually transferred to the property of the state mental asylum in Columbia.
During his imprisonment at Camp Sorghum, Byers read a newspaper that had been smuggled into camp by a slave in a piece of bread. From that he learned of Sherman's March to the Sea, and the taking of Atlanta, Georgia. Byers wrote a poem about the March, which was set to music by fellow prisoner W. O. Rockwell. The song was smuggled out of the prison in the wooden leg of Lt. Daniel W. Tower, and became an immediate hit in the north. Byers' poem coined the common name for Sherman's March to the Sea.
