General William T. Sherman's "March to the Sea" culminated with the surrender of Savannah, Georgia on December 21, 1864. The next day (153 years ago today) he sent Lincoln a telegraph stating, “I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton.”

Merry Christmas, all.