Final answer:
General Sherman led devastating campaigns in Georgia during the Civil War, burning Atlanta but sparing Savannah, the latter of which he offered to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift.
Step-by-step explanation:
General William T. Sherman led the Atlanta Campaign and the subsequent March to the Sea during the American Civil War. While Atlanta was evacuated and burned as part of a strategy to destroy the Confederate will to fight, Sherman did not destroy Savannah. After the brutal march across Georgia, during which his troops destroyed railroads, looted and burned properties, and freed slaves, Savannah was spared complete destruction. On December 21, 1864, Savannah fell to the Union forces, and Sherman offered it to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift, suggesting a degree of respect for the city's aesthetic and its potential value post-war.