During the civil war, william tecumseh sherman went to great pains to seize the city of atlanta. at the start of his savannah campaign, sherman's armies left atlanta a smoking and destroyed ruin. why did sherman fight so hard to take atlanta only to destroy it? a. it was too costly to hold due to constant confederate siege. b. the citizens proved unruly and were too difficult to suppress. c. the city was the south's major center of manufacturing and transportation. d. union forces were dwindling and sherman's troops were needed on the front.