What were Sherman's neckties and how were they made?

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William Tecumseh Sherman General William T. Sherman in uniform and wearing a mourning ribbon for President Lincoln, photograph by Brady's National Photographic Portrait Galleries, 1865.

During the American Civil War, "Sherman’s neckties" was the nickname given to railroad rails that had been sabotaged by Union troops under the command of William Tecumseh Sherman.1

To create these "neckties," soldiers would tear up the railroad tracks and heat the iron rails over fires until they were malleable. Once the metal was sufficiently hot, the troops would twist the rails into unusable shapes, often wrapping them around trees. This method of destruction was a key component of Sherman's strategy of total war, designed to cripple the Confederacy's transportation and military infrastructure by rendering their rail lines completely ineffective.1