Is Siege Necessary?

I think that siege in total war is not necessary. The reason why I think that is because civilians that live there, don't need to go through that pain. There were thousands of people on the ground waiting for a doctor to come to them. There were only so many doctors, and they had to wait in the hot sun with no water or food while being sick. The North invaded the South and took all their food and necessary things, then they burned down their house. The Southerners then had to walk with no food or water to get to Virginia after all of the disaster happened. This is the reason why I think the Northerners didn't have to do all of this damage to the South and the people living there.