Was Siege and Total War really Necessary

I think using siege was necessary but using total war wasn't. I feel like the siege was a tactic to help the Union win the war because it stopped the Confederates from getting their kind of advantage. But I don't think that using total war was the best tactic to help win the war, it did kill innocent people too, but it was too harsh for the Union to burn down there houses while they're already poor and leave them homeless, injured, sick, or killed. This is what I feel about the siege and total war, the siege helped them and gave them a huge victory in Vicksburg. But the idea of using total war was unnecessary and even though it did help the Union have more of an advantage, I feel like they've gone way too far an shouldn't have used that strategy at all, killing innocent women, men, and children was just causing murder. This is what I think about the siege and total war.