Heeding, he would say, "some wise and sudden instinct not to mention retreat," he made a noncommittal remark. "Yes," Grant replied, puffing on his cigar. Sherman served in the army in St. Louis and then in New Orleans from 1850-1852, often lonely for his departed wife and first born daughter. Critical press reports about Sherman began to appear after the U.S. Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, visited Louisville in October 1861. At the insistence of Johnston, Confederate president Jefferson Davis, and Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge, Sherman conditionally agreed to generous terms that dealt with both military and political issues. He privately ridiculed Lincoln's call for 75,000 three-month volunteers to quell secession, reportedly saying: "Why, you might as well attempt to put out the flames of a burning house with a squirt-gun. On the other hand, he was adamantly opposed to the secession of the southern states. "[293] Following Walters, James Reston Jr. argued in 1984 that Sherman had planted the "seed for the Agent Orange and Agent Blue programs of food deprivation in Vietnam". When comparing Sherman's scorched-earth campaigns to the actions of the British Army during the Second Boer War (18991902) another war in which civilians were targeted because of their central role in sustaining a belligerent power South African historian Hermann Giliomee claims that it "looks as if Sherman struck a better balance than the British commanders between severity and restraint in taking actions proportional to legitimate needs". Johnston did catch a serious cold and died one month later of pneumonia. [308], Other posthumous tributes include Sherman Circle in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C.,[309] the M4 Sherman tank, which was named by the British during World War II,[310] and the "General Sherman" Giant Sequoia tree, which is the most massive documented single-trunk tree in the world. Joseph E. Johnston, the Confederate officer who had commanded the resistance to Sherman's troops in Georgia and the Carolinas, served as a pallbearer in New York City. Here's how General Sherman got its name(s)", "The Religion of William Tecumseh Sherman", The Destructive War: William Tecumseh Sherman, Stonewall Jackson, and the Americans, Patriotic Gore: Studies in the Literature of the American Civil War, Works by or about William Tecumseh Sherman, Military orders of General William T. Sherman, 1861'65, William T. Sherman Family Papers: 18081959, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Tecumseh_Sherman&oldid=1133383802, William Tecumseh Jr. ("Willie") (18541863), This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 14:25. But you cannot have peace and a division of our country. This strategy has been characterized by some military historians as an early form of total war, although the appropriateness of that term has been questioned by many scholars. Supplemental Report Of The Joint Committee On The Conduct Of The War: In Two Volumes ; Supplemental To Senate Report No. After Pemberton surrendered to Grant on July 4, Johnston advanced towards the rear of Grant's forces. [270] Former U.S. president and Civil War veteran Rutherford B. Hayes, who attended both ceremonies, said at the time that Sherman had been "the most interesting and original character in the world. [13], Sherman's older brother Charles Taylor Sherman became a federal judge. [262] However, Sherman did include the views of some others in the appendices to the new edition.[j][k]. Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891. He dealt in a friendly and unaffected way with the black people that he met during his career. After Sherman's departure the spokesman for the black leaders, Baptist minister Garrison Frazier,[181][182] declared in response to Stanton's inquiry about the feelings of the black community: We looked upon General Sherman prior to his arrival as a man in the providence of God specially set apart to accomplish this work, and we unanimously feel inexpressible gratitude to him, looking upon him as a man that should be honored for the faithful performance of his duty. His performance was praised by Grant and Halleck and after the battle he was promoted to major general of volunteers, effective May 1, 1862. [119][120] Sherman's army captured the city of Meridian on February 14 and proceeded to destroy 105 miles of railroad and 61 bridges, while burning at least 10 locomotives and 28 railcars. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results William Tecumseh Sherman Merchant (1867 - 1929) . [16] Sherman had already been baptized as an infant by a Presbyterian minister[17][18] and recent biographers believe, contrary to Lewis's claims, that he was probably given the first name "William" at that time. The first edition was published in 1875 by Henry S. King & Co., of London, and by Appleton in New York. He took no precautions beyond strengthening his picket lines, and refused to entrench, build abatis, or push out reconnaissance patrols. Sherman commanded the division on the extreme right of the Union's right wing (under George Henry Thomas). After the fall of Atlanta in 1864, Sherman ordered the city's immediate evacuation. [156][157] Also present at the City Point conference was Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter. Louis. [278], Some modern historians have characterized Sherman as a deist in the manner of Thomas Jefferson,[279] while others identify him as an agnostic who accepted many Christian values but lacked faith. Sherman was re-baptized as a Catholic, but Maria's husband, Senator Thomas Ewing, insisted that the young Sherman not be compelled to practice Catholicism. [7] Liddell Hart's views on the historical significance of Sherman have since been discussed and, to varying extents, defended by subsequent military scholars such as Jay Luvaas,[192] Victor Davis Hanson,[193] and Brian Holden-Reid. [116] Following the defeat of the Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga by Confederate general Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee, President Lincoln re-organized the Union forces in the West as the Military Division of the Mississippi, placing it under General Grant's command. [42] Ellen Ewing Sherman was a devout Catholic, and the couple's children were reared in that faith. Artillery and saw action in Florida in the Second Seminole War. [210] For instance, Alabama-born Major Henry Hitchcock, who served in Sherman's staff, declared that "it is a terrible thing to consume and destroy the sustenance of thousands of people," but if the scorched earth strategy served "to paralyze their husbands and fathers who are fighting it is mercy in the end". 15", "Hard War in Virginia during the Civil War", "James M. Calhoun, Mayor, E. E. Pawson and S. C. Wells, representing City Council of Atlanta", "The complicated history of Gen. Philip Sheridan", "Timeline: A Chronology of Key Events in the Life of William T. Sherman, 18201891", "Sorrow at the Capital: Formal Announcement by the President Eulogies in the Senate", "In Headquarters, Military Division of the Mississippi In the Field, Savannah, Geo. "[73], Sherman was first commissioned as colonel of the 13th U.S. Infantry Regiment, effective May 14, 1861. He was devoted to the theater and to amateur painting and was in demand as a colorful speaker at dinners and banquets, in which he indulged a fondness for quoting Shakespeare. I am not and cannot be. [87] Operating from Paducah, Kentucky, he provided logistical support for the operations of Grant to capture Fort Donelson in February 1862. Ewing was a prominent member of the Whig Party who became U.S. senator for Ohio and the first Secretary of the Interior. Afterwards the rank of Commander, Military Division of the Mississippi, 1864-1866; Commander, Military Division of the Missouri, 1866-1869. It also dealt a major blow to the popularity of the Democratic presidential candidate, George B. McClellan, whose victory in the election had until then appeared likely to many, including Lincoln himself. [146], While in Savannah, Sherman learned from a newspaper that his infant son Charles Celestine had died during the Savannah campaign; the general had never seen the child. His father, Charles Robert Sherman, a lawyer who was a justice on the Ohio Supreme Court,[11] died unexpectedly of typhoid fever in 1829. Fast Delivery. Local Native American Lumbee guides helped Sherman's army cross the Lumber River, which was flooded by torrential rains, into North Carolina. General William Tecumseh "Cump" Sherman Born 8 Feb 1820 in Lancaster, Fairfield, Ohio, USA Ancestors Son of Charles Robert Sherman and Mary (Hoyt) Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman married Margaret E Gleason and had 5 children. [114][115], Ordered to relieve the Union forces besieged in the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Sherman departed from Memphis on October 11, 1863, aboard a train bound for Chattanooga. He passed away in 1949. per familysearch.org . The publication of Sherman's memoirs sparked controversy and drew complaints from many quarters. [138], After November elections, Sherman began marching on November 15 with 62,000 men in the direction of the port city of Savannah, Georgia,[139] living off the land and causing, by his own estimate, more than $100million in property damage. Sherman was one of the few Union officers to distinguish himself in the field and historian Donald L. Miller has characterized Sherman's performance at Bull Run as "exemplary". [214] One of the most serious accusations against Sherman was that he allowed his troops to burn the city of Columbia. [286] At the same time, he was generally respected in the South as a military man, while his conservative politics were attractive to many white Southerners. [95][96] In July, Grant's situation improved when Halleck left for the East to become general-in-chief. He had at least 2 daughters with Elizabeth Bell Dyer. In 1859, he became superintendent of the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy (now Louisiana State University), a position from which he resigned when Louisiana seceded from the Union. When William Tecumseh Sherman was born on 26 November 1884, in Omnia Township, Cowley, Kansas, United States, his father, John Wingert, was 50 and his mother, Charlotte Wagner, was 32. Thousands of refugees, both black and white, joined Sherman's columns, which on February 20 finally withdrew towards Canton. Republican Governor Daniel Henry Chamberlain appealed to President Grant for military assistance. "[94], In late April a Union force of 100,000 men under Halleck's leadership, with Grant relegated to second-in-command, began advancing slowly against Corinth. [33] Sherman and Halleck lived in a house in Monterey, now known as the "Sherman Quarters", from 1847 to 1849. As with all family trees on this website, the sources for each ancestor are listed on the family group pages so that you can personally judge the reliability of the information. In October, Sherman succeeded Anderson in command of that department. He steadfastly refused to be drawn into party politics and in 1875 published his memoirs, which became one of the best-known first-hand accounts of the Civil War. He told Grant that, if he remained in the army, "some happy accident might restore you to favor and your true place". Grant may have had to intervene to save Sherman from dismissal for having overstepped his authority. I did not want them to cast in our teeth what General Hood had once done at Atlanta, that we had to call on their slaves to help us to subdue them. [295], The influential literary critic Edmund Wilson found in Sherman's Memoirs a fascinating and disturbing account of an "appetite for warfare" that "grows as it feeds on the South". Beginning with the battle at First Bull Run, Virginia (July 1861), he led troops through Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Atlanta, the March to the Sea (November & December 1864), and Columbia, South Carolina. "[71] In May, however, he offered himself for service in the regular Army. Father James A. Ryder, president of Georgetown College, officiated at the Washington, D.C., ceremony. [40] Even though he earned a brevet promotion to captain in 1848 for his "meritorious service", his lack of combat experience and relatively slow advancement within the army discouraged him. [211] One of Sherman's tactics was to destroy the railways by pulling up the rails, heating them over a bonfire, and twisting them to leave behind what came to known as "Sherman's neckties". William Tecumseh Sherman: Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman . When William Tecumseh Sherman was born on 12 December 1828, in Columbia, New York, United States, his father, Roger Stevens Sherman, was 32 and his mother, Orilla Moses, was 34. Grant, the previous commander of the District of Cairo, had just won a major victory at Fort Henry and been given command of the ill-defined District of West Tennessee. [252], On June 19, 1879, Sherman delivered an address to the graduating class of the Michigan Military Academy, in which he may have uttered the famous phrase "War is Hell". In response to this threat, Grant instructed Sherman to attack Johnston. Then, as now, neatness in dress and form, with a strict conformity to the rules, were the qualifications required for office, and I suppose I was found not to excel in any of these. This frontal assault was intended as a diversion, but it unexpectedly succeeded in capturing the enemy's entrenchments and routing the Confederate Army of Tennessee, bringing the Union's Chattanooga campaign to a successful completion. In early 1858, he returned to California to finalize the bank's outstanding accounts there. [290], In the early 20th century, Sherman's role in the Civil War attracted attention from influential British military intellectuals, including Field Marshal Lord Wolseley, Maj. Gen. J. F. C. Fuller, and especially Capt. Sherman had dismissed the intelligence reports from militia officers, refusing to believe that Confederate general Albert Sidney Johnston would leave his base at Corinth. The General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument is an equestrian statue of American Civil War Major General William Tecumseh Sherman located in Sherman Plaza, which is part of President's Park in Washington, D.C., in the United States.The selection of an artist in 1896 to design the monument was highly controversial. All other "editions" of Sherman's memoirs are re-printings of the 1889 or, in some cases, the 1875 edition. Sherman's father died unexpectedly in 1829, when Sherman was nine years old, and due to the family's financial problems, he was sent to live with Lancaster . According to Liddell Hart, this strategy was most clearly illustrated by Sherman's series of turning movements against Johnston during the Atlanta campaign. "[260] Such a categorical rejection of a candidacy is now referred to as a "Shermanesque statement". 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