[175] According to Sherman, My aim then was to whip the rebels, to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us. One 19th-century source, for example, states that "General Sherman, we believe, is the only eminent American named from an Indian chief". Southern Generals And Admirals Who Chose To Fight For The Union - MSN Sherman was distantly related to US founding father Roger Sherman. Besides, where are your men and appliances of war to contend against them? "[294] 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". According to Liddell Hart, this strategy was most clearly illustrated by Sherman's series of turning movements against Johnston during the Atlanta campaign. [150], Sherman captured Columbia, the state capital, on February 17, 1865. Though the commission was responsible for the negotiation of the Medicine Lodge Treaty and the Treaty of Fort Laramie, Sherman did not play a significant role in the drafting of those treaties because in both cases he was called away to Washington during the negotiations. He was married to Ellen Boyle Ewing Sherman, who was the daughter of Ohio Senator Thomas Ewing. In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start with. Parents. After ordering almost all civilians to abandon the city in September, Sherman gave instructions that all military and government buildings in Atlanta be burned, although many private homes and shops were burned as well. His father Charles Robert Sherman, a successful lawyer who sat on the Ohio Supreme Court, died unexpectedly in 1829. [205] When the city council appealed to him to rescind that order, on the grounds that it would cause great hardship to women, children, the elderly, and others who bore no responsibility for the conduct of the war,[205][206] Sherman sent a written response in which he sought to articulate his conviction that a lasting peace would be possible only if the Union were restored, and that he was therefore prepared to do all he could do to end the rebellion: You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. The couple later had eight children, two of whom died from sickness while Sherman was serving in the Civil War. At first you will make headway, but as your limited resources begin to fail, shut out from the markets of Europe as you will be, your cause will begin to wane. . William Tecumseh Sherman Family Tree (17258) - Famous Kin 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. [132] The capture of Atlanta made Sherman a household name and was decisive in ensuring Lincoln's re-election in November. This appears to have been a consequence of the animosity felt by Union soldiers and officers for the state that they regarded as the "cockpit of secession". Holden-Reid, for instance, argued that "the concept of 'total war' is deeply flawed, an imprecise label that at best describes the two world wars but is of dubious relevance to the U.S. Civil War."[204]. [15] However, Lloyd Lewis's 1932 biography claimed that Sherman was originally named only "Tecumseh" and that he acquired the name "William" at the age of nine or ten, when he was baptized as a Catholic at the behest of his foster family. Emerging Civil War At about the time of Elizabeth's birth (1723), the Shermans left Newton and settled in the south precinct of Dorchester, which three years later became the township of Stoughton, MA. Sherman". [160], Sherman believed that the terms that he had agreed to were consistent with the views that Lincoln had expressed at City Point, and that they offered the best way to prevent Johnston from ordering his men to go into the wilderness and conduct a destructive guerrilla campaign. The Good, Bad and Ugly of William T. Sherman [69][70], After the April 1213 bombardment of Fort Sumter and its subsequent capture by the Confederacy, Sherman hesitated about committing to military service. Civil war-era biographies that can double as doorstops seem to be in vogue again. [154] Having defeated the Confederate forces under Johnston at Bentonville, Sherman proceeded to rendezvous at Goldsboro with the Union troops that awaited him there after the captures of the coastal cities of New Bern and Wilmington. [212] 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 - Biography, Civil War & Accomplishments - History Shortly after the Union forces occupied Corinth on May 30, Sherman persuaded Grant not to resign from his command, despite the serious difficulties he was having with Halleck. William was sent to the family of Thomas Ewing, a neighbor and friend who was a U.S. They had eight children: Maria Ewing Sherman Fitch, Mary Elizabeth Sherman, William Tecumseh Sherman, Jr., Thomas Ewing Sherman, Eleanor Mary Sherman Thackara, Rachel Ewing Sherman Thorndike, Charles Celestine. [173] Sherman's views on race evolved significantly over time. "[125], Sherman proceeded to invade the state of Georgia with three armies: the 60,000-strong Army of the Cumberland under Thomas, the 25,000-strong Army of the Tennessee under James B. McPherson, and the 13,000-strong Army of the Ohio under John M. General Sherman was born February 8, 1820, and named William Tecumseh after the great Shawnee leader but acquired the nickname "Cump" from his siblings. Linked pages will continue with descendants of each main line, in a growing database of Sherman lines, both of English and other roots. [113] His family traveled from Ohio to visit him at the camp near Vicksburg. His son, Thomas Ewing Sherman, who was a Jesuit priest, presided over his father's funeral masses in New York City and in St. [130][d], Sherman's Atlanta campaign concluded successfully on September 2, 1864, with the capture of the city, which Hood had been forced to abandon. [213] This made repairs extremely difficult at a time when the Confederacy lacked both iron and heavy machinery.[214]. [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. He was born in Lancaster, Ohio, on February 8, 1820. William Tecumseh Sherman -A Family Chronicle - eBay [253], 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". [247] The Memoirs of General William T. Sherman. He took no precautions beyond strengthening his picket lines, and refused to entrench, build abatis, or push out reconnaissance patrols. [87] Operating from Paducah, Kentucky, he provided logistical support for the operations of Grant to capture Fort Donelson in February 1862. [54][b] Later in 1858, he moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he worked as the office manager of the law firm established by his brothers-in-law Hugh Ewing and Thomas Ewing Jr. Sherman obtained a license to practice law, despite not having studied for the bar, but he met with little success as a lawyer. 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. Username and password are case sensitive. "[283] Upon Sherman's death, his son Thomas publicly declared: "My father was baptized in the Catholic Church, married in the Catholic Church, and attended the Catholic Church until the outbreak of the civil war. In October 1876, Grant, after issuing a proclamation, instructed Sherman to gather all available Atlantic region troops and dispatch them to South Carolina to stop the mob violence. If one of them becomes President, it will be all in the family.". American soldier, businessman, educator and author. Early life and career [25] About his time at West Point, Sherman says only the following in his Memoirs: At the Academy I was not considered a good soldier, for at no time was I selected for any office, but remained a private throughout the whole four years. [312], This is actually a re-printing of the second, revised edition of 1889, published by D. Appleton & Company, of New York City. [165], Sherman was not an abolitionist before the war and, like others of his time and background, he did not believe in "Negro equality". [211] 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". Born William Tecumseh SHERMAN. [155], In late March, Sherman briefly left his forces and traveled to City Point, Virginia, to confer with Grant. [91], With a heavy rain coming down [at the end of the first day of fighting at Shiloh, Sherman] came upon Grant standing under a large oak tree, his cigar glowing in the darkness. I want peace, and believe it can only be reached through union and war, and I will ever conduct war with a view to perfect and early success. [6] British military theorist and historian B.H. Liddell Hart declared that Sherman was "the most original genius of the American Civil War" and "the first modern general".[7][8]. In one amusing change to his text, Sherman dropped the assertion that, A "third edition, revised and corrected" of Sherman's memoirs was put out in 1890 by, According to Victor Davis Hanson, "In the eyes of Lewis and Liddell Hart, Sherman was a great man, who is judged on what he did and not on what he wrote: he saved lives and shortened the war; and he used military science to teach his nation what war is ultimately for. Sherman was distantly related to American founding father Roger Sherman and grew to admire him. It was a bitterly cold day and a friend of Johnston, fearing that the general might become ill, asked him to put on his hat. [33] Sherman and Halleck lived in a house in Monterey, now known as the "Sherman Quarters", from 1847 to 1849. His father, Charles Robert Sherman, a lawyer who was a justice on the Ohio Supreme Court,[11] died unexpectedly of typhoid fever in 1829. [207], The damage done by Sherman's marches through Georgia and the Carolinas was almost entirely limited to the destruction of property. William was raised by family friend Thomas Ewing, who secured him an appointment to West Point. I know him well. I couldn't find out much about her other than the fact that she never married, and died in Massachussetts in 1925. MEMOIRS OF GENERAL SHERMAN, COMPLETE - Project Gutenberg : Dear Tommy", "General William Tecumseh Sherman 1888, cast 1910", "The sculpture "Victory" fully restored, on display at the Memorial Amphitheater", "General William Tecumseh Sherman Statue", "Firefighters are girding Earth's biggest tree. Sherman's younger brother John was, from his seat in the U.S. Congress, a prominent advocate against slavery. Without his work, the Union troops would not have been able to maintain their levels of supply during the war, and he was instrumental in both Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman's . [10], Sherman was born in 1820 in Lancaster, Ohio, near the banks of the Hocking River. American historian Wesley Moody has argued that these commentators tended to filter Sherman's actions and his hard-war strategy through their own ideas about modern warfare, thereby contributing to the exaggeration of his "atrocities" and unintentionally feeding into the negative assessment of Sherman's moral character associated with the "Lost Cause" school of Southern historiography. Place of Burial: Mansfield, Richland County, OH, United States. William T. Sherman - Biographies - The Civil War in America [55], In 1859, Sherman accepted a job as the first superintendent of the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy in Pineville, Louisiana, a position he sought at the suggestion of Major Don Carlos Buell and obtained through the support of General George Mason Graham. W. T. Sherman (1887)[286], In the years immediately after the war, Sherman was popular in the North and well regarded by his own soldiers. Died on February 14, 1891 in New York City, New York, USA. [215] One of the most serious accusations against Sherman was that he allowed his troops to burn the city of Columbia. This was the largest single capitulation of the war. Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio, near the shores of the Hocking River. For more detailed discussion of this overall period, see Marszalek. "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." [140] At the end of this campaign, known as Sherman's March to the Sea, his troops took Savannah on December 21, 1864. Evarts, the polished, urbane, witty New Yorker; George Hoar, the sharp, petulant, bright, nagging New Englander; John Sherman, the unostentatious, but persistent Westerner. Grave. William Tecumseh Sherman Biss married Amelia Rose Slavick and had 4 children. At the White House, Sherman met with Abraham Lincoln a few days after his inauguration as president of the United States. Sherman believed that bison eradication should be encouraged as a means of weakening Indian resistance to assimilation. posed that the Sherman stamp be is-sued only if the federal government promised to pay for the devastation the Northern commander had heaped on the Peach State in 1864.1 Thus, although three-quarters of a century had elapsed since those fate-ful Civil War days, the South had maintained a deep-seated hatred for William T. Sherman. The Life Summary of William Tecumseh. My average demerits, per annum, were about one hundred and fifty, which reduced my final class standing from number four to six. Brother of Charles Taylor Sherman, Mary Elizabeth (Sherman) Reese, James Sherman, Amelia (Sherman) McComb, Julia Ann (Sherman) Willock, Lampson Parker Sherman, John H. Sherman, Susan Denman (Sherman) Bartley, Hoyt Sherman and Frances Beecher (Sherman) Moulton Ellen's father, Thomas Ewing, was the US Secretary of the Interior at that time. Spouse(s) Amelia Rose Slavick Wife of Robert McComb. [100], In December, Sherman's forces suffered a severe repulse at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, just north of Vicksburg. Sherman at first trivialized the corresponding threat, reportedly saying that he would "give [Hood] his rations" to go in that direction, as "my business is down south". . [158] After returning to Goldsboro, Sherman marched with his troops to the state capital, Raleigh, where Sherman sought to communicate with Johnston's army regarding possible terms for ending the war. [163], Grant then offered Johnston purely military terms, similar to those that he had negotiated with Lee at Appomattox. [188][191], Sherman's military legacy rests primarily on his command of logistics and on his brilliance as a strategist. [133] According to Holden-Reid, "Sherman did more than any other man apart from the president in creating [the] climate of opinion" that afforded Lincoln a comfortable victory over McClellan at the polls. [51][52] In 1856, during the vigilante period, he served briefly as a major general of the California militia. This was a new regiment yet to be raised. [136][137] Sherman left forces under Maj. Gens. Upon hearing that Sherman's men were advancing on corduroy roads through the Salkehatchie swamps at a rate of a dozen miles per day, Johnston "made up his mind that there had been no such army in existence since the days of Julius Caesar". [127] In July, the cautious Johnston was replaced by the more aggressive John Bell Hood, who played to Sherman's strength by challenging him to direct battles on open ground. [197][198][f] Another World War II-era student of Liddell Hart's writings on Sherman was General George S. Patton,[199] who "spent a long vacation studying Sherman's campaigns on the ground in Georgia and the Carolinas, with the aid of [Liddell Hart's] book" and later "carried out his [bold] plans, in super-Sherman style". Samuel Sherman (1618-1700) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree Nicholas Street Austin Butler TV and Movie Actor 6th cousin 6 times removed via Richard Raymond Brewster H. Shaw NASA Astronaut 6th cousin 5 times removed Not long before his death, General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) told an interviewer: "My family is strongly Roman Catholic. "[272] He is buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. [176] Their fate soon became a pressing military and political issue. From then on Sherman lived with his family's neighbor and friend, Senator Ewing. "[71] In May, however, he offered himself for service in the regular Army. [In his Memoirs] the vigorous account of his pre-war activities and his conduct of his military operations is varied in just the right proportion and to just the right degree of vivacity with anecdotes and personal experiences. Schofield. 15. [67] While trying to hold himself aloof from politics, he observed first-hand the efforts of Congressman Frank Blair, who later served under Sherman in the U.S. Army, to keep Missouri in the Union. 1. One, Charles, was conceived during the. He passed away on 30 June 1951 in Virginia, St Louis, Minnesota, USA. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (18611865), achieving recognition for his command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the scorched-earth policies that he implemented against the Confederate States. [19][20] As an adult, Sherman signed all his correspondence including to his wife "W. T. Senator Ewing secured an appointment for the 16-year-old Sherman as a cadet in the United States Military Academy at West Point. Here, buffalo skulls are piled up at a glueworks . William Tecumseh Sherman & Family - Lost To Sight [148][149] His army proceeded north through South Carolina against light resistance from the troops of Confederate general Johnston. When Sherman's train passed Collierville it came under attack by 3,000 Confederate cavalry and eight guns under James Ronald Chalmers. Another younger brother, Hoyt Sherman, was a successful banker. William Tecumseh Sherman, was born February 8, 1820, in Lancaster, Ohio. He was still According to Lewis's account, which was repeated by later authors, Sherman was baptized in the Ewing home by a Dominican priest who found the pagan name "Tecumseh" unsuitable and instead named the child "William" after the saint on whose feast day the baptism took place. William Tecumseh Sherman Biss family tree Family tree Explore more family trees. [141] Upon reaching Savannah, Sherman appointed Private A. O. Granger as his personal secretary. After World War II, the Nuremberg Charter defined war crimes as . After Gen William Tecumseh Sherman recommended slaughtering buffalo to deny Native Americans a food supply, the number of buffalo killings soared. About Me. William Tecumseh Sherman Family Papers | National Archives [208][209] Though exact figures are not available, the loss of civilian life appears to have been very small. Johnston did catch a serious cold and died one month later of pneumonia. ", Sherman to Grant, February 15, 1862, Papers of Ulysses S. Grant 4:216n, Sherman to Grant, December 28, 1866, Papers of Ulysses S. Grant 16:422. Saved On November 25, Sherman took his assigned target of Billy Goat Hill at the north end of the ridge, only to find that it was separated from the main spine by a rock-strewn ravine. After Pemberton surrendered to Grant on July 4, Johnston advanced towards the rear of Grant's forces. Sherman was not the only successful member of his family. [56] Sherman was an effective and popular leader of the institution, which would later become Louisiana State University. [80], Having succeeded Anderson at Louisville, Sherman now had principal military responsibility for Kentucky, a border state in which the Confederates held Columbus and Bowling Green, and were also present near the Cumberland Gap. Try refreshing the page. The massive Confederate attack on the morning of April 6, 1862, took most of the senior Union commanders by surprise. Like Grant, he was born in Ohio. He led the capture of the strategic city of Atlanta, a military success that contributed to the re-election of President Abraham Lincoln. [47], Sherman suffered from asthma attacks, which he attributed in part to stress caused by the city's aggressive business culture. 14 Facts About William Tecumseh Sherman | Mental Floss Grant may have had to intervene to save Sherman from dismissal for having overstepped his authority. Sherman was sent to live with Thomas Ewing, a lifelong family friend . The burning of Columbia has engendered controversy ever since, with some claiming the fires were a deliberate act of vengeance by the Union troops and others that the fires were accidental, caused in part by the burning bales of cotton that the retreating Confederates left behind them.[151]. [175], Tens of thousands of escaped slaves nonetheless joined Sherman's marches through Georgia and the Carolinas as refugees. [233] One of the main concerns of his postbellum service was, therefore, to protect the construction and operation of the railroads from hostile Indians. He was stationed in Kentucky, where his pessimism about the outlook of the war led to a breakdown that required him to be briefly put on leave. After his father's death, the nine-year-old Sherman was raised by a Lancaster neighbor and family friend, attorney Thomas Ewing, a prominent member of the Whig Party who served as senator from Ohio and as the first Secretary of the Interior. Immediate Family: Daughter of Hon. [234] Sherman's views on Indian matters were often strongly expressed. One of his younger brothers, John Sherman, was one of the founders of the Republican Party and served as a U.S. congressman, senator, and cabinet secretary. Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help. [295] More recently, historians such as Brian Holden-Reid have challenged such readings of Sherman's record and of his contributions to modern warfare. You are bound to fail. He led Union forces in crushing campaigns through the South, marching through Georgia and the Carolinas (1864-65). [227], There was little large-scale military action against the Indians during the first three years of Sherman's tenure as divisional commander, as Sherman allowed negotiations between the U.S. government and Indian leaders to proceed, while he built up his troops and awaited completion of the Union Pacific and Kansas Pacific Railroads. He told Grant that, if he remained in the army, "some happy accident might restore you to favor and your true place". [256], Sherman lived most of the rest of his life in New York City. Sherman, beset by hallucinations and unreasonable fears and finally contemplating suicide, had been relieved from command in Kentucky. [65][66], Sherman then moved to St. Louis to become president of a streetcar company called the "Fifth Street Railroad". View Site William Tecumseh Sherman, Sr. (1820 - 1891) - Genealogy [43], Sherman was appointed as captain in the Army's Commissary Department on September 27, 1850, with offices in St. Louis, Missouri. Judge Taylor Sherman's family remained in Norwalk till 1815, when his death led to the emigration of the remainder of the family, viz., of Uncle Daniel Sherman, who settled at Monroeville, Ohio, as a farmer, where he lived and died quite recently, leaving children and grandchildren; and an aunt, Betsey, who married Judge Parker, of Mansfield . The only general engagement during Sherman's marches through Georgia and the Carolinas, the Battle of Bentonville, took place on March 1921, 1865. [183][184] Those orders, which became the basis of the claim that the Union government had promised freed slaves "forty acres and a mule", were revoked later that year by President Johnson. Father and son, however, were reconciled when Thomas returned to the United States in August 1880, after having travelled to England for his religious instruction. William Tecumseh Sherman by James L. McDonough - eBay Senator from Ohio [1830-1836] and later a member of the cabinet under four U.S. Presidents, William Henry . When William Tecumseh Sherman Jr. was born on 8 June 1854, in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, his father, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, was 34 and his mother, Eleanor Boyle Ewing, was 29. HE MARRIED HIS FOSTER SISTER. This new edition, published by Appleton, added a second preface, a chapter about his life up to 1846, a chapter concerning the post-war period (ending with his 1884 retirement from the army), several appendices, portraits, improved maps, and an index. However, he died when Sherman was just 9 and left his widow with 11 children to bring up and very little money. Perhaps best known for his 1864 "March to the Sea," William Tecumseh "Cump" Sherman (1820-1891) was born in Lancaster, Ohio. After a relatively long. Includes citations for all sources. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 3 daughters. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! [289] In this new discourse, Sherman's devastation of railroads and plantations mattered less than his perceived insults to southern dignity and especially to its unprotected white womanhood. William T. Sherman | American Battlefield Trust The Scourge of War: The Life of William Tecumseh Sherman By Brian Holden Reid Oxford University Press, 2020, $34.95. His father was a prominent lawyer, but when he died suddenly in 1829, he left his wife and eleven children with limited financial resources. When William Tecumseh Sherman Harper was born on 30 June 1865, in Des Moines, Polk, Iowa, United States, his father, James Madison Harper, was 33 and his mother, Lydia Jane Lamb, was 31. [164] Sherman proceeded with some of his troops to Washington, where they marched in the Grand Review of the Armies on May 24, 1865. [41], On May 1, 1850, Sherman married his foster sister, Ellen Boyle Ewing, who was four years and eight months his junior. Despite his harsh treatment of the warring tribes, Sherman spoke out against speculators and government agents who abused the Native Americans living within the reservations. [142] Sherman then dispatched a message to Lincoln, offering him the city as a Christmas present.[143][e]. [97], On November 1862, U. S. Grant, acting as commander of the Union forces in the state of Mississippi, launched a campaign to capture the city of Vicksburg, the principal Confederate stronghold along the Mississippi River. [48][49] Late in life, Sherman said of his time in a San Francisco gripped by the frenzy of real estate speculation: "I can handle a hundred thousand men in battle, and take the City of the Sun, but am afraid to manage a lot in the swamp of San Francisco. Born in Ohio into a politically prominent family, Sherman graduated in 1840 from the United States Military Academy at West Point. [99] According to historian John D. Winters's The Civil War in Louisiana (1963), at this stage Sherman, had yet to display any marked talents for leadership. According to British military historian Brian Holden-Reid, "if Sherman had committed tactical errors during the attack, he more than compensated for these during the subsequent retreat". Sherman was fond of the Ewings' eldest daughter, Ellen, and frequently corresponded with her while at West Point. He returned to Washington in 1876, when the new Secretary of War, Alphonso Taft, promised him greater authority. [230] He was successful in negotiating other treaties, such as the removal of Navajos from the Bosque Redondo to traditional lands in Western New Mexico. [104][105] Arkansas Post was taken by the Union army and navy on January 11, 1863. [174] Sherman rejected this, arguing that it would have delayed the "successful end" of the war and the "[liberation of] all slaves". Friends and family, however, simply called him "Cump." 2. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end.
