- Awards And Honors:
- Hall of Fame (1905)
- Notable Family Members:
- brother John Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
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Who was William Tecumseh Sherman?
William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) was a U.S. Civil War general known as a major architect of modern warfare.
Sherman commanded a brigade in the First Battle of Bull Run and later distinguished himself at the Battle of Shiloh, earning promotion to major general. In 1864, he became commander of the military division of the Mississippi. Leading approximately 62,000 troops in a march to the Atlantic coast, his army cut a wide swath through Georgia, destroying railroads and supplies, crippling the Confederacy's war-making potential, and bringing the war to the Southern people. Sherman's capture of Atlanta restored Northern morale and helped ensure Lincolnâs reelection that November.
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What role did Sherman play in the American Civil War?
William Tecumseh Sherman was a crucial figure in the American Civil War, known for his strategic brilliance and impact on modern warfare.
Sherman commanded a brigade early in the war and later distinguished himself at the Battle of Shiloh, earning promotion to major general. Working closely with Ulysses S. Grant, Sherman played a key role in capturing Vicksburg, a victory that helped open the Mississippi River to the Union.
As commander of the military division of the Mississippi, Sherman invaded Georgia in May 1864, capturing Atlanta, a vital Confederate industrial center, which boosted Northern morale and helped ensure Lincoln's reelection. His "March to the Sea" involved cutting through Georgia, destroying infrastructure, and reducing the Confederacy's war-making capabilities. This march, along with the Atlanta Campaign, significantly weakened the Confederacy, contributing to the Union's victory. Sherman accepted the surrender of Confederate forces in April 1865.
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What is Sherman most famous for during the war?
William Tecumseh Sherman is most famous for his March to the Sea during the American Civil War. After capturing Atlanta in 1864, Sherman led Union forces on a scorched-earth campaign through Georgia, aiming to cripple the Confederacy's ability to wage war. His army traveled 285 miles (458 km) from Atlanta to Savannah, destroying infrastructure and supplies along the way. The march, which is viewed by many military historians as an early example of total war, not only inflicted economic damage but also deeply affected the Southern psyche. Sherman's actions are credited with helping to secure Union victory.
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How did Sherman's "March to the Sea" affect the outcome of the Civil War?
William Tecumseh Sherman's "March to the Sea" significantly influenced the Civil War's outcome. This campaign, coupled with the Atlanta Campaign, is believed to have shifted the balance of victory in favor of the Union. Sherman's march cut the Confederacy in half by pacifying Georgia, which deprived the Confederate states of much of their industrial and agricultural capacity.
The march inflicted substantial economic damage, estimated at $100 million, and caused a decline in Confederate morale. The destruction and psychological impact of Sherman's campaign left a lasting resentment in the South, while also freeing between 17,000 and 25,000 enslaved Black people. The success of the march, which lasted 37 days, is considered one of the first examples of "total war".
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What strategies did Sherman use that were different from other generals?
Sherman's strategies during the Civil War set him apart from other generals through his implementation of "total war" and psychological tactics.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Sherman believed that crushing the will of the Southern population was essential to ending the war. During his March to the Sea, he targeted not only military resources but also the economic infrastructure and morale of the Confederacy. His troops destroyed railroads, supplies, and infrastructure, aiming to reduce the South's capacity to wage war. This approach, while controversial, was designed to break the Confederacyâs resolve and force a surrender.
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How has Shermanâs legacy been viewed or debated in American history?
William Tecumseh Sherman's legacy is complex and evokes strong reactions due to his Civil War strategies. He aimed to crush the Confederacy's ability to wage war by targeting infrastructure and civilian morale, exemplified by his March to the Sea.
Some view Sherman as a brilliant military strategist who helped preserve the Union. Others, particularly in the South, see him as a symbol of destruction and brutality, due to the extensive damage inflicted on civilian property and the Southern economy. The devastation caused by his campaigns left a lasting scar on the Southern psyche, contributing to resentment that persisted for decades.
His actions have spurred debate among historians, with some labeling his tactics as "total war" and others as "hard war". Despite the controversy, Sherman's impact on the war's outcome and the evolution of military strategy is undeniable.
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William Tecumseh Sherman (born February 8, 1820, Lancaster, Ohio, U.S.âdied February 14, 1891, New York, New York) was an American Civil War general and a major architect of modern warfare. He led Union forces in crushing campaigns through the South, marching through Georgia and the Carolinas (1864â65).
Early life and career
Named Tecumseh in honor of the renowned Shawnee chieftain, Sherman was one of 11 children of Judge Charles R. Sherman, who died when the boy was only nine. Thomas Ewing, a family friend and a Whig political force in Ohio, adopted the boy, and his foster mother added William to his name. When Sherman was 16, Ewing obtained an appointment to West Point for him. Sherman graduated near the head of his class in 1840.
After graduation Sherman was sent to fight Seminoles in Florida and was eventually transferred to Fort Moultrie, South Carolina. The Mexican-American War, in which so many future generals of the Civil War received their experience, passed Sherman by; he was stranded in California as an administrative officer. In 1850 he married Ellen Ewing, daughter of his adoptive father, who was then serving as secretary of the interior in Washington. They settled in St. Louis, Missouri.
The lure of gold in California led Sherman to resign from the U.S. Army in 1853 and join a St. Louis banking firm at its branch in San Francisco. The Panic of 1857 interrupted his promising career in business, however, and after several more disappointments, his old friends, the Southerners Braxton Bragg and P.G.T. Beauregard, found him employment (January 1860) as superintendent of a newly established military academy in Louisiana. When Louisiana seceded from the Union in January 1861, Sherman resigned his post and returned to St. Louis. His devotion to the Union was strong, but he was greatly distressed at what he considered an unnecessary conflict between the states. He used the influence of his younger brother, Senator John Sherman, to obtain an appointment in the U.S. Army as a colonel in May 1861.
Civil War years
Sherman was soon assigned to command a brigade in General Irvin McDowellâs army, and he fought in the disastrous First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas; July 21, 1861). Though afterward promoted to brigadier general, he was convinced by his experience at Bull Run that he was unfit for such responsibility, and he begged President Abraham Lincoln not to trust him in an independent command. Lincoln nevertheless sent Sherman to Kentucky as second-in-command under General Robert Anderson. In October 1861 Sherman succeeded to the command in Kentucky, but he was nervous and unsure of himself, and his hallucinations concerning opposing Confederate forces led him to request so many reinforcements from his superiors that some newspapers described him as insane. He lost his Kentucky command, but, with the support of General Henry Halleck, he then served as a divisional commander under General Ulysses S. Grant. Sherman distinguished himself at the Battle of Shiloh (April 6â7, 1862) and won promotion to the rank of major general.
Grant had a calming influence upon Sherman. Together they fought brilliantly to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi (1862â63), shattering the Confederate defenses and opening the Mississippi River to Northern commerce once more. Though Sherman began his part in the campaign with a defeat at Chickasaw Bluffs, his capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas, served to restore his reputation. In Grantâs final Vicksburg campaign, Sherman commanded the XV Corps.
Shermanâs star, along with Grantâs, was now in the ascendant, and their careers were thenceforth closely linked as they worked together to bring about a Union victory in the war. When Grant was placed in supreme command in the west, Sherman succeeded to the command of the Army of the Tennessee and in that capacity took part with Grant in the Chattanooga campaign in November 1863. In March 1864, when Grant became general-in-chief of the Union armies, Sherman was made commander of the military division of the Mississippi, with three armies under his overall command. Assembling about 100,000 troops near Chattanooga, Tennessee, in May 1864, he began his invasion of Georgia. The opposing Confederate forces led by General Joseph E. Johnston retreated slowly ahead of him, and on September 2, 1864, Shermanâs forces were able to occupy Atlanta, a vital industrial center and the hub of the Southern railway network. The Union war effort was not proceeding well in the east, and Shermanâs capture of Atlanta was a much-needed victory that restored Northern morale and helped ensure Lincolnâs reelection that November.
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Union superiority in manpower was now having its effect, and Sherman was able to detach part of his army and lead the remaining 62,000 troops on the celebrated âMarch to the Seaâ from Atlanta to Savannah on the Atlantic coast. Separated from its supply bases and completely isolated from other Union forces, Shermanâs army cut a wide swath as it moved south through Georgia, living off the countryside, destroying railroads and supplies, reducing the war-making potential of the Confederacy, and bringing the war home to the Southern people. Sherman reached Savannah in time for Christmas and âpresentedâ the city to Lincoln with 150 captured cannons and 25,000 bales of cotton. By February 1865 he was heading north through the Carolinas toward Virginia, where Grant and the Confederate commander General Robert E. Lee were having a final showdown. The opposing Confederate forces led by Johnston could offer Sherman only token resistance by now. Lee surrendered to Grant in Virginia on April 9, and Johnston surrendered the remnants of his forces to Sherman on April 26 near Durham, North Carolina.