Category Archives: William T. Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman Facts

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War is Hell…

Facts and Notes About General William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

  • William Tecumseh Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio on February 8, 1820. Sherman’s middle name of “Tecumseh” was given to him at birth. The name “Tecumseh” was from a great Shawnee Indian leader and warrior who had almost defeated the United States Army.
  • Sherman graduated sixth in his class of 1840 at West Point. He was highly intelligent, aggressive, and had a good imagination. These characteristics would help to make Sherman one of the great Union generals of the Civil War.
  • When the Civil War broke out, Sherman was the superintendent of a military academy in Louisiana called the Alexandria Military Institute. This military academy would become the foundation of Louisiana State University.* Sherman was a West Point graduate, age 41, and a civilian when the Civil War started. He volunteered for service. Sherman took command of a brigade and led it at the Battle of First Bull Run. Sherman was lean, grizzled, and had red hair, he did not much care about his personal appearance.
  • The Battle of Shiloh was fought on April 6, and 7, 1862. On the first day of battle, troops led by General Sherman came under heavy fire. Despite efforts by Sherman to rally the men, the Union troops (who were new to battle) fled to the rear. That evening, Confederates were camped on ground that in the morning had belonged to Union troops. Confederate General Beauregard spent the night sleeping in Sherman’s bed. The next day, April 7, Grant renewed the fight and pushed the Rebel troops back to their original attack position. The Billy Yanks had their camp again. Perhaps on the night of April 7, General Sherman got his bed back from General Beauregard.
  • Benjamin Harrison was from Ohio and saw action in the Western Theater during the Civil War. He served in Sherman’s Army during the March to the Sea. In 1888, he became president of the United States of America.
  • On May 4, 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman begins his march to Atlanta, Georgia. His army numbered 110,000 men. Sherman’s March to the Sea will make history, and make him hated in the South.
  • In 1864, when Sherman was making his way through the South, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston won a victory at Kennesaw Mountain. At the end of the Civil War, Johnston was in command in the Carolinas. Johnson staged a defensive campaign after Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865. Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston finally surrendered to General Sherman at Durham Station, North Carolina on April 26, 1865. After the war, Sherman and Johnston became friends.
  • William Tecumseh Sherman died of pneumonia in New York City on February 14, 1891. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnston (Sherman’s old Confederate adversary) had reconciled in the years since the Civil War. Johnston served as an honorary pall bearer at Sherman’s funeral on a rainy and cold day. During the funeral, Johnston removed his hat in the cold rain as other mourners did the same. He was urged to put the hat back on so he would avoid the wet and cold. Johnston said: “If I were in his place and he standing here in mine he would not put on his hat.” Former Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston developed pneumonia from the rain and cold at Sherman’s funeral. Johnston died only a few weeks later.
  • In Washington, D.C., there is a small park at Fifteenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. At this park there is a statue of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. This statue is forty-three feet high and depicts Sherman on a horse during a march. On the granite base of this statue is a Sherman quote in which he states his idea of what the purpose of war is: “War’s Legitimate Object Is More Perfect Peace.”

My book 501 Civil War Quotes and Notes features quotes made before, during, and after the Civil War. Each quote has an informative note to explain the circumstances and background of the quote. Learn Civil War history from the spoken words and writings of the military commanders, political leaders, the Billy Yanks and Johnny Rebs who fought in the battles, the abolitionists who strove for the freedom of the slaves, the descriptions of battles, and the citizens who suffered at home. Their voices tell us the who, what, where, when, and why of the Civil War. Available as a Kindle device e-book or as a paperback. Get 501 Civil War Quotes and Notes now!

Ulysses S. Grant Facts

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Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27, 1822 at Point Pleasant, Ohio. Point Pleasant is a community east of Cincinnati on the Ohio River. Grant’s father Jesse, was a tanner.

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

  • When Grant arrived at West Point he found his appointment was in the name of Ulysses S. Grant. Grant’s parents named him Hiram Ulysses Grant. Grant never bothered to change the clerical error and was known as Ulysses S. Grant. Later, Grant was called “Unconditional Surrender Grant” after Confederate Simon Boliver Buckner surrendered Fort Donelson to him. Grant was also often called Sam Grant.
  • While a cadet at West Point, Ulysses S. Grant was known as an exceptional horseman. Grant did not stand out as having exceptional talents in anything else while at West Point.
  • Ulysses S. Grant wanted a commission in the cavalry when he finished at West Point. Instead, Grant wound up in the infantry because the cavalry had no vacancies. Grant was a horseman, and this assignment to the infantry must have been a disappointment for him.
  • Ulysses S. Grant served with generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott during the Mexican War.
  • After the Mexican War, Ulysses S. Grant was stationed in California. He was without his wife and children, and very bored. Grant took to excessive drinking. He resigned his commission in 1854 and his resignation was accepted by the United States Secretary of War. The Secretary of War accepting Grant’s resignation from the United States Army was Jefferson Davis. Davis was the future president of the Confederate States of America.
  • Grant’s favorite horse during the Civil War was Cincinnati. An admirer gave Cincinnati to Grant after the battle of Chattanooga. Cincinnati was seldom ridden by anyone other than Grant. One notable exception being President Abraham Lincoln, when Lincoln last visited City Point, Virginia. Other horses Grant had in the Civil War were; Jack, Fox, and Kangaroo. Kangaroo was left on the Shiloh battlefield by the Confederates. This horse was described as ugly and raw-boned. Grant however, having an eye for horses, knew that Kangaroo was a thoroughbred. After becoming a Yankee horse, Kangaroo got rest and care and he became a fine horse.
  • Ely Samuel Parker was a Seneca Indian, a son of a famous Seneca chief, and also a Union officer. He first studied law but was refused admission to the bar because he was not a citizen. Parker graduated from Rensselaer as an engineer. In 1857, Ely Parker was working in Galena, Illinois where he became a friend of a store clerk named Sam Grant. Sam Grant, was Ulysses S. Grant and during the Civil War Ely Parker became General Ulysses S. Grant’s military secretary. Ely Parker’s penmanship was exceptional. When Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Ely Parker transcribed the official copies of the surrender documents.
  • Ulysses S. Grant never swore. His explanation for this:

“Well, somehow or another, I never learned to swear, when a boy I seemed to have an aversion to it, and when I became a man I saw the folly of it. I have always noticed, too, that swearing helps to rouse a man’s anger; and when a man flies into a passion his adversary who keeps cool always gets the better of him. In fact, I could never see the use of swearing. I think it is the case with many people who swear excessively that it is mere habit, and that they do not mean to be profane; but, to say the least, it is a great waste of time.”

  • On April 14, 1865 Abraham Lincoln’s day was spent visiting with callers and attending a Cabinet meeting, which included General Grant. Lincoln explained to General Grant that he was having a recurring dream about a ship “moving with great rapidity toward a dark and indefinite shore.” Now that the Civil War was over, topics of discussion during the Cabinet meeting included the problems of reconstruction, and the treatment of Confederate leaders. That evening, the Lincolns went to Ford’s Theater to see the play “Our American Cousin.” While enjoying the play at Ford’s Theater Lincoln was shot by assassin John Wilkes Booth.
  • After the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant became an author, Secretary of War under President Johnson, and in 1868 became President of the United States. Grant served two terms as president.
  • Ulysses S. Grant finished his two-volume autobiography; Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, only days before he died of throat cancer in 1885. Grant’s memoirs were published by Mark Twain’s firm and 300,000 copies were sold. These sales earned $450,000 for Grant’s widow, Julia. Grant’s autobiography is thought to be one of the best autobiographies written in the English language.