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General william tecumseh sherm (Click to select text)
General William Tecumseh Sherman General William T. Sherman, one of the greatest Civil War generals, proved to be an extremely significant factor for the Northern cause due to his mastery of military warfare and thus notable contribution to the South's defeat. Despite of the fact that early on his military career looked quite grim and hopeless, being publicly ridiculed and called insane, he later displayed great strategic expertise and proved his adversaries wrong. Although he begun his wartime career as colonel of a volunteer brigade, he finished it as General of the American Army and was even nominated various times to presidency. His most significant feats include the capture of Atlanta and Savannah, thus splitting the confederacy in two. He is also notoriously known for his famous "March To Sea", in which he wreaked havoc throughout the central Southern states. Sherman's most famous words, spoken until after the war, stand up for his belief of total war with the statement "war is hell" (Boys Life 366). William T. Sherman lived through many circumstances in life which, at first appearing to be negative, greatly aided him in becoming the second greatest Union general. Sherman was born into a large family in Lancaster, Ohio on February 8, 1820 (McPhersonxxx 731). His family had had a long history of political positions, although Sherman was always strong in his dislike for the such. 1829 proved to be an impacting year in his life, when his father died leaving his mother responsible for their ten children (Sherman 1). Sherman was taken in as an adoptive child by Mr. Thomas Ewing, a family friend (Sherman 1). This man proved to be an important figure in his life because his political influence managed to get Tecumseh into West Point when he was sixteen. He graduated sixth in his class in 1840 (Ward 706). Sherman then held insignificant military positions in Florida and Mexico, and played no fighting role in the Mexican War, posted as a recruiting officer (Britannica 1). In 1853, after being stationed in California, he retired from service due to the Gold Rush and took up a banking position in a nearby bank (Ward 706). He failed in this area and attempted at being a lawyer and farmer, but also failed. He then wished to enter the military once again, yet encountered difficulties, and was able to receive a teaching position at a military college in Louisiana only through friend contacts (Sherman 1). He was quite happy here but had to resign when Louisiana seceded in 1861, because felt it "treason to talk of secession" (Sherman 2). He then continued his search for a military position, and declined several because he felt "unwilling to take a mere private's place" because of his several years of military service (Sherman 2). On May 14th 1861, William T. Sherman was appointed a colonel of the Thirteenth Regular Infantry (Sherman 3). Although Sherman's involvement in the war had finally begun, the contributions he rendered early on were quite small. He played minor parts at Fort Sumter and the 1st Battle of Manassas (Bull Run). Sherman was then put in command of a small brigade at the 1st Bull Run on July 21, 1861, and although the Union lost this battle, Sherman and his men performed well (Ward 731). After this battle he was promoted to brigadier-general and later left in charge of the Department of Cumberland (Sherman 3). It was then when a great injustice was done unto him, when the Secretary of War, Mr. Cameron, asked him how many men he would need for his campaign and answered he needed said two hundred thousand. He was later publicly ridiculed for this and called "Crazy Sherman" (McPherson 707). Sherman obviously proved these critics wrong with his significant contribution at the battle of Shiloh. At the battle of Shiloh, which began on March 10, 1862, Sherman finally displayed his military brilliance by dazzling the Confederate army with his superior military stratagems (Sherman 3). Sherman joined forces here with other generals under the leadership of U.S. Grant and battled against Confederate General Johnston (Americana 172). He and his men fought bravely for two days, and even ran behind retreating Confederate men as they ran for their lives. His casualties, including wounded, dead and missing, were only 2, 034 men (Sherman 4). Although the Union lost this battle, Sherman was promoted to Major General as merit of his great valor and leadership (McPherson 707). Sherman at this time had developed a valuable friendship with U.S. Grant, and even persuaded him from resigning after Grant received numerous false accusations (Sherman 4). They then began planning for their strategy for the capturing of Vicksburg, which would open the Mississippi for Union transportation. The siege of Vicksburg was a significant battle in Sherman's career because it solidified his reputation as a great general. Sherman, in charge of four divisions, first attempted to take Vicksburg on December 29, 1862 (Sherman 5). He had planned to land by boat and attack from the river while Grant came from the north to prevent Confederate General Pemberton, who was defending Vicksburg, from receiving reinforcements (Ward 707). Both parts of the plan failed for various reasons. Sherman and his men retreated by boat. In 1863 the assault would begin again (Sherman 5). They tried two more times but again failed to break Pemberton. On July 4, 1863, Vicksburg surrendered after Sherman and his men laid siege upon the city (Sherman 5). Sherman was promoted to Brigadier General and put in charge of the Army of Tennessee, and he would continue to participate in the battles of Chattanoga and the siege of Knoxville in December of that year (Ward 707). On May 18, 1864, Sherman received from Grant the command of the whole Mississippi division of the war (Sherman 5). Sherman's greatest feats would now begin to take place, as he massacred the Confederate army of Georgia. Sherman begun his bloody Atlanta campaign, which would lead to Lincoln's reelection and the split of the Confederacy, by carefully planning his strategy with other generals under his command. On May 5, 1864, he began his Atlanta campaign, which aimed to capture Atlanta, with about one hundred thousand men (Sherman 5). Sherman slowly approached Atlanta, and on the way caused Confederate forces to slowly retreat towards Atlanta by first capturing other cities, like Dalton and Resaca (Boys Life 348). The Confederate General who he was waging against was General Johnston, who decided to finally stop retreating and fight at Cassville, where he received more reinforcements (Sherman 5)Nevertheless, he then retreated when his reinforcing generals proved to be cowards against Sherman's superior forces. Sherman proceeded to take Cassville without a fight and continued towards Atlanta, stopping on the outskirts of the city when he was attacked by General Hood (Sherman 5). Sherman cut off his supply lines by destroying the railroads and thus caused him to retreat, leaving the city open for conquering. Sherman then took Atlanta without a fight. This was a significant victory because it led to the reelection of Lincoln, who was running against McClellan, by showing Lincoln was being successful in his war against the South. In addition, it was a key city of the South and therefore an essential element to the South's surrender in the future. Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground and decided he would head through Georgia, relying on plundered goods too keep his army alive. Sherman continued his campaign with the infamous "March to Sea", in which he ransacked and left a path of destruction throughout the South. Sherman's march through Georgia, which destroyed everything in its path, implemented to the maximum his idea of "total war". Sherman trudged through the countryside, the men feeding off whatever they could steal. They ended up being "the finest in flesh and appearance ever seen with any army" because of the quantity of food they stole (Boys Life 387). On November 24, they reached the capital of Georgia, Milledgeville which they rapidly took control of. Upon reaching Savannah, Sherman attempted to take the city, but it was heavily fortified so he was unable to do so. He proceeded to shell the city, until the Confederate forces retreated. When he took the city he presented it as a Christmas present to Lincoln, "I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah " (Ward 707). He was then given thanks for his "triumphal march". He had crushed much of the Confederate Army and still had men to go on. He continued to take Columbia, without a fight, and then put fire to the city. He again burned the city to the ground, and then turned North to meet Johnston again. After constant fighting, he persuaded him to surrender, which he did, only several days after the surrender at Appottomax (McPherson 378). Sherman would proceed to become General of the Army, after Grant's election as President in 1869, at the age of sixty-four (Sherman 7). He was many times asked to run for President, but famously responded "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected." General Tecumseh Sherman was definitely among the greatest Civil War generals, because he successfully ripped the South in half and brilliantly defeated his enemies in all major battles. General Sherman was second only to Grant, and was one of the essential people in the war due to his contribution to the carrying out of the North's Anaconda Plan. Starting off as a mere colonel ended his military career as leader of the entire military. General Tecumseh Sherman was a man to be remembered and honored forever. Works Cited ¨ "General William T. Sherman". Encylopedia Americana. Vol 24.Grolier Incorparated:Danbury 1993. ¨ "General William T. Sherman". Encylopaedia Britannica. Vol 10. Univ. of Chicago:Chicago 1991. ¨ Ward, Geoffrey, Ric Burns, Ken Burns. The Civil War. Knopf Publishing :New York 1994. ¨ McPherson, James. The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: New York 1994. ¨ "General William T. Sherman". http:\\www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/915/. last update: September 10, 1999. October 28, 1999. ¨ "Sherman's March to Sea". Boys Life. June 1995. pp.32 +.
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