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I went through the regular course of four years, graduating in June, 1840, number six in a class of forty-three. These forty-three were all that remained of more than one hundred
which originally constituted the class.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on his time at West Point
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. 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.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on his time at West Point
As the spring and summer of 1848 advanced, the reports came faster and
faster from the gold-mines at Sutter's saw-mill. Stories reached us of fabulous discoveries, and spread throughout the land. Everybody was talking of "Gold! gold!" until it assumed the
character of a fever. Some of our soldiers began to desert; citizens were fitting out trains of wagons and packmules to go to the mines. We heard of men earning fifty, five hundred, and thousands of
dollars per day, and for a time it seemed as though somebody would reach solid gold. Some of this gold began to come to Yerba Buena in trade, and to disturb the value of merchandise, particularly of mules,
horses, tin pans, and articles used in mining: I of course could not escape the infection, and at last convinced Colonel Mason that it was our duty to go up and see with our own eyes, that we might report the truth
to our Government.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman regarding his time stationed in California during the gold rush
As yet we had no regular mail to any part of the United States, but
mails had come to us at long intervals, around Cape Horn, and one or two overland. I well remember the first overland mail. It was brought by Kit Carson in saddle-bags from Taos in New Mexico. We
heard of his arrival at Los Angeles, and waited patiently for his arrival at headquarters. His fame then was at its height, from the publication of Fremont's books, and I was very anxious to see a man who had
achieved such feats of daring among the wild animals of the Rocky Mountains, and still wilder Indians of the Plains. At last his arrival was reported at the tavern at Monterey, and I hurried to hunt him
up. I cannot express my surprise at beholding a small, stoop-shouldered man, with reddish hair, freckled face, soft blue eyes, and nothing to indicate extraordinary courage or daring. He spoke but
little, and answered questions in monosyllables.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on meeting Kit Carson
That was a dull hard winter in San Francisco; the rains were heavy, and the mud
fearful. I have seen mules stumble in the street, and drown in the liquid mud! Montgomery Street had been filled up with brush and clay, and I always dreaded to ride on horseback along it, because the
mud was so deep that a horse's legs would become entangled in the bushes below, and the rider was likely to be thrown and drowned in the mud. The only sidewalks were made of stepping-stones of empty boxes, and
here and there a few planks with barrel-staves nailed on.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on the winter of 1848-1949 spent in San Francisco
Although General Scott was generally
regarded by the army as the most accomplished soldier of the Mexican War, yet General Taylor had that blunt, honest, and stern character, that endeared him to the masses of the people, and made him President.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on Gerneral Winfield Scott and President Zachary Taylor
Recent events foreshadow a great change, and it becomes all men to choose. If Louisiana
withdraw from the Federal Union, I prefer to maintain my allegiance to the Constitution as long as a fragment of it survives; and my longer stay here would be wrong in every sense of the word. In that event, I beg
you will send or appoint some authorized agent to take charge of the arms and munitions of war belonging to the State, or advise me what disposition to make of them. And furthermore, as president of the Board of
Supervisors, I beg you to take immediate steps to relieve me as superintendent, the moment the State determines to secede, for on no earthly account will I do any act or think any thought hostile to or in defiance
of the old Government of the United States.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman acting as Superintendent of the Louisiana Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, in a letter dated January
18, 1861 to Louisiana Governor Thomas O. Moore
It is now generally admitted that it was one of the best-planned battles of the war, but one of the worst-fought. Our men had been told so often at home
that all they had to do was to make a bold appearance, and the rebels would run; and nearly all of us for the first time then heard the sound of cannon and muskets in anger, and saw the bloody scenes common to
all battles, with which we were soon to be familiar. We had good organization, good men, but no cohesion, no real discipline, no respect for authority, no real knowledge of war. Both armies were fairly
defeated, and, whichever had stood fast, the other would have run. Though the North was overwhelmed with mortification and shame, the South really had not much to boast of, for in the three or four hours of
fighting their organization was so broken up that they did not and could not follow our army, when it was known to be in a state of disgraceful and causeless flight. It is easy to criticise a battle after it
is over, but all now admit that none others, equally raw in war, could have done better than we did at Bull Run; and the lesson of that battle should not be lost on a people like ours.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on the Battle of Bull Run
The battle of Shiloh had been fought, on the 6th and 7th of April; and when the movement of the 8th had revealed that our enemy
was gone, in full retreat, leaving killed, wounded, and much property by the way, we all experienced a feeling of relief. The struggle had been so long, so desperate and bloody, that the survivors seemed exhausted
and nerveless; we appreciated the value of the victory, but realized also its great cost of life.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on the Battle of Shiloh
I find the press of Memphis
actuated by high principle and a sole devotion to their country, I will be their best friend; but, if I find them personal, abusive, dealing in innuendoes and hints at a blind venture, and looking to their own
selfish aggrandizement and fame, then they had better look out; for I regard such persons as greater enemies to their country and to mankind than the men who, from a mistaken sense of State pride, have taken up
muskets, and fight us about as hard as we care about.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman in a letter dated July 24th 1862 to the Editor of the Union Appeal Newspaper in Memphis while his
troops occupied that city.
Armies in motion or stationary must commit some waste. Flankers must let down fences and cross fields; and, when an attack is contemplated or apprehended, a command will naturally
clear the ground of houses, fences, and trees. This is waste, but is the natural consequence of war, chargeable on those who caused the war. So in fortifying a place, dwelling-houses must be taken, materials
used, even wasted, and great damage done, which in the end may prove useless. This, too, is an expense not chargeable to us, but to those who made the war; and generally war is destruction and nothing else. We
must bear this in mind, that however peaceful things look, we
are really at war; and much that looks like waste or destruction is only the removal of objects that obstruct our fire, or would afford cover to an
enemy.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman in a letter dated September 21, 1862 to the editor of the Memphis Bulletin, on liability for the destruction of war.
The value of the capture
of Vicksburg, however, was not measured by the list of prisoners, guns, and small-arms, but by the fact that its possession secured the navigation of the great central river of the continent, bisected fatally the
Southern Confederacy, and set the armies which had been used in its conquest free for other purposes; and it so happened that the event coincided as to time with another great victory which crowned our arms far
away, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. That was a defensive battle, whereas ours was offensive in the highest acceptation of the term, and the two, occurring at the same moment of time, should have ended the war;
but the rebel leaders were mad, and seemed determined that their people should drink of the very lowest dregs of the cup of war, which they themselves had prepared.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on the Battle of Vicksburg
The campaign of Vicksburg, in its conception and execution, belonged exclusively to General Grant, not only in the great
whole, but in the thousands of its details. I still retain many of his letters and notes, all in his own handwriting, prescribing the routes of march for divisions and detachments, specifying even the amount
of food and tools to be carried along. Many persons gave his adjutant general, Rawlins, the credit for these things, but they were in error; for no commanding general of an army ever gave more of his personal
attention to details, or wrote so many of his own orders, reports, and letters, as General Grant. His success at Vicksburg justly gave him great fame at home and abroad. The President conferred on him
the rank of major-general in the regular army, the highest grade then existing by law; and General McPherson and I shared in his success by receiving similar commissions as brigadier-generals in the regular army.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on the role of General U. S. Grant in the planning and execution of the Battle of Vicksburg
I would make this war as severe as possible, and show no
symptoms of tiring till the South begs for mercy; indeed, I know, and you know, that the end would be reached quicker by such a course than by any seeming yielding on our part. I don't want our Government to
be bothered by patching up local governments, or by trying to reconcile any class of men. The South has done her worst, and now is the time for us to pile on our blows thick and fast.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman
On the 18th of March I had issued orders assuming command of the Military Division of the Mississippi, and was seated in the office, when the general
came in and said they were about to present him a sword, inviting me to come and see the ceremony. I went back into what was the dining-room of the house; on the table lay a rose-wood box, containing a sword,
sash, spurs, etc., and round about the table were grouped Mrs. Grant, Nelly, and one or two of the boys. I was introduced to a large, corpulent gentleman, as the mayor, and another citizen, who had come down from
Galena to make this presentation of a sword to their fellow-townsman. I think that Rawlins, Bowers, Badeau, and one or more of General Grant's personal staff, were present. The mayor rose and in the most
dignified way read a finished speech to General Grant, who stood, as usual, very awkwardly; and the mayor closed his speech by handing him the resolutions of the City Council engrossed on parchment, with a broad
ribbon and large seal attached. After the mayor had fulfilled his office so well, General Grant said: "Mr. Mayor, as I knew that this ceremony was to occur, and as I am not used to speaking, I have
written something in reply." He then began to fumble in his pockets, first his breast-coat pocket, then his pants, vest; etc., and after considerable delay he pulled out a crumpled piece of common yellow
cartridge-paper, which he handed to the mayor. His whole manner was awkward in the extreme, yet perfectly characteristic, and in strong contrast with the elegant parchment and speech of the mayor. When
read, however, the substance of his answer was most excellent, short, concise, and, if it had been delivered by word of mouth, would have been all that the occasion required.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on General Ulysses S. Grant
These armies were to be directed against the rebel army commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston, then lying on the defensive,
strongly intrenched at Dalton, Georgia; and I was required to follow it up closely and persistently, so that in no event could any part be detached to assist General Lee in Virginia; General Grant undertaking in
like manner to keep Lee so busy that he could not respond to any calls of help by Johnston. Neither Atlanta, nor Augusta, nor Savannah, was the objective, but the "army of Jos. Johnston," go where it
might.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on the objective of the campaigns of the year 1864
Georgia has a million of inhabitants. If they can live, we should not starve. If
the enemy interrupt our communications, I will be absolved from all obligations to subsist on our own resources, and will feel perfectly justified in taking whatever and wherever we can find. I will inspire my
command, if successful, with the feeling that beef and salt are all that is absolutely necessary to life, and that parched corn once fed General Jackson's army on that very ground.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T.
SHERMAN By William T. Sherman in a letter to General Grant on the objective of the campaigns of the year 1864
My general headquarters and official records remained back at Nashville, and I had near me only my
personal staff and inspectors-general, with about half a dozen wagons, and a single company of Ohio sharp-shooters (commanded by Lieutenant McCrory) as headquarters or camp guard. I also had a small company of
irregular Alabama cavalry (commanded by Lieutenant Snelling), used mostly as orderlies and couriers. No wall-tents were allowed, only the flies. Our mess establishment was less in bulk than that of any
of the brigade commanders; nor was this from an indifference to the ordinary comforts of life, but because I wanted to set the example, and gradually to convert all parts of that army into a mobile machine, willing
and able to start at a minute's notice, and to subsist on the scantiest food. To reap absolute success might involve the necessity even of dropping all wagons, and to subsist on the chance food which the
country was known to contain. I had obtained not only the United States census-tables of 1860, but a compilation made by the Controller of the State of Georgia for the purpose of taxation, containing in
considerable detail the "population and statistics" of every county in Georgia.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on the composition of his headquarters and preparations for the
campaigns of the year 1864
I always estimated my force at about double his, and could afford to lose two to one without disturbing our relative proportion; but I also reckoned that, in the natural strength of
the country, in the abundance of mountains, streams, and forests, he had a fair offset to our numerical superiority, and therefore endeavored to act with reasonable caution while moving on the vigorous
"offensive."
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on actions against Johnston during the 1864 campaign in Georgia.
Atlanta was known as the "Gate-City of the South,"
was full of founderies, arsenals, and machine-shops, and I knew that its capture would be the death-knell of the Southern Confederacy.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on the Battle of
Atlanta, August, 1864.
I have sent back to Chattanooga for two thirty- pound Parrotts, with which we can pick out almost any house in town. I am too impatient for a siege, and don't know but this is as
good a place to fight it out on, as farther inland. One thing is certain, whether we get inside of Atlanta or not, it will be a used-up community when we are done with it.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman in a letter to General Halleck
The track was heaved up in sections the length of a regiment, then separated rail by rail; bonfires were made of the ties
and of fence-rails on which the rails were heated, carried to trees or telegraph-poles, wrapped around and left to cool. Such rails could not be used again; and, to be still more certain, we filled up many
deep cuts with trees, brush, and earth, and commingled with them loaded shells, so arranged that they would explode on an attempt to haul out the bushes. The explosion of one such shell would have demoralized
a gang of negroes, and thus would have prevented even the attempt to clear the road.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on the methods used to destroy the railroads around Atlanta
I
peremptorily required that all the citizens and families resident in Atlanta should go away, giving to each the option to go south or north, as their interests or feelings dictated. I was resolved to make
Atlanta a pure military garrison or depot, with no civil population to influence military measures. I had seen Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, and New Orleans, all captured from the enemy, and each at once was
garrisoned by a full division of troops, if not more; so that success was actually crippling our armies in the field by detachments to guard and protect the interests of a hostile population.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman, the occupation of Atlanta
"If the people raise a howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not
popularity-seeking. If they want peace, they and their relatives most stop the war." I knew, of course, that such a measure would be strongly criticised, but made up my mind to do it with the absolute
certainty of its justness, and that time would sanction its wisdom. I knew that the people of the South would read in this measure two important conclusions: one, that we were in earnest; and the other, if they were
sincere in their common and popular clamor "to die in the last ditch," that the opportunity would soon come.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on the Union occupation of Atlanta
You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour
out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace. But you cannot have peace and a division of our country.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T.
SHERMAN By William T. Sherman in a letter to the Mayor of Atlanta
I propose that we break up the railroad from Ohattanooga forward, and that we strike out with our wagons for Milledgeville, Millen, and
Savannah. Until we can repopulate Georgia, it is useless for us to occupy it; but the utter destruction of its roads, houses, and people, will cripple their military resources. By attempting to hold the
roads, we will lose a thousand men each month, and will gain no result. I can make this march, and make Georgia howl!
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman in a letter to General Grant on
his march to the sea
As we rode on toward Atlanta that night, I remember the railroad-trains going to the rear with a furious speed; the engineers and the few men about the trains waving us an affectionate
adieu. It surely was a strange event--two hostile armies marching in opposite directions, each in the full belief that it was achieving a final and conclusive result in a great war; and I was strongly inspired
with the feeling that the movement on our part was a direct attack upon the rebel army and the rebel capital at Richmond, though a full thousand miles of hostile country intervened, and that, for better or worse, it
would end the war.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman on preparations just prior to his march to the sea
In districts and neighborhoods where the army is unmolested, no destruction of
each property should be permitted; but should guerrillas or bushwhackers molest our march, or should the inhabitants burn bridges, obstruct roads, or otherwise manifest local hostility, then army commanders should
order and enforce a devastation more or less relentless, according to the measure of such hostility.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman, part of Special Field Orders, No. 120.
About 7
a.m. of November 16th we rode out of Atlanta by the Decatur road, filled by the marching troops and wagons of the Fourteenth Corps; and reaching the hill, just outside of the old rebel works, we naturally paused to
look back upon the scenes of our past battles. We stood upon the very ground whereon was fought the bloody battle of July 22d, and could see the copse of wood where McPherson fell. Behind us lay Atlanta,
smouldering and in ruins, the black smoke rising high in air, and hanging like a pall over the ruined city. Away off in the distance, on the McDonough road, was the rear of Howard's column, the gun-barrels
glistening in the sun, the white-topped wagons stretching away to the south; and right before us the Fourteenth Corps, marching steadily and rapidly, with a cheery look and swinging pace, that made light of the
thousand miles that lay between us and Richmond. Some band, by accident, struck up the anthem of "John Brown's soul goes marching on;" the men caught up the strain, and never before or since have I
heard the chorus of "Glory, glory, hallelujah!" done with more spirit, or in better harmony of time and place.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman, the departure from Atlanta
The whole army is burning with an insatiable desire to wreak vengeance upon South Carolina. I almost tremble at her fate, but feel that she deserves all that seems in store for her.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T.
SHERMAN By William T. Sherman, in a letter to Major-General H. W. HALLECK
I observe that the enemy has some respect for my name, for they gave up Pocotaligo without a fight when they heard that the attacking
force belonged to my army. I will try and keep up that feeling, which is a real power.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman in a letter to General Grant
I feel certain, from the
character of the fighting, that we have got Johnston's army afraid of us. He himself acts with timidity and caution. His cavalry alone manifests spirit, but limits its operations to our stragglers and
foraging-parties. My marching columns of infantry do not pay the cavalry any attention, but walk right through it
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman in a March 24th 1865 letter to
General Grant, The Campaign of the Carolinas
Of all the men I ever met, he seemed to possess more of the elements of greatness, combined with goodness, than any other.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By
William T. Sherman commenting on his meeting with President Lincoln, March 27-28th 1865
When I reached the Treasury-building, and looked back, the sight was simply magnificent. The column was compact,
and the glittering muskets looked like a solid mass of steel, moving with the regularity of a pendulum.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman, the Grand Review in Washington, D.C., May 24th, 1865
I then took my post on the left of the President, and for six hours and a half stood, while the army passed in the order of the Fifteenth, Seventeenth, Twentieth, and Fourteenth Corps. It was, in my
judgment, the most magnificent army in existence--sixty-five thousand men, in splendid physique, who had just completed a march of nearly two thousand miles in a hostile country, in good drill, and who realized that
they were being closely scrutinized by thousands of their fellow-countrymen and by foreigners.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman, the Grand Review in Washington, D.C., May 24th, 1865
Division after division passed, each commander of an army corps or division coming on the stand during the passage of his command, to be presented to the President, cabinet, and spectators. The steadiness and
firmness of the tread, the careful dress on the guides, the uniform intervals between the companies, all eyes directly to the front, and the tattered and bullet-riden flags, festooned with flowers, all attracted
universal notice. Many good people, up to that time, had looked upon our Western army as a sort of mob; but the world then saw, and recognized the fact, that it was an army in the proper sense, well organized, well
commanded and disciplined; and there was no wonder that it had swept through the South like a tornado. For six hours and a half that strong tread of the Army of the West resounded along Pennsylvania Avenue;
not a soul of that vast crowd of spectators left his place; and, when the rear of the column had passed by, thousands of the spectators still lingered to express their sense of confidence in the strength of a
Government which could claim such an army.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman, the Grand Review in Washington, D.C., May 24th, 1865
There is a soul to an army as well as to the
individual man, and no general can accomplish the full work of his army unless he commands the soul of his men, as well as their bodies and legs.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman
No
man can properly command an army from the rear, he must be "at its front;" and when a detachment is made, the commander thereof should be informed of the object to be accomplished, and left as free as
possible to execute it in his own way; and when an army is divided up into several parts, the superior should always attend that one which he regards as most important.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman
Some men think that modern armies may be so regulated that a general can sit in an office and play on his several columns as on the keys of a piano; this
is a fearful mistake. The directing mind must be at the very head of the army--must be seen there, and the effect of his mind and personal energy must be felt by every officer and man present with it, to
secure the best results. Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman
Newspaper correspondents with an army,
as a rule, are mischievous. They are the world's gossips, pick up and retail the camp scandal, and gradually drift to the headquarters of some general, who finds it easier to make reputation at home than with
his own corps or division.
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN By William T. Sherman
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