William T. Sherman Essay examples -- essays research papers

William T. Sherman SHERMAN, William Tecumseh (1820-91). Ranked second only to General Ulysses S. Grant as the greatest Northern commander in the American Civil War, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman was a master of modern warfare. Like Grant, Sherman was born in Ohio when it was a frontier state. He was named Tecumseh for the Shawnee Indian chief who had terrorized that region a few years earlier. Sherman was born on Feb. 8, 1820, in Lancaster, Ohio. His father died when he was 9 years old. Most of the 11 children in the family were distributed among the relatives and friends. He was adopted by Thomas Ewing. After attending an academy at Lancaster, Sherman entered West Point. During the Mexican War he saw service in California. In 1853 he resigned his commission for a business, legal, and educational career. When Louisiana seceded from the Union, he was head of the state military academy (now Louisiana State University). He resigned his position and rejoined the army in May 1861. He was commissioned a colonel of volunteers and commanded a brigade in the first battle of Bull Run, on July 21, 1861. Three months later he was given charge of the Department of the Ohio (River). On taking over his new command he reported that 200,000 men would be needed to carry on a successful campaign in that region. Newspapers said that Sherman was crazy. Time proved him right, but popular protest cost him his command. Sherman's military genius was so outstanding that he could not long be k...