Civil War service William Tecumseh Sherman

1 civil war service

1.1 first commissions , bull run
1.2 breakdown
1.3 shiloh
1.4 vicksburg
1.5 chattanooga
1.6 atlanta
1.7 march sea
1.8 final campaigns in carolinas
1.9 confederate surrender

civil war service
first commissions , bull run

portrait mathew brady, c. 1864

sherman first commissioned colonel of 13th u.s. infantry regiment, effective may 14, 1861. new regiment yet raised, , sherman s first command of brigade of three-month volunteers, @ head of became 1 of few union officers distinguish himself @ first battle of bull run on july 21, 1861, grazed bullets in knee , shoulder. disastrous union defeat @ bull run led sherman question own judgment officer , capacities of volunteer troops. president lincoln, however, impressed sherman while visiting troops on july 23 , promoted him brigadier general of volunteers (effective may 17, 1861, seniority in rank ulysses s. grant, future commander). assigned serve under robert anderson in department of cumberland in louisville, kentucky, , in october sherman succeeded anderson in command of department. sherman considered new assignment broke promise lincoln not given such prominent position.

breakdown

having succeeded anderson @ louisville, sherman had principal military responsibility kentucky, border state in confederate troops held columbus , bowling green , present near cumberland gap. became exceedingly pessimistic outlook command , complained washington, d.c. shortages while providing exaggerated estimates of strength of rebel forces. critical press reports appeared him after october visit louisville secretary of war, simon cameron, , in november 1861 sherman insisted relieved. promptly replaced brigadier general don carlos buell , transferred st. louis, missouri. in december, put on leave maj. gen. henry w. halleck, commander of department of missouri, considered him unfit duty. sherman went lancaster, ohio, recuperate. while @ home, wife ellen wrote brother, senator john sherman, seeking advice. complained of melancholy insanity family subject . sherman later wrote concerns of command broke me down , , admitted contemplating suicide. problems compounded when cincinnati commercial described him insane .

by mid-december 1861 sherman had recovered sufficiently return service under halleck in department of missouri. (in march, halleck s command redesignated department of mississippi , enlarged unify command in west). sherman s initial assignments rear-echelon commands, first of instructional barracks near st. louis , in command of district of cairo. operating paducah, kentucky, provided logistical support operations of brig. gen. ulysses s. grant capture fort donelson (february 1862). grant, previous commander of district of cairo, had won major victory @ fort henry (february 6, 1862) , been given command of ill-defined district of west tennessee. although sherman technically senior officer @ time, wrote grant, feel anxious know great facilities [the confederates] have of concentration means of river , r road, [i] have faith in you—command me in way.

shiloh

detail sherman memorial, washington, d. c.

after grant captured fort donelson, sherman got wish serve under grant when assigned on march 1, 1862, army of west tennessee commander of 5th division. first major test under grant @ battle of shiloh. massive confederate attack on morning of april 6, 1862, took of senior union commanders surprise. sherman had dismissed intelligence reports received militia officers, refusing believe confederate general albert sidney johnston leave base @ corinth. took no precautions beyond strengthening picket lines, , refused entrench, build abatis, or push out reconnaissance patrols. @ shiloh, may have wished avoid appearing overly alarmed in order escape kind of criticism had received in kentucky. had written wife that, if took more precautions, d call me crazy again .

despite being caught unprepared attack, sherman rallied division , conducted orderly, fighting retreat helped avert disastrous union rout. finding grant @ end of day sitting under oak tree in darkness , smoking cigar, sherman felt, in words, wise , sudden instinct not mention retreat . in become 1 of notable conversations of war, sherman said simply: well, grant, ve had devil s own day, haven t we? after puff of cigar, grant replied calmly: yes. lick em tomorrow, though. sherman proved instrumental successful union counterattack of april 7, 1862. @ shiloh, sherman wounded twice—in hand , shoulder—and had 3 horses shot out under him. performance praised grant , halleck , after battle, , promoted major general of volunteers, effective may 1, 1862.

beginning in late april, union force of 100,000 moved against corinth, under halleck s command grant relegated second-in-command; sherman commanded division on extreme right of union s right wing (under george h. thomas). shortly after union forces occupied corinth on may 30, sherman persuaded grant not leave command, despite serious difficulties having halleck. sherman offered grant example own life, before battle of shiloh, cast down mere newspaper assertion of crazy , single battle gave me new life, , m in high feather. told grant that, if remained in army, happy accident might restore favor , true place . in july, grant s situation improved when halleck left east become general-in-chief, , sherman became military governor of occupied memphis.

vicksburg

the careers of both officers ascended considerably after time. in sherman s case, in part because developed close personal ties grant during 2 years served in west. during long , complicated campaign against vicksburg, 1 newspaper complained army being ruined in mud-turtle expeditions, under leadership of drunkard [grant], confidential adviser [sherman] lunatic .

sherman s military record in 1862–63 mixed. in december 1862, forces under command suffered severe repulse @ battle of chickasaw bayou, north of vicksburg, mississippi. after, xv corps ordered join maj. gen. john a. mcclernand in successful assault on arkansas post, regarded politically motivated distraction effort capture vicksburg. before vicksburg campaign in spring of 1863, sherman expressed serious reservations wisdom of grant s unorthodox strategy, went on perform in campaign under grant s supervision.

the historian john d. winters in civil war in louisiana (1963) describes sherman:

... had yet [before vicksburg] display marked talents leadership. sherman, beset hallucinations , unreasonable fears , contemplating suicide, had been relieved command in kentucky. later began new climb success @ shiloh , corinth under grant. still, if muffed vicksburg assignment, had begun unfavorably, rise no higher. man, sherman eccentric mixture of strength , weakness. although impatient, irritable , depressed, petulant, headstrong, , unreasonably gruff, had solid soldierly qualities. men swore him, , of fellow officers admired him.

chattanooga

map of battles chattanooga, 1863

after surrender of vicksburg union forces under grant on july 4, 1863, sherman given rank of brigadier general in regular army, in addition rank major general of volunteers. sherman s family came ohio visit camp near vicksburg; nine-year-old son, willie, little sergeant, died typhoid fever contracted during trip.

command in west unified under grant (military division of mississippi), , sherman succeeded grant in command of army of tennessee. following defeat of army of cumberland @ battle of chickamauga confederate general braxton bragg s army of tennessee, army besieged in chattanooga, tennessee. sherman s troops sent relieve them. while traveling chattanooga, sherman departed memphis on train arrived @ battle of collierville, tenn., while union garrison there under attack on october 11, 1863. general sherman took command of 550 men , defended against attack of 3,500 confederate cavalry.

during chattanooga campaign in november, under grant s overall command, sherman took assigned target of billy goat hill @ north end of missionary ridge, discover not part of ridge @ all, rather detached spur separated main spine rock-strewn ravine. when attempted attack main spine @ tunnel hill, troops repeatedly repulsed patrick cleburne s heavy division, best unit in bragg s army. sherman s efforts assisted george henry thomas s army s successful assault on center of confederate line, movement intended diversion. subsequently, sherman led column relieve union forces under ambrose burnside thought in peril @ knoxville. in february 1864, led expedition meridian, mississippi, disrupt confederate infrastructure.

atlanta

map of sherman s campaigns in georgia , carolinas, 1864–1865

despite mixed record, sherman enjoyed grant s confidence , friendship. when lincoln called grant east in spring of 1864 take command of union armies, grant appointed sherman (by known soldiers uncle billy ) succeed him head of military division of mississippi, entailed command of union troops in western theater of war. grant took overall command of armies of united states, sherman wrote him outlining strategy bring war end concluding if can whip lee , can march atlantic think ol uncle abe give twenty days leave see young folks.

sherman proceeded invade state of georgia 3 armies: 60,000-strong army of cumberland under george henry thomas, 25,000-strong army of tennessee under james b. mcpherson, , 13,000-strong army of ohio under john m. schofield. fought lengthy campaign of maneuver through mountainous terrain against confederate general joseph e. johnston s army of tennessee, attempting direct assault @ disastrous battle of kennesaw mountain. in july, cautious johnston replaced more aggressive john bell hood, played sherman s strength challenging him direct battles on open ground. meanwhile, in august, sherman learned had been commissioned major-general in regular army, unexpected, , not desired until successful in capture of atlanta.

sherman s atlanta campaign concluded on september 2, 1864, capture of city, hood had been forced abandon. success made sherman household name , helped ensure lincoln s presidential re-election in november. in august, democratic party had nominated candidate george b. mcclellan, popular former union army commander, , had seemed lincoln lose mcclellan. lincoln s defeat have meant victory of confederacy, democratic party platform called peace negotiations based on acknowledgment of confederacy s independence. capture of atlanta, coming when did, may have been sherman s greatest contribution union cause.

after ordering civilians leave city in september, sherman gave instructions military , government buildings in atlanta burned, although many private homes , shops burned well. set precedent future behavior armies.

march sea

green-meldrim house, sherman stayed after taking savannah in 1864

during september , october, sherman , hood played cat-and-mouse in north georgia (and alabama) hood threatened sherman s communications north. eventually, sherman won approval superiors plan cut loose communications , march south, having advised grant make georgia howl . created threat hood move north tennessee. trivializing threat, sherman reportedly said give [hood] rations go in direction business down south . however, sherman left forces under maj. gens. george h. thomas , john m. schofield deal hood; forces smashed hood s army in battles of franklin (november 30) , nashville (december 15–16). meanwhile, after november elections, sherman began march 62,000 men port of savannah, georgia, living off land , causing, own estimate, more $100 million in property damage. sherman called harsh tactic of material war hard war, seen species of total war. @ end of campaign, known sherman s march sea, troops captured savannah on december 21, 1864. sherman dispatched famous message lincoln, offering him city christmas present.

sherman s success in georgia received ample coverage in northern press @ time when grant seemed making little progress in fight against confederate general robert e. lee s army of northern virginia. bill introduced in congress promote sherman grant s rank of lieutenant general, view towards having him replace grant commander of union army. sherman wrote both brother, senator john sherman, , general grant vehemently repudiating such promotion. according war-time account, around time sherman made memorable declaration of loyalty grant:

general grant great general. know him well. stood me when crazy, , stood him when drunk; , now, sir, stand each other always.

while in savannah, sherman learned newspaper infant son charles celestine had died during savannah campaign; general had never seen child.

general sherman generals howard, logan, hazen, davis, slocum, , mower, photographed mathew brady, may 1865


final campaigns in carolinas

grant ordered sherman embark army on steamers , join union forces confronting lee in virginia, sherman instead persuaded grant allow him march north through carolinas, destroying of military value along way, had done in georgia. particularly interested in targeting south carolina, first state secede union, because of effect have on southern morale. army proceeded north through south carolina against light resistance troops of confederate general joseph e. johnston. upon hearing sherman s men advancing on corduroy roads through salkehatchie swamps @ rate of dozen miles per day, johnston made mind there had been no such army in existence since days of julius caesar.

sherman captured state capital of columbia, south carolina, on february 17, 1865. fires began night , next morning of central city destroyed. burning of columbia has engendered controversy ever since, claiming fires accidental, others deliberate act of vengeance, , still others retreating confederates burned bales of cotton on way out of town.

the burning of columbia, south carolina (1865) william waud harper s weekly

local native american lumbee guides helped sherman s army cross lumber river, flooded torrential rains, north carolina. according sherman, trek across lumber river, , through swamps, pocosins, , creeks of robeson county damnedest marching ever saw. thereafter, troops did little damage civilian infrastructure, north carolina, unlike southern neighbor, regarded men reluctant confederate state, having been second last state secede union, before tennessee. sherman s final significant military engagement victory on johnston s troops @ battle of bentonville, march 19–21. rendezvoused @ goldsborough, north carolina, union troops awaiting him there after capture of fort fisher , wilmington.

in late march, sherman briefly left forces , traveled city point, virginia consult grant. lincoln happened @ city point @ same time, allowing three-way meetings of lincoln, grant, , sherman during war.

confederate surrender

following lee s surrender grant @ appomattox court house , assassination of president lincoln, sherman met johnston @ bennett place in durham, north carolina, negotiate confederate surrender. @ insistence of johnston , of confederate president jefferson davis, sherman conditionally agreed generous terms dealt both political , military issues. sherman thought terms consistent views lincoln had expressed @ city point, general had not been given authority, general grant, newly installed president andrew johnson, or cabinet, offer terms.

the government in washington, d.c., refused approve sherman s terms , secretary of war, edwin m. stanton, denounced sherman publicly, precipitating long-lasting feud between 2 men. confusion on issue lasted until april 26, 1865, when johnston, ignoring instructions president davis, agreed purely military terms , formally surrendered army , confederate forces in carolinas, georgia, , florida, in largest single capitulation of war. sherman proceeded 60,000 of troops washington, d.c., marched in grand review of armies, on may 24, 1865, , disbanded. having become second important general in union army, had come full circle city started war-time service colonel of non-existent infantry regiment.