Sherman: Madman or Genius?

I have always been inspired by William Tecumseh Sherman ever since I joined the military and started reading about him.

I do however know that many think he is a horrible monster.

What is your opinion of him and why?


My opinion is that he was a complete military man and general. He obviously was obsessed with order and structure and in the military that is a necessity.

He expected much from his troops but he was also very caring and was always right among them. He was an enlisted man's general.

His "total war" policy is something that has long since been lost in the military. It's not so much the fault of the military as it is on the political climate. Sherman did not want war. He did not want to have to go into combat against people who were his friends (P.G.T Beauregard and Braxton Bragg were to associates he was close to and had to engage in battle) but he also believed in the Union and that the only way to bring conflict to a quick end and actually save lives was to make it as horrific as possible and bring it to any and all who would support the enemy.

In short, make it so cruel that the enemy would capitulate just to end the cruelty of war.

He made many mistakes when it came to judging number of enemy troops, but he was a sharp man who was able to come up with multiple battle plans for a scenario at which time would get presented to U.S. Grant who was able to pick the best one of the bunch to be used. The team of Grant and Sherman was like a well oiled machine.

I also believe and admire his hatred of the press, which he considered "scoundrels and humbugs" and in essence, traitors. They were a major hindrance and more often than not caused many a combat plan to go awry by their leaks. He even went as far as to have one reporter, Thomas W. Knox, court-martialed for messing up the early parts of the Vicksburg campaign. Again, reporting is one thing, interference is another and something that should be looked at today.

One thing that many people do not know is that Sherman was NOT against slavery, in fact he was for it. He felt that freeing the slaves would create anarchy, something he could not stand. He stated this and stated as well his reason for fighting was not to free any slaves, but to maintain the Union, a stance that President Lincoln initially insisted was the root cause of the war.

And one last reason (there are many others) is for his dedication to "hold his own" and support his family by his own means without support. He had a tough time with this but in the end managed to break free from the holds of his foster father, Thomas Ewing.

I personally feel we could use more generals today like "Cump" Sherman.

I agree that Sherman was a good general and soldier, but having been born in Atlanta, the man is a devil! He burned the jewel of the South: he burned Atlanta. For that act I cannot forgive him, but I respect his military prowess none the less. 

Originally posted by pikeshot1600 Originally posted by Adalwolf I agree that Sherman was a good general and soldier, but having been born in Atlanta, the man is a devil! He burned the jewel of the South: he burned Atlanta. For that act I cannot forgive him, but I respect his military prowess none the less.  It was not done in malevolence. "Uncle Billy" liked the South, and southerners, but he knew that ending the war, and ending Americans killing each other, required hard decisions and hard actions.

Exactly. At the time that Fort Sumter was attacked he was an instructor In Louisiana and was completely ripped apart that he had to leave. For the first time in a VERY long time he was happy and seemed in control of his destiny.

He spent a lot of time in the south prior to the war and like pikeshot1600 said, he had a lot of very close friends from the south as well as fellow soldiers whom he knew from the military and West Point who he was NOT looking forward to engaging in combat.

On the same hand his need for order dictated his actions and like I said, he truly believed total war, regardless of the enemy, was the only way to wage war. He did this so that it would end quickly.

He did however hold no quarter to guerrilla tactics and those who harbored them. They would perform hit-and-run attacks and then hide into the civilian population. The civilian population ended up paying for these acts.

John Hunt Morgan, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and John Singleton Mosby are prime examples of Confederate's who employed these tactics.

His keen understanding of total war is what dictated his actions. Had a southern general had that same insight (and I am sure some did without the opportunity to put it into action) they would have done the same thing to the north.

So hatred for a soldier doing his duty, doing his utmost to end a bloody conflict as quickly as possible, and for taking care of his soldiers needs first is not really very logical, IMHO.

Originally posted by Adalwolf I agree that Sherman was a good general and soldier, but having been born in Atlanta, the man is a devil! He burned the jewel of the South: he burned Atlanta. For that act I cannot forgive him, but I respect his military prowess none the less.

He was a blade unleashed in the hard hand of war that weakened

the Confederacy's ability to continue the war. That said, it is easy to be

rack up victories when you're team is ahead.

I can abide by that description Nick.

Sherman was not a military genius in the tactical sense such as Lee, Stuart, Rommel etc were.

Edited by Cryptic - 19-May-2012 at 20:33

Originally posted by Scamp Sherman realized that the Union had already lost 300,000 soldiers dead. They needed to stop fighting the Confederate army and start waging war upon civilians to break the Souths will to keep fighting this war.

Edited by Cryptic - 20-May-2012 at 08:54

Originally posted by Nick1986 Originally posted by Scamp Sherman realized that the Union had already lost 300,000 soldiers dead. They needed to stop fighting the Confederate army and start waging war upon civilians to break the Souths will to keep fighting this war. So he resorted to using Terrorism tactics. It worked. Now days our military is fighting a war against terrorism. But it was OK back then for us to do this. Scamp, do you know of any relevant websites? I've heard Sherman's men committed much rape, looting and murder but have been unable to find written or photographic evidence to back it up

July 7 1864.

At least 400 women and female children working at a cotton mill in Roswell GA are ordered kidnapped by Gen  Sherman and shipped North. They are charged with treason. The vast majority are never heard from again.

New Georgia Encyclopedia: Deportation of Roswell Mill Women

"During the week while the women were held in Marietta, several Union soldiers allegedly committed acts of sexual assault against their captives."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_Mill