William Sherman essays

William Sherman essays William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8, 1820 in Lancaster, Ohio. He was given his middle name after the Shawnee chief Tecumseh. Tecumseh had tried to unite the tribes of the Ohio River Valley against American forces on their land in the first decade of the nineteenth century. These attempts were unsuccessful though. In 1829, when Sherman was nine his father passed away so he went to live with a family friend, Thomas Ewing. Ewing was a influential Missouri politician. His other 10 siblings were distributed among the relatives and friends of the family. After he attended the academy at Lancaster, Sherman entered West Point Military Academy. He graduated from West Point in 1840 in the top six of his class. During the Mexican War, he saw service in California and for his meritorious service he received a brevet. He then left California and served as an officer in the commissary department of the army, but then resigned from the army in 1853. He resigned in order to p ursue a business, legal, and educational career. Sherman rejoined the army in May 1861 after Louisiana seceded from the Union and the Civil War broke out. He was commissioned a colonel of volunteers and commanded a brigade in the first battle of Bull Run, on July 21, 1861. Later that year, in September, he was given command of the Kentucky Army and the Department of the Ohio River. After given this command, he reported that he would need 200,000 men to carry out a successful campaign in that region. The press said that Sherman was crazy and timed proved them right. Sherman frequently fought with the press and Lincoln scorned him for this. After Sherman went through a nervous breakdown, he was sent to a post in Missouri. At the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862, Sherman was in the middle of a great fight. For his services there he received the rank of major general. After this battle, Ulysses S. Grant endured much criticism off the many mistakes ...