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Civil War Soldiers - Sherman
| Sherman, Francis T.,
brigadier-general, U.S. Army, was born in the state of Connecticut,
and in early life located in Illinois, where he was residing at the
time of the outbreak of the Civil war. After serving for a short
period with the 56th Ill. infantry he was honorably mustered out on
Feb. 5, 1862, and on March 8, following, he became major in the 12th
Ill. cavalry. With his regiment he remained at Camp Butler, Ill.,
guarding Confederate prisoners until June 25, when he accompanied his
command to Martinsburg, W. Va. He was again honorably mustered out on
Aug. 26, 1862, and on Sept. 4, following, was promoted to colonel of
the 88th Ill. infantry, organized at Chicago and known as the "Second
Board of Trade Regiment." He accompanied this regiment to Louisville,
Ky., going into camp below Jeffersonville, and led it in the
engagement at Perryville. His next conflict with the enemy was in the
battle of Stone's river, and he also participated in the battle of
Chickamauga. His regiment with its gallant colonel in the lead formed
part of the assaulting column upon the left center of the enemy's
position at the battle of Missionary ridge, and was among the first to
place its colors upon the enemy's works. He was with the advance, his
regiment forming part of the 4th corps, throughout the whole of the
Atlanta campaign, up to and including the capture of Atlanta —
participating in the following principal battles and skirmishes: Rocky
Face ridge, Resaca, Adairsville, New Hope Church, Pine mountain, Mud
creek, Kennesaw mountain, Smyrna Camp Ground, Atlanta, Jonesboro and
Lovejoy's Station. He was also engaged in skirmishes at Columbia and
Spring Hill, Tenn., and in the battle of Franklin, in which engagement
his regiment was upon the right center, the main point of attack of
the enemy. Col. Sherman was also engaged in the battle of Nashville,
and continued to serve with his regiment until March 13, 1865, when he
was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers. On Jan 15, 1866, he
retired from military service and gave his attention to civil
pursuits. Source: The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal
States 1861-1865, Volume 8 Biographical, 1908
|
| Sherman, Thomas W., brigadier-general,
U.S. Army, was born in the state of Rhode Island in 1813, and was a
cadet at the United States military academy from July 1, 1832 to July
1, 1836, when he was graduated and promoted in the army to second
lieutenant in the 3d artillery. He served in the Florida war, 1836-38,
and also in the Cherokee Nation, and was promoted to first lieutenant
in the 3d artillery on March 14, 1838. He again served in the Florida
war, 1838-42; in garrison at Fort Moultrie, S. C., 1842-44; on
recruiting service, 1844-46; in the war with Mexico, 1846-48, being
engaged in command of a battery in the battle of Buena Vista. He was
promoted captain in the 3d artillery, on May 28, 1846, and was
brevetted major on Feb. 23, 1847 for gallant and meritorious conduct
in the battle of Buena Vista. He was in garrison at Fort Trumbull,
Conn., in 1848, at Fort Adams, R. I., 1849-53; and on frontier duty at
Fort Snelling, Minn., 1853-57; in command of expedition to Yellow
Medicine, Minn., 1857; quelling Kansas border disturbances, 1857-58,
and he was at Fort Ridgely, Minn., as instructor in an artillery
school for practice, 1858-61, except while in command of an expedition
to Kettle Lake, Dak., in 1859. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war he
was placed in command of a battery of U. S. artillery and battalion of
Pennsylvania volunteers, at Elkton, Md., from April 24 to May 10,
1861, guarding the Philadelphia & Baltimore railroad and the Delaware
canal. He was engaged in reopening communications through Baltimore,
May 10-12, was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the 5th artillery on
May 14, and brigadier-general of volunteers on May 17, and as chief of
light artillery was engaged in the defense of Washington from May 21
to June 28. He was engaged in recruiting the 5th U. S. artillery in
Pennsylvania, June 30 to July 27; in organizing an expedition for
seizing and holding Bull's Bay, S. C., and Fernandina, Fla., for the
use of the blockading fleet on the Southern coast, July 27 to Oct 21,
and was in command of the land forces of the Port Royal expedition,
Oct. 21, 1861, to March 31, 1862. He was in command of a division of
the Army of the Tennessee from April 30 to June 1, in the advance upon
and siege of Corinth, Miss., and in command of the center of the Army
of Mississippi in pursuit of the enemy upon evacuating the place. He
was in command of a division of the Department of the Gulf above New
Orleans from Sept 18, 1862, to Jan. 9, 1863, in the defenses of New
Orleans from Jan. 9 to May 19, and was in the expedition to Port
Hudson, May 19-27, in command of the left wing of the army besieging
the place, being engaged in several skirmishes and in the assault upon
the works, May 27, when, in leading a column to the assault, he lost
his right leg. He was commissioned colonel in the 3d artillery on June
1, 1863, but was disabled by his wound until Feb. 15, 1864, when he
was placed in command of the reserve brigade of artillery, Department
of the Gulf, and was stationed at Forts Jackson and St. Philip, La.,
from March 1 to May 4. He was in command of the defenses of New
Orleans from June 16, 1864, to Feb. 11, 1865, of the southern division
of Louisiana from Feb. 11 to July 23, and of the eastern district of
Louisiana from July 23, 1865, to April 20, 1866. He was brevetted
brigadier-general, U. S. army, on March 13, 1865, for gallant and
meritorious services at the capture of Port Hudson, La., and was given
the brevets of major-general of volunteers and major-general U. S. A.,
at the same time for gallant and meritorious services during the
rebellion. He was mustered out of the volunteer service on April 30,
1866, after which he served in command of a regiment and the post of
Fort Adams, R. I., with but a few months intermission until Feb.,
1869; then was stationed at Key West, Fla., until Nov. 29, 1870. He
retired from active service on Dec. 31, 1870, as major-general, for
disability caused by the loss of a leg in battle, and he died at
Newport, R. I., on March 16, 1879.
Source: The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal
States 1861-1865, Volume 8 Biographical, 1908
|
| Sherman, William T.,
lieutenant-general, U.S. Army, was born at Lancaster, Fairfield
county, Ohio, Feb. 8, 1820. Left an orphan at nine years of age, he
was adopted by Thomas Ewing, later secretary of the interior, and
attended school at Lancaster until 1836, when he was appointed a cadet
at the West Point military academy. Graduating in 1840, sixth in a
class of forty-two, he was made a second lieutenant and assigned to
duty in Florida, where he was engaged from time to time in incursions
against the hostile Seminole Indians. On Nov. 30, 1841, he was
promoted to first lieutenant, and until the outbreak of the Mexican
war, was stationed at various posts in the South, including St.
Augustine, and Forts Pierce, Morgan and Moultrie. At one time he
undertook the study of law, with no thought of making it his
profession, but to be prepared "for any situation that fortune or luck
might offer." In 1846 he was stationed at Pittsburg, as recruiting
officer, but shortly after, in consequence of repeated applications
for active service, was sent to California, where, contrary to
expectation, he was uneventfully engaged as acting assistant
adjutant-general of the 10th military department under Gen. Stephen W.
Kearny, and later under Col. R. B. Mason. In 1850 he returned to the
Atlantic states as bearer of despatches, and was stationed at St.
Louis, Mo., as commissary of subsistence with the rank of captain. In
March, 1851, he received the commission of captain by brevet, to date
from May 30, 1848. On Sept. 6, 1853, he resigned from the army and
became manager of the branch banking-house of Lucas, Turner & Co., at
San Francisco, Cal. In 1857 he returned to New York and, his firm
having suspended, opened a law office in Leavenworth, Kan., with Hugh
and Thomas E. Ewing, Jr. In July, 1859, he was elected superintendent
of the Louisiana military academy, with a salary of $5,000 per annum,
the institution opening Jan. 1, 1860, but on the seizure of the
arsenal at Baton Rouge in Jan., 1861, in anticipation of the secession
of the state, he tendered his resignation. Going to Washington, he
endeavored in vain to impress upon the administration the gravity of
the situation which he characterized as "sleeping upon a volcano," and
the president's call for volunteers for three months as "an attempt to
put out the flames of a burning house with a squirtgun." For two
months he was president of the 5th street railway of St. Louis, Mo.,
and on May 14, 1861, was made colonel of the 13th regiment of regular
infantry, commanding a brigade in the division of Gen. Tyler in the
battle of Bull Run, July 21. On Aug. 3 he was promoted to
brigadier-general of volunteers, to date from May 17, and on Oct. 7
relieved Maj.-Gen. Anderson in command of the Department of Kentucky.
On Nov. 12, however, he was in turn relieved by Gen. D. C. Buell, his
estimate of the number of troops required in his department, "sixty
thousand men to drive the enemy out of Kentucky and 200,000 to finish
the war in this section." being considered so wildly extravagant as to
give rise to doubts of his sanity. It was, however, justified by later
events. During the remainder of the winter he was in command of the
camp of instruction at Benton barracks, near St. Louis, and when Grant
moved upon Donelson, was stationed at Paducah, where he rendered
effective service in forwarding supplies and reinforcements. Here,
also, he organized the 5th division of the Army of the Tennessee from
raw troops who had never been under fire, and with these he held the
key point of Pittsburg landing and "saved the fortunes of the day" on
April 6, and contributed to the glorious victory of the 7th, although
severely wounded in the hand on the first day. On the second, he had
three horses shot under him, but mounting a fourth he remained on the
field, and it was the testimony of Gen. Grant, in recommending his
promotion, that "to his individual efforts I am indebted for the
success of that battle." On May 1 he was commissioned major-general of
volunteers and on July 1 was put in charge of the Department of
Memphis, which he at once proceeded to organize, restoring the civil
authorities, causing a revival of business, and sternly repressing
guerrilla warfare. In October he concerted with Gen. Grant at
Columbus, Ky., the details of the ensuing campaign, in which
Pemberton's force, 40,000 strong, was dislodged from the line of the
Tallahatchie and driven behind the Yalabusha in consequence of a
combined movement by both generals from Jackson and Memphis, while
5,000 cavalry under Washburne threatened his communications in the
rear. Falling back to Milliken's bend, Sherman resigned his command to
Gen. McClernand, but shortly afterward suggested and led the attack on
Fort Hindman with its garrison of 5,000 men by which the control of
Arkansas river was gained, the key to the military possession of the
state, with the loss of but 134 killed and 898 wounded, while of the
enemy, 150 were killed and 4,791 taken prisoners. In the campaign of
1863 Sherman was in command of the expedition up Steele's bayou,
abandoned on account of insuperable difficulties, though he dispersed
troops sent to oppose the movement; and the demonstration against
Haynes' bluff was also committed to him, though with some hesitation,
by Gen. Grant, lest his reputation should suffer from report of
another repulse. In the Vicksburg campaign of 109 days Gen. Sherman
entitled himself, in the words of Gen. Grant, "to more credit than
usually falls to the lot of one man to earn." The drawn battle of
Chickamauga and the critical condition of Rosecrans at Chattanooga
called next loudly for the troops resting at Vicksburg, and on Sept.
22 Sherman received orders to forward his divisions, with the
exception of one which remained to guard the line of the Big Black.
Meanwhile Gen. Grant, having been placed in command of the Division of
the Mississippi, assigned the Department of the Tennessee to Sherman,
who, on the receipt of telegraphic summons to "drop all work" and
hurry eastward, pushed forward in advance of his men and reached
Chattanooga on Nov. 15. It was proposed that he initiate the
offensive, which he proceeded to do upon the arrival of his troops,
Nov. 23. He pitched his tents along Missionary ridge and his sentinels
were clearly visible, not a thousand yards away. The battle of
Missionary ridge being won, the relief of Burnside on the Hiawassee
was next to be contemplated and with weary troops who two weeks before
had left camp with but two days' provisions and "stripped for the
fight," ill supplied now and amid the privations of winter, Sherman
turned to raise the siege of Knoxville. On Jan. 24, 1864, he returned
to Memphis, and in preparation for the next campaign decided upon the
"Meridian Raid." To the expedition of Gen. Banks up the Red river he
next contributed 10,000 men for thirty days, but the force did not
return to Vicksburg until more than two months had elapsed, too late
to take part in the Atlanta campaign. On March 14 Gen. Grant was
appointed lieutenant-general to command all the armies of the United
States in the field, and Sherman succeeded to the Division of the
Mississippi. On May 6 the movement toward Atlanta was started with the
capture of the city as the desideratum, and such progress was made
that on Aug. 12 the rank of major-general, U. S. A., was bestowed upon
Gen. Sherman by the president, in anticipation of his success. After
indefinite skirmishing for a month, following the fall of Atlanta, and
during which the gallant defense of Allatoona pass was made by Gen.
Corse with 1,944 men against a whole division of the enemy, the famous
"march to the sea" was resolved upon, not alone as a means of
supporting the troops, but, in Sherman's own words, "as a direct
attack upon the rebel army at the rebel capital at Richmond, though a
full thousand miles of hostile country intervened," and from Nov. 14
until Dec. 10 he was accordingly buried in the enemy's country,
severed from all communication in the rear, and crossed the three
rivers of Georgia, passing through her capital in his triumphal
progress of 300 miles, during which his loss was but 567 men. On Dec.
2, he telegraphed to President Lincoln, "I beg to present you, as a
Christmas gift, the city of Savannah with 150 heavy guns and plenty of
ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton," in reply to which
he received the assurance that to him alone the honor of his
undertaking was due, as acquiescence only had been accorded him, and
anxiety, if not fear, had been felt for his success. The surrender of
Johnston was made at Durham station, N. C., on April 26, 1865, after a
triumphal march of Sherman's army through the Carolinas, and on May
24, a year after it had started on its journey of 2,600 miles, the
conquering host was reviewed at Washington, D. C. On June 27 Gen.
Sherman was placed in command of the military division of the
Mississippi, which included the departments of Ohio, Missouri, and
Arkansas, and on July 25, 1866, he succeeded Gen. Grant as
lieutenant-general of the army. On March 4, 1869, when Grant was
inaugurated as president, Sherman became general of the army, and in
1871-72, on leave of absence, made a tour of Europe and the East. On
Feb. 8, 1884, he was retired from active service, and on Feb. 14,
1891, expired at New York, the day following the demise of his friend
and comrade in arms, Adm. David D. Porter.
Source: The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal
States 1861-1865, Volume 8 Biographical, 1908
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