William Tecumseh Sherman | |
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Sherman as a major general in May 1865. The black ribbon of mourning on his left arm is for U.S. President Lincoln. Portrait by Mathew Brady.
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Nickname(s) | "Cump" "Uncle Billy" (by his troops) |
Born |
Lancaster, Ohio |
February 8, 1820
Died | February 14, 1891 New York City, New York |
(aged 71)
Buried at | Calvary Cemetery St. Louis, Missouri |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
Years of service | 1840–1853 1861–1884 |
Rank |
Major General (American Civil War) General of the Army of the United States (post-bellum) |
Commands held |
XV Corps (1863) Army of the Tennessee (1863–1864) Military Division of the Mississippi (1864–1865) Department of the Missouri (1866–1869) Commanding General of the United States Army (March 8, 1869 – November 1, 1883) |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Thanks of Congress – 1864 and 1865 |
Other work | Bank manager, lawyer, college superintendent, streetcar executive |
Signature |
William Tecumseh Sherman (/tᵻˈkʌmsə/; February 8, 1820 – February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–65), for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched earth" policies that he implemented in conducting total war against the Confederate States.
Sherman began his Civil War career serving in the First Battle of Bull Run and Kentucky in 1861. He served under General Ulysses S. Grant in 1862 and 1863 during the battles of Forts Henry and Donelson, the Battle of Shiloh, the campaigns that led to the fall of the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River, and the Chattanooga Campaign, which culminated with the routing of the Confederate armies in the state of Tennessee. In 1864, Sherman succeeded Grant as the Union commander in the Western Theater of the war. He proceeded to lead his troops to the capture of the city of Atlanta, a military success that contributed to the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. Sherman's subsequent march through Georgia and the Carolinas further undermined the Confederacy's ability to continue fighting. He accepted the surrender of all the Confederate armies in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida in April 1865, after having been present at most major military engagements in the Western Theater.