William Sherman :: essays research papers

William ShermanHow would you feel if your brother came into your room and transformed it into a junkyard? You would probably have the same feelings of the civilians in Georgia when William Sherman came across their land. William Sherman was hated by most Southerners and favored by many generals from the North because if his brilliant war tactic.William Sherman was born on May 8, 1820 in Lancaster, Ohio. But according to the American History Encyclopedia, he was born on February 8 of that year. His father died when he was child, and his mother couldnt afford to raise him so she sent him to be raised by Thomas Ewing, his fathers friend. He soon married Mr. Ewings daughter, Ellan. William Sherman attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and graduated 6th in his class in 1840. During the Mexican War, he was an unpopular soldier in California because he had little scrap experiences. He resigned from the army in September 6, 1853, and became partner in a banking firm in San Fran cisco and New York. Years before the Civil War started, William Sherman was overseer of the Louisiana State Seminary and Military Academy at Alexandria which later was moved and renamed to Louisiana State University (LSU). When the war broke out, Sherman felt adverse with the newspapermen in Louisiana, so he moved back to his hometown for two months. His family then migrated to St. Louis, Missouri where he was elected president of the Fifth Street Railroad.On his forty-first birthday, Sherman wrote to the Union escritoire of War offering his service in the military for three years. On June 20, 1861, he joined Mc. Dowels army and fought in the First struggle of Bull Run, the first battle in which the Union lost to the Confederate.In August of 1861, William Sherman was promoted to Brigadier General and was elected by General Robert Anderson to defend fortress Sumter. A month later, Sherman told the Secretary of War, Cameron, that if he had 60,000 men he would drive the enemy out of Kentucky and if he had 200,000 men he would finish the war in that section. Many newspaper writers humiliated William Sherman because Cameron returned to Washington and reported that Sherman required 200,000 men. Sherman didnt get a large number of army as he wished, precisely he was placed command of the Fifth Division, which was an average size army seizing Tennessee.