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On February 8, 1820, 201 years ago today, William Tecumseh Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio. Sherman was one of several Ohioans who would become well-known and high-ranking officers to serve the Union during the Civil War.
Uncle Billy, as he was often referred, was the subject of a Civil War seminar that I attended in 2019 at the Ale House in Lancaster, Ohio. Afterwards, I took a tour of the Sherman House, shown below—the house in which Sherman was born on this day in 1820.
Although Sherman is often derided by many people in the South today as a monster, among other things, for his employment of total war, Sherman felt a strong attachment to the South, its people, and way of life. In fact, Sherman accepted the position of superintendent of the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy in 1859—today known as the Louisiana State University (LSU)—and remained as such until the outbreak of war in 1861.
David F. Boyd, a native Virginian, was a professor whom Sherman befriended during his time in Louisiana. According to Boyd, Sherman, upon hearing the news that South Carolina’s vote of secession passed (December 17, 1860), “burst out crying, and began, in his nervous way, pacing the floor and deprecating the step which he feared might bring destruction on the whole country.”
Just days later, on December 24, Sherman, speaking to Boyd, prophesied both the beginning of the end as well as the ultimate outcome:
“You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing! You mistake, too, the people of the North. They are a peaceable people but an earnest people, and they will fight, too. They are not going to let this country be destroyed without a mighty effort to save it... Besides, where are your men and appliances of war to contend against them? The North can make a steam engine, locomotive, or railway car; hardly a yard of cloth or pair of shoes can you make. You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical, and determined people on Earth—right at your doors. You are bound to fail. Only in your spirit and determination are you prepared for war. In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start with. At first you will make headway, but as your limited resources begin to fail, shut out from the markets of Europe as you will be, your cause will begin to wane. If your people will but stop and think, they must see in the end that you will surely fail.”
Posted today on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/908730372851965/
Uncle Billy, as he was often referred, was the subject of a Civil War seminar that I attended in 2019 at the Ale House in Lancaster, Ohio. Afterwards, I took a tour of the Sherman House, shown below—the house in which Sherman was born on this day in 1820.
Although Sherman is often derided by many people in the South today as a monster, among other things, for his employment of total war, Sherman felt a strong attachment to the South, its people, and way of life. In fact, Sherman accepted the position of superintendent of the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy in 1859—today known as the Louisiana State University (LSU)—and remained as such until the outbreak of war in 1861.
David F. Boyd, a native Virginian, was a professor whom Sherman befriended during his time in Louisiana. According to Boyd, Sherman, upon hearing the news that South Carolina’s vote of secession passed (December 17, 1860), “burst out crying, and began, in his nervous way, pacing the floor and deprecating the step which he feared might bring destruction on the whole country.”
Just days later, on December 24, Sherman, speaking to Boyd, prophesied both the beginning of the end as well as the ultimate outcome:
“You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing! You mistake, too, the people of the North. They are a peaceable people but an earnest people, and they will fight, too. They are not going to let this country be destroyed without a mighty effort to save it... Besides, where are your men and appliances of war to contend against them? The North can make a steam engine, locomotive, or railway car; hardly a yard of cloth or pair of shoes can you make. You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical, and determined people on Earth—right at your doors. You are bound to fail. Only in your spirit and determination are you prepared for war. In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start with. At first you will make headway, but as your limited resources begin to fail, shut out from the markets of Europe as you will be, your cause will begin to wane. If your people will but stop and think, they must see in the end that you will surely fail.”
Posted today on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/908730372851965/
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