Sherman Is it Proper to Honor General Sherman?

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From which perspective? Our Southern friends may take exception. Our First Nations friends may take exception. Others, regardless of sectional or cultural roots, may disagree with his actions and take exception.

It's more of a general question. Given the totality of his actions as General, is it proper to honor him?
 
Yes, certainly it is proper. He was a soldier who did his job, even though "scorched earth" may not have been the most popular method. As in any war innocent people suffer, but by shortening the length of the war a much greater number of lives and families did benefit . I realize if you are among the innocents who lost their farms and crops you would be a lot less forgiving and accepting the outcome.
 
Is it Proper to Honor General Sherman?


That's a tough question for me. I hold Sherman responsible for a good deal of "bad" acts in the Battle of Atlanta, the March to the Sea, and his march through the Carolinas.

However, he was a great general, and to him the tactics he used, felt to be right to him and it helped end a savage civil war.

I say yes it is proper to honor him. I respect him, but no way in Hades will I honor him.

Unlike those who claim to be offended by Confederate monuments/memorials/statues, I am not offended by his or by those who wish to honor Sherman.................

I still believe he would be a good spokesperson for the BIC lighter :smile:

Respectfully,
William
William T. Sherman Flames.jpg
 
The Memphis Avalanche thought so, but this was immediately after the war:

In making up the galaxy the South will reflect back the splendor of the North. The names of Lee and Grant loom up in all their massive grandeur, the first to catch the admiring gaze of their countrymen. One was another Leonidas, who made the pass to Richmond another Thermopylae. The other was another Xerxes, who went crashing through the broken ranks of a vanquished foe, the noble defenders of a lost cause. Sherman and Johnston's names will occupy the same chapter in history. And while the one will be known as the greatest strategist of his time, the other can never escape the notice of those who admire, no matter in company with what other qualities, the bold and decisive strokes of military genius. The name of Stonewall Jackson blazed out like an evening sun after a gloomy day, only to set in darkness. If the North furnished a Wilson the South produced a Forrest--one wielding the keen blade of Saladin, the other the ponderous battle-ax of Richard, the lion-hearted. Their names burst upon the country with sudden splendor, but they have marched in triumph through the gates that guard the temple of fame. We repeat, the country should be proud of her military prowess. Soldiers who have performed such prodigies of valor will be irresistible when united.​

As quoted in the Wheeling Intelligencer, January 28, 1866, page 1, column 3.
 
let's see after my head exploded yes yes 1000 times yes he was a great general and human being good old uncle Billy his men love him they could knock on his door any time of night and they would get a warm meal a day and in the morning a dollar or two he never judge he thanked them for their service and they loved him.
 
Is it Proper to Honor General Sherman?

He unleashed a type of terrorism on civilians rarely seen up to that point, and he was not even remotely one of the best men of the Union North. Honoring him is an extreme position in my view but understandable depending on where one's ancestors were during the Civil War.

Is it proper to me, I would say no. He was the product of a hideous War intentionally unleashed for terror and sorrow against citizens that many of whom actually voted to stay in the Union.
 
He unleashed a type of terrorism on civilians rarely seen up to that point,...

Rarely seen?!? An absurd assertion which a cursory study of history will put paid to. In fact as far as crushing rebellions went Sherman was mild---he left no slaughtered countrysides, no trees festooned with corpses, no villages full of empty sleeves and wooden legs, no fields of impaled men, no massacred cities. Read about how rebellions were crushed by the Assyrians and Romans for example, or during Medieval times in Europe and Asia, or by Cromwell or the Hanoverian kings of Britain. Read about how Ghengis Khan and Tamerlane treated the conquered. Read about the Mfecane in south Africa.
 
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Is it Proper to Honor General Sherman?

The answer to this question is up to you. Now, Sherman's gilded statute at the southeast corner of New York City's Central Park is another matter altogether. They've been taking these things down in New Orleans and I think if New Yorkers were told the truth about Sherman, his contempt for People of Color and all of that, he might be a candidate for the trash heap as well.

I think he should be, if this is the measure by which we'll judge the past, but this will likely be kept quiet. Shhhh...
 
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