Memoirs of General William Tecumseth Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8, 1820, near Lancaster, Ohio just months after Ohio was granted statehood. His family had lived in Ohio since 1803 when William's father Charles Robert Sherman moved there from Connecticut. As a child, William's favorite game to play with his two brothers was "War."

Sherman was enrolled in West Point Military Academy when he turned eighteen. There, students were taught traditional European strategies with little mention of waging war on the American continent. In 1836 William graduated and was given a commission as a Second Lieutenant.

William Tecumseh Sherman is best remembered for his "March to the Sea" during the American Civil War in which he systematically burned plantations and cities in Georgia. His capture of Atlanta buoyed the Union cause, and secured Abraham Lincoln's re-election as president in 1864. After Georgia was secured, Sherman led troops through South Carolina and North Carolina, forcing them both to surrender as well. Sherman's memoirs are an excellent primary source for students of the American Civil War.