William Tecumseh Sherman (February 8, 1820 – February 14, 1891) holds a unique position in American history. Synonymous with barbarity in the South, Sherman is lauded as a war hero in the North, and modern historians consider him the harbinger of total war. As a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–65), Sherman was recognized for his outstanding command of military strategy but criticized for the harshness of the "scorched earth" policies that he implemented in conducting total war against the Confederate States, especially in 1864 and 1865. Military historian B. H. Liddell Hart famously declared that Sherman was "the first modern general."
Sherman spent a majority of the war out west, although it is largely forgotten that he was a brigade commander at the First Battle of Bull Run, and that the Civil War actually finished with General Joseph E. Johnston surrendering to Sherman weeks after Appomattox. By 1865, Sherman was the second most popular general in the North behind Grant, and history has accorded him a strong Civil War legacy.
This original edition of Sherman’s Personal Memoirs is illustrated with the original edition’s illustrations and includes a table of contents for easier navigation.
