After the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presi-
dency in 1860, the southern slave states seceded from
the American Union, a process that began in February
- When Louisiana seceded that same month, Sher-
man resigned his post and moved to St. Louis, which he
considered his second home. Although he was a union-
ist, he felt the slavery issue was not worth fighting for.
However, when the Civil War began, his brother, Ohio
senator John Sherman, got him an appointment as a
colonel in the United States Army. He was given the
command of a brigade of troops in the army of General
Irvin McDowell, and he immediately saw action at Bull
Run (21 July 1861). Although the battle was a disaster
for the Union, Sherman’s service earned him a promo-
tion to brigadier general of volunteers. However, when
the army tried to give him his own command, he sent
a letter to President Lincoln stating that he did not feel
ready for such a position. Despite this, Lincoln did name
him to a command, serving in Kentucky under General
Robert Anderson, the former Union commander at Fort
Sumter, South Carolina. In October 1861, Anderson
stepped down, making Sherman the new commander
of this army; however, he was removed due to his ner-
vousness about making a mistake. Nevertheless, through
the backing of General Henry Halleck, he was given a
command in February 1862 under General Ulysses S.
grant.
It was Grant’s steadfast confidence in him that al-
lowed Sherman to blossom into the commander he
eventually became. Under Grant, he saw major action
at Shiloh, also known as Pittsburg Landing (6–7 April
1862), and was promoted to the rank of major general.
He continued to serve with Grant, especially through
the Vicksburg campaign (1862–63), which brought the
Mississippi River under Union control. He suffered a
defeat at Chickasaw Bluffs, also known as Chickasaw
Bayou (26–29 December 1862), where Sherman had
a 5-to-1 numerical advantage in forces but lost 1,800
men in the battle. However, he was able to reestablish
his reputation when he won a victory at Fort Hindman,
Arkansas (9–11 January 1863), and took control of the
fortification.
Following the fall of Vicksburg to Grant’s forces,
Sherman was promoted to brigadier general. Although
he was unable to relieve the city of Chattanooga, Grant
thought well enough of him to dispatch him to Knox-
ville to aid General Ambrose Burnside. When Grant
was promoted to become the commander of the Union
armies in the West (October 1863), Sherman was pro-
moted to Grant’s old position as commander of the
Army of the Tennessee. A few months later, when Grant
was given the full command of all Union forces in
March 1864, Sherman was given control over the armies
in the West. He and Grant then decided on a plan of ac-
tion: Sherman, with 100,000 troops, would invade the
Southern states and march to Atlanta, Georgia. Sher-
man opened this campaign near Chattanooga, Tennes-
see, in May 1864. The Confederates ahead of him, led
by General Joseph E. Johnston, tried to block his way
but were forced to slowly retreat south. Although Sher-
man lost the crucial battle of Kennesaw Mountain (27
June 1864), he continued his march to Atlanta almost
without any resistance because the Confederates had
been denied vital goods by a Union blockade. Sherman’s
forces tore through South Carolina and northern Geor-
gia, leaving a trail of pillage and destruction—not for
revenge, as some think, but to reduce the Confederates’
ability to fight. On 2 September 1864, Sherman’s troops
took Atlanta, the nucleus of the Confederacy’s railway
William Tecumseh Sherman system in the South. This Union victory, coming just
0 SheRmAn, williAm tecumSeh