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The Scourge of War: The Life of William Tecumseh Sherman

door Brian Holden-Reid

Andere auteurs: Zie de sectie andere auteurs.

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"William Tecumseh Sherman, a West Point graduate and veteran of the Seminole War, became one of the best-known generals in the Civil War. His March to the Sea, which resulted in a devastated swath of the South from Atlanta to Savannah, cemented his place in history as the pioneer of total war. In The Scourge of War, preeminent military historian Brian Holden Reid offers a deeply researched life and times account of Sherman. By examining his childhood and education, his business ventures in California, his antebellum leadership of a military college in Louisiana, and numerous career false starts, Holden Reid shows how unlikely his exceptional Civil War career would seem. He also demonstrates how crucial his family was to his professional path, particularly his wife's intervention during the war. He analyzes Sherman's development as a battlefield commander and especially his crucial friendships with Henry W. Halleck and Ulysses S. Grant. In doing so, he details how Sherman overcame both his weaknesses as a leader and severe depression to mature as a military strategist. Central chapters narrate closely Sherman's battlefield career and the gradual lifting of his pessimism that the Union would be defeated. After the war, Sherman became a popular figure in the North and the founder of the school for officers at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, known as the "intellectual center of the army." Holden Reid argues that Sherman was not hostile to the South throughout his life and only in later years gained a reputation as a villain who practiced barbaric destruction, particularly as the neo-Confederate Lost Cause grew and he published one of the first personal accounts of the war."-Pages [2-3] of cover.… (meer)
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Toon 4 van 4
Was hoping for a Sherman biography that was a balance between "war criminal" and "greatest general ever", but this tends toward the latter.

Anything that goes wrong is the fault of a Sherman subordinate; thus, the canard of "slowness" is repeatedly thrown at George Thomas. Joe Hooker is also given no due whatsoever for his contributions to the combat; Reid even slanders Hooker as a drunkard on the campaign.

Albert Castel, in his magisterial "Decision in the West", even after almost 30 years, remains the definitive study of the Atlanta Campaign and is highly critical of Sherman. Reid attempts to refute Castel on a number of points, but his claims are superficial and unconvincing.

Reid even claims that "in some ways", Sherman's crossing of the Chattahoochie was "even more impressive than Grant's crossing of the James." Seriously, on page 302.

It goes without saying that according to Reid, Sherman bears no responsibility whatsoever for the burning of Columbia or any of the other private dwellings that his men torched. And yet, Reid admits that, once Sherman crossed into North Carolina, he explicitly noted to a subordinate that "a little moderation may be of political consequence to us in North Carolina." This, of course, is proof that Sherman in fact did have control over the devastation his soldiers committed in Georgia and South Carolina.

Two stars for a good overall exposition of Sherman's evolution from "protect southern property" to "take all their food"; for an excellent, full depiction of his wife Ellen; and for an effectively presented conclusion, even though it does mostly reiterate his bias toward Sherman. ( )
  MarkHarden | Jun 23, 2022 |
The Scourge of War: The Life of William Tecumseh Sherman is a outstanding addition to the literature on Sherman.
Ample time is spent on his leadership an contributions at Shiloh, in support in the Vicksburg campaign, Chattanooga and his southern campaigns.

A full life biography the focus is as it should be on Sherman’s Civil War accomplishments and to a much smaller degree his post war yeasts which include the period when he was the General in Chief.
The author spends the last chapter evaluating Sherman’s ability and accomplishments and places his importance only behind Lincoln and Grant. While discussing his ability to become involved in the running of a Corp when he should be providing direction to the army and deals with the facts that he rarely was involved a a large scale decisive battle the author does not hold this against Sherman but rather lauds him for the intellectual abilities he brought to his command.

A well balanced addition to the literature and worth the time to place in your library and on your TBR pile. ( )
  dsha67 | Nov 11, 2020 |
William Tecumseh Sherman ranks among the most celebrated and controversial figures in American military history. His famous “Marches” – first to Georgia’s coast, then northward through the Carolinas – earned him the hatred of generations of Southerners and has been viewed by some as an early version of the “total” war that would define so much of the 20th century. Yet these events represent just one part of a long and extremely active life, one that must be understood to appreciate fully Sherman’s ideas and achievements.

Understanding Sherman’s views on war is one of the gals of Brian Holden Reid’s book. A distinguished military historian and specialist on the era, he chronicles the span of Sherman’s accomplished life. The son of a prominent Ohio settler, Sherman’s life was upended when his father died at an early age, forcing the dispersal of the Sherman household. Nominated by his foster father, Thomas Ewing, for a position at West Point, Sherman thrived academically and graduated near the top of his class. Sherman served in the United States Army for the next decade and a half, where he demonstrated his intellectual and organizational gifts but missed out on combat during the war against Mexico in the 1840s due to his posting in California.

Though Reid covers Sherman’s pre-Civil War career well, his main focus is on his service during the Civil War. Having resigned his commission a few years beforehand, with the outbreak of fighting in 1861 Sherman searched for a way to resume his military career. Gaining a commission as a colonel, Sherman distinguished himself at the first Battle of Bull Run but suffered a breakdown when given a theater command soon afterward. After recovering, Sherman was assigned to the Army of West Tennessee, where be began his enormously successful partnership with its commander, Ulysses S. Grant. Throughout these chapters Reid details Sherman’s activities, drawing from them a sense of his approach to war. Central to it was his ever-evolving sense of what it would take to achieve victory. Reid shows Sherman to be a true military thinker, one who applied his considerable intellect to resolving the challenges of the war in order to work out the best way to win it.

Sherman’s thinking about the war culminated in his famous Marches. He had developed his views of the South after several years of living there, during which time he gained a respect (arguably an exaggerated one) of their determination. By 1864 the general concluded that defeat on the battlefield would not be enough – Southerners needed to make a “moral expression of Union military power” in order to demonstrate the extent of the Union’s victory both to the Southern states and to the larger world. This the Marches did, exposing the inability of Confederate and state forces to withstand Sherman’s divisions and thus underscoring their impending defeat.

In Reid’s view, Sherman’s success cemented his position alongside that of Grant and Abraham Lincoln, as one of the architects of the Union victory. Sherman’s fame was such that after the war he went on to serve as commanding general of the United Sates Army, and was even approached to run for the presidency of the United States – a position for which Reid judges the thin-skinned and highly-strung general unsuitable. It’s a judgment that reflects Reid’s critical eye, as while generally admiring of his subject he does not hesitate to highlight Sherman’s shortcomings and mistakes. This strengthens the value of his analysis, and makes for a valuable interpretation of Sherman’s life. Even the typographical and other printing errors in the book don’t detract from this, though the misplaced maps and misattributed photos (with the same image of George Thomas used to depict both him and P. G. T. Beauregard) can be more than mildly irritating. Yet this shouldn’t deter readers from enjoying this judicious and perceptive study of a one of the Civil War’s key commanders. ( )
  MacDad | Oct 17, 2020 |
As one who owns several biographies of William Tecumseh Sherman, I was excited to learn of another one. I will tell you that I married a man who grew up near Gettysburg, and after my first sight of the famous battlefield and cemetery, I was completely hooked on learning more about the Civil War. I read anything I can get my hands on, from both the North and South perspectives. It has been an interesting and eye-opening journey for me, and this biography only adds to that.

At a hefty 632 pages, it is not for those who will skim through it; and even though there are parts of it that are dry as can be, the author has done his research on Sherman. He begins with Sherman's ancestors in England, and while people may not be interested, it tells a story. He then goes on to detail Sherman's life when he first joined the volunteers; and decided to leave that life behind before the outbreak of the Civil War. He tells us of Sherman's relationship with fellow soldiers; how his first impressions of Lincoln changed over time; his relationship with his commanding officer, General Ulysses S. Grant, as well as detailing his relationships with others who were close to him.

When Sherman was young his father died, and as was the wont of the time, many of the children were separated and taken in by relatives and close friends. Sherman was lucky enough to live with the wealthy Ewings, and from this he fell in love with and married Ellen Ewing, whom, from all accounts, he had a very happy marriage with. She was a major contributor to his life, and even when things caused him to lose his faith, hers stood firm. Without Ellen, his life may very well have turned out differently.

With the war becoming more intense, Sherman applied himself to conscientiousness and determination in his duty. He was lucky enough to be well-educated, read constantly, and was a gentleman; and because of this he treated his troops well. However, he demanded the loyalty he gave, and didn't tolerate laziness. He never underestimated the south, and it served him well.

It also details the journey that Sherman took in his loyalty to Grant, who, because of this, remained his lifelong friend. One must know that Grant did not offer friendship easily, nor have many who were close to him save his wife Julia, so this is quite important in his life. These two complemented each other, even though there were times they disagreed, but Sherman's loyalty to Grant has never been in doubt, and indeed told of in his letters to Ellen. Friends that he knew at West Point became his enemies in the war.

Every battle Sherman fought has been detailed heavily, listing the names of those who served with him closest, equipment, artillery, etc., and even the unfortunate lives of those lost during this time. Indeed, it is not until we are well over halfway through the book before we get to the famous March to the Sea which caused so much devastation but also helped end the war between the states (and unless one has been living under a rock, it is known to them also).

While I hesitate to say any more about this book, I will tell you it is a comprehensive study of the general and the man himself. It encompasses areas of Sherman's life that heretofore have not been completely mentioned in other books, and my only disappointment was the fact that because I was given an ARC of the book, it did not include the maps that I would so have loved to have seen. (Although it did not temper my enjoyment one whit). In the end, this is definitely a welcome addition to anyone's library who is interested in the famous general or the Civil War itself. Highly recommended. ( )
  joannefm2 | Feb 27, 2020 |
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"William Tecumseh Sherman, a West Point graduate and veteran of the Seminole War, became one of the best-known generals in the Civil War. His March to the Sea, which resulted in a devastated swath of the South from Atlanta to Savannah, cemented his place in history as the pioneer of total war. In The Scourge of War, preeminent military historian Brian Holden Reid offers a deeply researched life and times account of Sherman. By examining his childhood and education, his business ventures in California, his antebellum leadership of a military college in Louisiana, and numerous career false starts, Holden Reid shows how unlikely his exceptional Civil War career would seem. He also demonstrates how crucial his family was to his professional path, particularly his wife's intervention during the war. He analyzes Sherman's development as a battlefield commander and especially his crucial friendships with Henry W. Halleck and Ulysses S. Grant. In doing so, he details how Sherman overcame both his weaknesses as a leader and severe depression to mature as a military strategist. Central chapters narrate closely Sherman's battlefield career and the gradual lifting of his pessimism that the Union would be defeated. After the war, Sherman became a popular figure in the North and the founder of the school for officers at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, known as the "intellectual center of the army." Holden Reid argues that Sherman was not hostile to the South throughout his life and only in later years gained a reputation as a villain who practiced barbaric destruction, particularly as the neo-Confederate Lost Cause grew and he published one of the first personal accounts of the war."-Pages [2-3] of cover.

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