General William T. Sherman Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles

SHERMAN (1820-1891), a West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran, served as a corps commander under General U.S. Grant in successful Union campaigns down the Mississippi and in Tennessee, then took command of the western armies when Grant was reassigned to the Virginia theatre of war. His capture of Atlanta and subsequent "march to the sea" through Georgia, followed by a swift campaign north through the Carolinas to force the surrender of the last major Confederate army, are praised for their military skill but condemned to this day for their "scorched earth" approach to occupied territory. After the war, Sherman applied similarly harsh but effective methods in campaigns against Amerindian tribes of the Great Plains. As commanding general of the U.S. Army (1869-1883), Sherman established the Command School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Sherman, who personally shunned politics ("If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve."), was the brother of U.S. Senator, Cabinet member and presidential candidate John Sherman.