William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8th, 1820 in Lancaster, Ohio. He was from a family of thirteen, however, when he was only nine years old his father( a justice on the Supreme Court) passed away. The family was left with very little money, and Sherman was sent to live with Senator Thomas Ewing, a close friend of the Shermans. He got William T. Sherman an appointment for the U.S. Military Academy. He graduated in 1840, 6th in his class. In 1850 Sherman had married Eleanor Ewing (the daughter of Thomas Ewing). The President himself was at the wedding, as well as his Cabinet, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. Many of Sherman’s peers served in the Mexican- American War, but he was an executive officer in California during that time, so …show more content…
Instead he became a superintendent for the LA Military Academy in 1859. After the war started, Sherman moved north and joined the Thirteenth U.S. Infantry as a colonel. The Battle of First Manassas was his first battle. The Union army lost, but President Lincoln liked how well Sherman did, and gave him a promotion to brigadier general. He received the task of preventing Kentucky from leaving the Union. During the first couple of years after 1860, Sherman went through difficult situations. The newspapers accused him of being insane, he rode emotional rollercoasters, and most thought he was crazy. He suffered from nervous breakdowns, which didn’t help how people saw him: mad. This may be due to how he viewed the war, saying it would be bloody, long, and end with a North triumph. He despised war, saying, Sherman (or as those who were close to him knew him, Cump) was well known for his partnership and friendship with Ulysses S. Grant. This friendship began on April 6, 1862. Sherman had been purposely lax on security, fearing if he looked overly worried, he would seem insane again. It was for this reason he had ignored the reports of General Johnston from the Confederate Army