And now that, in these notes, I have fairly reached the period of the civil war, which ravaged our country from 1861-1865—an event involving a conflict of passion, of prejudice and of arms, that has developed results which, for better or for worse, have left their mark on the world’s history—I feel that I tread on delicate ground.
Memoirs of General W.T. Sherman Volume I
So, Sherman begins his accounts of the war and military campaigns for which he is remembered; honored or damned depending on one’s point of view. Clearly it constituted a lifetime achievement since he dedicates more than half of his entire memoir to the war years. Or perhaps the was an editor’s call.
Sherman continues; “it is not his intent—he claims to write a history of the war, but rather group some of [his personal] reflections about historic persons and events of the day.”
In March of 1861 he bid farewell to the Louisiana Military Academy where he was happily setting up operations of the new school educating the elite of the south. Secession was in motion and after declining to serve under the Confederacy, he resigned from his post. Sherman was aware that military conflict was rapidly approaching. He traveled to Washington where his brother an Ohio senator, introduced him to President Lincoln.
Sherman was not impressed with his first meeting with Lincoln. For when he shared his concern that northern states seemed oblivious to the fact the south was preparing for war the president replied “Oh well—I guess we’ll manage to keep house”. Sherman angrily told his brother John “You [politicians] got things in a hell of a fix, and you may get them out as best you can.” He thought that the “country was sleeping on a volcano”. He left Washington DC and moved his growing family to St. Louis where he had found a new job to support them.
But by the beginning of April war talk and preparations were escalating and Missouri was an epicenter of mounting violence; the sleeping volcanic activity Sherman feared. He commiserated with a colleague “deploring the sad conditions of our country, and the seeming drift toward dissolution and anarchy”. Then there was the bombardment of Fort Sumter, April 12-14 that signaled the start of the war.
In rereading Sherman’s recollections I find it interesting that he was reluctant to accept two seemingly high positions in the US War Department. He claims he turned them down because he already made the decision to take care of his family with his new job in St. Louis. But it may also be the case that he was not going to take on a contract position for three months which is what most politicians in Washington thought would be the duration of the war. He knew it would be longer because he was well aware of the resolve of the Confederacy. After more civil unrest and violence broke in St. Louis, where Sherman and his young son were caught in a mob stampede amidst gunfire he quickly changed his mind and accepted an appointment as a colonel of the Thirteenth Regular Infantry. By mid May Sherman was returning to Washington to report for duty.
Sherman gives his eyewitness account and participation in the Battle of Bull Run/Manassas again, depending on one’s perspective–which happened July 21, 1861. He sums up the weeks before of training young eager recruits. They were far from ready physically and mentally for war. The Confederates weren’t either but they were better organized, more in number and by July 4th were already outside of in Manassas just outside of Washington. His summary of the battle—”one of the best planned and worse fought”.
Our men had been told so often at home that all they do to do was to make a bold appearance, and the rebels would run; and nearly all of us for the first time then heard the sound of cannon and muskets in anger, and saw the bloody scenes common to all battles, with which were soon to be familiar. We had good organization, good men but no cohesion, no real discipline, no respect for authority, no real knowledge of war.
Sherman doesn’t admit defeat. It’s now generally agreed that it was victory for the south. In either case, it was a sad and shameful day. It was also a public spectacle; people came from nearby areas, bringing children and picnics to watch the event as if it was a parade. Within moments they were shocked and traumatized with chaos, terror and the stench of death. Both armies were in disarray, and suffered casualties. After Bull Run, Sherman was assigned to training new regiments. He continues:
I organized a system of drills, embracing the evolutions of the line, all of which was new to me, and I had learned the tactics from the book; but I was convinced that we had a long hard war before us, and made up my mind to begin at the very beginning to prepare for it.
Conflict of passion, prejudice and of even of arms is still true today. Added to that is the continued pandemic. The Battle of Bull Run/Manassas confirmed that the conflict would not end anytime soon. It would be years. Efforts to find a vaccine for Covid-19 look promising but are still months away from testing. In the meantime we each have to struggle with mitigating risks while working together to save lives and an economy that make social stability possible. Added to those battles and one which concern each and everyone of us, is the ongoing struggle for justice and liberty for all. And in case we tire of these battles or worse are tempted to be complacent and ignore them we have our ‘marching orders’ from John Lewis, the civil rights leader and congressmen who desired his dying thoughts be shared on the day of his funeral:
Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html
