Dead-end in Kentucky
Sherman’s career nearly ended,
years before fabled ‘March to Sea’

Gen. William T. Sherman was one of the most important and celebrated Union commanders of the Civil War and the most reviled leader in the Confederacy.

During the last year of the conflict, his army conquered Atlanta, reversing a flagging Union war effort and securing President Abraham Lincoln’s re-election. After that, his men scorched much of Georgia in his famous March to the Sea, then cut a huge swath up through the Carolinas.

Not only did his army destroy men and material, but Sherman articulated a ruthless policy of destruction that deeply demoralized Southern morale. He gained perpetual infamy in the South as the grim reaper of the Union war effort, a task he undertook quite consciously, with both anger and joy.

Few Americans realize, however, that Sherman’s career nearly ended in Kentucky in November 1861. Paralyzed by depression, the Lancaster, Ohio, native was – at his own request – relieved of his leadership (he was second in command) of the Army of the Cumberland in Kentucky.

 Throughout the first six months of the war, Sherman was dominated by self-doubt and fear and blamed himself for the death of his son who had contracted Yellow Fever.

When he was assigned to Kentucky, he informed Abraham Lincoln of his “extreme desire to serve in a subordinate capacity, and in no event to be left in a superior command.” This astounded Lincoln, who was far more used to braggart officers demanding important commands.

On Oct. 5, Sherman’s superior, Louisvillian Robert Anderson (the commander at Fort Sumter when the war began) resigned because of health issues, almost certainly including major depression.

Three days later, Sherman replaced him, but lasted only a tormented month before he was removed.

In December 1861, wire services proclaimed that Sherman was insane, and a war service that had just begun was nearly destroyed.

A lengthy period of military leave and complete rest seemed to restore Sherman, who, in early April, was put in charge of a division at Pittsburg Landing, Tenn. (Battle of Shiloh). He led with bravery and skill and was transformed into the confident commander who would go on to destroy the Confederacy.