Book review
Gilmore’s book is for those youngsters
who love horses; they’ll like Sam, Willy

Reviewed by
ED FORD
Bugle Editor

“Upon Which Everything Depends, Two Tales of a Horse Named Sam,” by Rachel Gilmore; illustrations by Margi Hafer; Xlibris Corporation, 2011; 18 pages; text notes; $16.

There’s a special relationship between horses and young people. And the relationship between Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s horse, Sam, and the general’s son, Willy, underscores that.

Upon Which Everything Depends, Two Tales of a Horse Named Sam, is a children’s book that tells the story of a horse Gen. Sherman found at Shiloh.

The general had lost five mounts due to enemy fire and the horse he discovered, minus its rider, filled an immediate need. He named the horse, Sam, and used him through the battles in Corinth and Vicksburg.

But the real story is what happened in Big Black, Miss., in the summer of 1863.

Gen. U.S. Grant ordered Sherman and his troops to rest after victory at Vicksburg. And, it was a summer-long rest. Sherman contacted his wife, Ellen, and invited her to bring their children and join him on the banks of the Big Black River.

Nine-year-old son Willy, who never leaves his father’s side, soon is allowed to ride Sam, and an instant friendship occurs.

When Sherman and his men are called back to action, Ellen and the children are sent back to Ohio. Willy, however, catches typhoid fever and dies in Memphis. Sam goes home with the family, but it is the relationship between Sam and Willy that will continue to stay with the reader. It’s special.

Sherman was the father of Total War, a strategy based on the complete destruction of the enemy’s infrastructure and resources. But this book reveals his human side, his love and compassion for his family.

Whatever his failings, Sherman also had an undying affection for horses. He stressed to his men that “extraordinary care be taken of the horses upon which everything depends.”

The two tales of Sam, Civil War mount and faithful family friend, are best summed up in a letter Sherman wrote: “He (Sam) was always hungry and fat – never got lame, and was never on the sick list. Very often under fire he would browse in the standing cane and tufts of grass within reach. On one occasion only was he hit by a musket ball that passed through his neck, but he did not complain and went right along at his work as though he was used to it. As to artillery firing he regarded it as a useless noise in which he had little concern. But what endeared the horse most to me and my family was that he was the favorite of my son Willy in our camp on Big Black who used to ride him almost daily and attend me in the drills and reviews of that summer.”

Author Rachel Gilmore became enamored with Sam and his history while she was doing publicity in 2004 for the sculpture that honors the horse and Sherman in her hometown of Frankfort, Ill. The more she found out about Sam and his time with Sherman – and then on the Sanger farm in Frankfort – the more she fell in love with the legends and stories surrounding the horse.

Gilmore researched for seven years, reading Sherman's journals and even traveling to the general’s home in Lancaster, Ohio. The book tracks Sam's life as a warhorse on the frontlines of the Civil War to his life in Lancaster and finally to his time in Frankfort.

 Upon Which Everything Depends is short – only 18 pages – and is fully illustrated. Youngsters who love horses will like this book. And, they’ll learn something about the Civil War in the process.

(EDITOR’S NOTE:  This book can be purchased at Amazon and Barnes and Noble or at www.thegilmoregirl.com.)