[Illustration: Wm. T. Sherman]
LIFE OF
WM. TECUMSEH SHERMAN.
Late Retired General. U. S. A.
A GRAPHIC HISTORY OF HIS CAREER IN WAR AND PEACE; HIS ROMANTIC
YOUTH; HIS STERN AND PATRIOTIC MANHOOD; HIS CALM AND BEAUTIFUL
OLD AGE; A MARVELLOUS MARCH FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF TIME TO THE
SEA OF ETERNITY.
By W. FLETCHER JOHNSON,
Author of "Stanley's Adventures in Africa," "History of the
Johnstown Flood," "Life of Sitting Bull and History of the Indian
Wars," etc., etc.
Carefully Reviewed, Chapter by Chapter, and with an Introduction
By MAJ. GEN. O. O. HOWARD, U. S. A.
With Numerous Maps and Illustrations.
EDGEWOOD PUBLISHING COMPANY.
1891.
COPYRIGHT 1891, BY A. R. KELLER.
INTRODUCTION.
The title of this work is hardly a fair index to the contents.
The "Life of General Sherman," written with any reasonable detail so
as to depict his formative period, the gradual development of his
energies, the bulk of his achievements and the great consummation of
his genius, could not be contained in any three volumes of this size.
The work, so far as the labor of the author, Mr. Johnson, is concerned,
is eclectic,--mainly a compendium.
There are beautiful sketches, choice pictorial presentations of Sherman
and his environments from childhood to age. But, I do not think that
the work, valuable as it undoubtedly is, could in any degree take the
place of Sherman's Personal Memoirs.
There are some chapters which have been furnished by war editorials
and the writings of field correspondents which the author must have
collected and carefully preserved.
Many of these are life-like, and bear the impress and the inspiration
of the exciting events amid which they were composed.
There are, furthermore, in this book, chapters which are ingeniously
formed and elaborated by quotations from officers who were themselves
part and parcel of the campaigns which they describe.
To me, the author appears to have done exceedingly well, and has herein
furnished a choice entertainment to his readers.
The part undertaken by me, and to which I have strictly confined
myself, has been to review the work, some of it already in proof
type, and the remainder in manuscript, going over each chapter with
considerable care, and suggesting such changes as I thought the truth
of history demanded.
Where one has expressed an opinion and a quotation of that opinion
appears, of course no change was admissible; so that I am entirely
unwilling to assume that such a quoted writer gave utterance to my own
convictions.
For example: different views are given of the fearful struggle during
the first day of "Shiloh" at Pittsburgh Landing. A famous journalist
takes General Sherman to task for want of epaulements, intrenchments,
and other means of defence. He claims that Sherman and Grant were both
surprised, as they had known for a week or more that the enemy was
close by, and liable to attack.
Certainly the answer to this allegation, and it should be a very clear
and decided answer, would be found in any completed history. Our troops
had not yet, at that period of the war of the rebellion, made much use
of intrenching tools. Grant and Sherman did not design to put their new
troops into intrenched camps.
They believed, and very justly, that it was next to impossible to
handle them offensively, as we say, against the enemy. But they did
have some cover. The woods, ravines, and general contour of the ground
gave them protection, and it was in faithful use of this cover that
during the battle-storm of the first day near Shiloh church, they were
able to hold out till reinforcements came.
This example will suggest others to the reader. Still, the phases
presented by the different writers, from whom extracts are taken,
afford a kaleidoscopic variety, interesting especially to those of us
who lived at the time of the occurrences in question.
Probably none of us can do more than our noble General Sherman, years
ago, suggested. He said in substance: We who were involved in the
controversies, the battles, and campaigns of the great war, are not the
men to write the history. We are like witnesses in court. Each should
give his own testimony of what he saw and knew. Somebody else, will in
the future, after passion and prejudice shall have subsided, rise up to
make a search, a selection, a summation, and so the better evolve the
true history.
With regard to General Sherman and his career, in my judgment the more
of truthful statements that are made the better. Let eye witnesses give
all the evidence they can.
In his heart was a love of truth, a phenomenal loyalty to his country,
a fearless and prompt devotion to duty and markedly an absence of
aught that was malicious. True, he resented wrong often with a fiery
indignation, but he forgave a fault confessed with quick generosity. So
that at Lancaster, Ohio, the home of his childhood, at West Point, N.
Y., in Florida and South Carolina, where were his early army stations;
in California and Louisiana, where he made his civil record; at all
places during the war of four years, and at his headquarters, or upon
extensive tours; as Commander, after the war, of a military division
and finally of a whole army; all his acts, all his orders, and all his
writings will bear most careful inspection. They, if truthfully given,
will furnish to our youth something for meditation, for instruction,
for emulation.
To whatever extent this little volume may contribute such quota, it
will be a welcome guest to our people, North and South, East and West.
O. O. HOWARD,
_Major-General U. S. Army_.
GOVERNOR'S ISLAND, N. Y. CITY,
_March 19th, 1891_.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE SHERMAN FAMILY.
Honorable Rank in the Mother Country--Early Migration to New
England--Settling in the Connecticut Valley--Playing an
Important Part at Woodbury--Long Term of Public Service--
The Stoddards--A Militant Minister--Seeking New Fortunes in
the West--An Early Ohio Judge--The Mother of Great Men 17
CHAPTER II.
BOYHOOD AND CADETSHIP.
Why He Was Named Tecumseh--His Adoption by Mr. Ewing--
Character in Boyhood--Work as a Surveyor--Appointment to a
Cadetship--From Lancaster to West Point--"Old Hickory"--
Letters to His Sweetheart--A Youthful Philosopher--
Character and Standing as a Cadet 29
CHAPTER III.
EARLY MILITARY DUTIES.
Winding up the Seminole War--Comedy and Tragedy in the Florida
Wilderness--The Capture of Coacoochee--Service at Fort
Moultrie--Getting Acquainted with the Scene of His Greatest
Campaign--Secession Talk--Outbreak of the Mexican War--
Rebuked for too Much Zeal--The Long Voyage to California--
Arrival at Monterey 40
CHAPTER IV.
AMONG THE FORTY-NINERS.
Days of Idleness at Monterey--Adam and Eve--Sunday
Diversions--Who is Governor?--General Fremont--The
Discovery of Gold and the Rush for the Mines--Domestic
Economy of Camp Life--Negro Fidelity--Back to the East--
Marriage of Sherman and Miss Ewing--How he Heard Webster's
Speech--A Shady Travelling Companion--Entering and Quitting
the Law 50
CHAPTER V.
THE CRISIS OF A CAREER.
Sherman in the Prime of Manhood--Great Events Approaching--
How He Came to be a Schoolmaster--Organization of the
Seminary--Political Talk--His View on Slavery--The
Campaign of 1860 and Election of Lincoln--Secession--
Sherman's Prompt Decision to Stand by the Union--Resignation
of His Principalship--Departure for the North--Fate of the
Seminary 62
CHAPTER VI.
THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR.
The South Excited and Ready--The North Indifferent and
Unprepared--Sherman's Interview with Lincoln--His Plain
Talk to his Brother--Disgusted with the Politicians--A St.
Louis Street Railroad President--War Talk in St. Louis--
A Clerkship Declined--His Loyalty Doubted--Prophesying
a Great Struggle--Bloodshed in St. Louis--Back to
Washington--In Service at Last 75
CHAPTER VII.
BULL RUN.
"On to Richmond!"--Sherman's Brigade at Bull Run--Features of
Battle--Sherman's Official Report--The Stampede Back to the
Potomac--How Sherman Dealt with Mutineers--A Threat that
the President Thought he would Execute--Re-organization and
Promotion--General McClellan Assumes Command--Sherman's
Frank Criticism and Uncomfortable Truth-Telling and
Consequent Unpopularity 85
CHAPTER VIII.
SERVICE IN KENTUCKY.
Serving Under Anderson--Critical Condition of the State--
Seeking Help in Other States--A Visit to Fremont--That
Famous Interview with Cameron--How the Story of Sherman's
Insanity was Started--Attacks and Insults--Sherman's
Official Correspondence--His Request for 200,000 Men--
An Extraordinary Newspaper Article--Sherman Transferred
to Missouri--Halleck's Confidence in Him--Planning the
Donelson Campaign 99
CHAPTER IX.
SHILOH.
The Gloomy Winter of 1861-2--Exultation over Donelson--The
Advance up the Tennessee--Responsibility for the Encampment
at Pittsburgh Landing--Controversies over the Battle--
Varying Accounts--Sherman's Personal Heroism--Number of
Troops Engaged on Both Sides--Services of the Army of the
Ohio--Losses of the two Armies 116
CHAPTER X.
OFFICIAL REPORTS ON SHILOH.
Sherman's Own Story--How his Troops were Posted--The Attack--
Troops in Disorder--Grant and Buell at the Bivouac--The
Battle Resumed in the Morning--Death of General Johnston--
Gallant Conduct of Individual Officers--Grant's Official
Report--Special Mention of Sherman for his Gallantry as a
Soldier and his Skill as a Commander 124
CHAPTER XI.
"AGATE'S" STORY OF SHILOH.
The Situation Before the Battle--The First Skirmish--Plans of
the Rebel Leaders--The Scene on Sunday Morning--Troops in
Disorder--Analysis of the Situation--Faulty Disposition of
the Federal Troops--Arrangement of Sherman's Division--The
Rebel Plan of Attack--Sherman's Old Friend Bragg among the
Rebel Leaders 142
CHAPTER XII.
"AGATE'S" STORY CONTINUED.
The Battle of Sunday, April 6th--The Union Troops Surprised--
An Army in Disorder--Sherman's Heroic Effort to Stem the
Tide--McClernand's Share in the Battle--The Rebels Pressing
their Advantage--The Assault on Sherman's Left--Men too
Brave to be Killed--Desperate Position of the Union Army--
Looking to the Gunboats for Aid--Three Desperate Charges
Repulsed--Death of General Wallace 153
CHAPTER XIII.
"AGATE'S" STORY CONTINUED.
The Close of Sunday's Fight--What had been Lost During the
Day--Five Thousand Cowards on the River Bank--Opportune
Arrival of General Buell--The Grand Attack and its Grand
Repulse--Aid from the Gunboats--The Night Between Two
Battles--Desperate Preparations for the Morrow--Gunboats on
Guard Through the Darkness 172
CHAPTER XIV.
"AGATE'S" STORY CONCLUDED.
The Work of Sunday Night--Landing of Buell's Troops--Effect
of the Bombardment--Lack of System in the Union Army--
Renewing the Battle--A Change of Tactics--Turning the
Tide--Crittenden's Advance--The Advance at the Centre--
A Grand Parade on the Field of War--Redeeming the Losses
of Sunday--Facing the Louisiana Troops--Silencing the
Battery--End of the Great Struggle 183
CHAPTER XV.
CORINTH.
Halleck Takes the Field--Organization of the Army--Progress
at a Snail's Pace--Sherman's Advance--The Flight of the
Rebels--Sherman's Official Report--Congratulating the
Troops--Beauregard's Address to his Soldiers--Some Accounts
of Corinth--Abrupt Finale of a Rebel Harangue 196
CHAPTER XVI.
MEMPHIS, VICKSBURG AND ARKANSAS POST.
Changes in Command--Restoring Order at Memphis--Sherman's
Views of the Situation--Grant's Critical Position--Moving
Against Pemberton--Meeting with Porter--The Expedition
Against Vicksburg--Why it did not Succeed--The Surrender at
Holly Springs--Sherman Removed from Command--The Capture of
Arkansas Post--General McClernand 219
CHAPTER XVII.
VICKSBURG.
Co-operation of Grant and Porter--Grand Gulf and Sherman's
Demonstration on the Yazoo--The Advance on Vicksburg--
Capture of Jackson--Gallant Assaults Upon the Works at
Vicksburg--The Siege--Sherman Holding Johnston at Bay--
Surrender of Vicksburg--Flight of Johnston--Important
Results of the Campaign--Sherman's Meed of Praise 241
CHAPTER XVIII.
SOME WAR CORRESPONDENCE.
Sherman's Characteristic Letters--Congratulations to Porter
at Vicksburg--Views of the Reorganization of the Army--The
Conduct of the War and the Spirit of the South--Manners and
Morals of the Soldiers--No Wanton Spoliation of the Enemy's
Property--The Heroic Cartridge Boy of Vicksburg 249
CHAPTER XIX.
CHATTANOOGA.
Dark Days in 1863--A Sunburst of Victory--Sherman Leaves
Vicksburg--Orders to his Troops--The March to Chattanooga--
The Battle Above the Clouds--Sherman's Attack on Missionary
Ridge--The Victory Complete--Pursuit of the Enemy--A
Forced March to Rescue Burnside--Sherman's Report--Views
Concerning the Treatment of the Rebels 259
CHAPTER XX.
MERIDIAN.
Freeing the Mississippi--A March of Destruction--Retreat of
the Enemy--Polk's Flight from Meridian--Failure of Smith's
Expedition--Destroying Rebel Property--Confiscating a
Chicken--Results of the Raid--Scenes Among the Liberated
Negroes--The Red River Expedition 286
CHAPTER XXI.
THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
Grant Made Lieutenant-General--Correspondence with Sherman--
Their Memorable Interview--Planning a Scientific Campaign--
General Howard's Pen Picture of the Two Soldiers--Schofield,
McPherson and Thomas--Grant's Final Orders--Sherman's Army
in Line--Strength of Johnston's Army--General Howard's
Account of the Advance 298
CHAPTER XXII.
ATLANTA.
The Turning of Rocky Face--Resaca--General Howard's
Narrative--Adairsville--Crossing the Etowah--Sherman on
Familiar Ground--Dealing with Breaches of Discipline--
Allatoona Pass--The Siege and Turning of Kenesaw--
Smyrna and Peach Tree--Hood Succeeds Johnston--Death of
McPherson--Howard in Command of the Army of the Tennessee--
Ezra Church--Operations around Atlanta--The Rush to
Jonesboro--Capture of Atlanta 314
CHAPTER XXIII.
PREPARING FOR THE MARCH.
Congratulations and Rejoicings--Sherman's Address to his
Army--Incidents of the Campaign--Appearance of Atlanta
and its Environs--Hood's Northward March--How Corse Held
the Fort--Sherman's Stern Work at Atlanta--Exchange of
Prisoners--Organizing for the March to the Sea--Sketches
of Howard and Slocum--Orders for the Campaign--Cutting off
all Communication with the North--Atlanta in Ruin--Marching
Toward the Sea 338
CHAPTER XXIV.
"MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA."
The "Lost Army"--Speculations, North and South, as to
its Doings--Diary of an Officer--Keeping Thanksgiving
Day--Howell Cobb's Plantation--The Negroes--A Quaint
Philosopher--Strategy of the March--Howard's Brilliant
Advance--Investment of Savannah--Capture of Fort
McAllister--Fall of Savannah 364
CHAPTER XXV.
SHERMAN'S STORY OF THE MARCH.
The Soldier's Modest Narration of his Arduous Deeds--Why
the March was Decided Upon--Operations around Savannah--
Material Results of the Campaign--Handsome Tributes to the
Officers and Men of his Army 394
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE CAROLINA CAMPAIGN.
In the Cradle of Secession--The Occupation and Destruction of
Columbia--Reprisals Against Wade Hampton: Men--Arrival at
Goldsboro--Summing up the Results of the Northward March--
Work Accomplished by the Engineers 422
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE END OF THE WAR.
Lincoln, Grant and Sherman at City Point--Surrender of Lee--
Murder of Lincoln--Negotiations with Johnston--Stanton's
Disapproval--An Outcry Against Sherman--The Grand Review--
Sherman's Refusal to Shake Hands with Stanton--Farewell
Address to the Army 435
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE DUTIES OF PEACE.
Aiding the Pacific Railroad--A Fool's Errand to Mexico--
Political Intrigues at Washington--The Tenure of Office
Affair--Work Among the Indians--A Trip to Europe--The
Belknap Scandal--Sherman's Speech on Military Honor--
Travels in the Northwest--Yellowstone Park--Writing His
Memoirs--Life in New York--Death of Mrs. Sherman 449
CHAPTER XXIX.
DEATH AND BURIAL.
A Fatal Cold--Lingering Between Hope and Fear--The
Last Rally--The End of Life's Campaign--A Son's Sad
Home-Coming--Preparations for the Funeral--Public Tributes
of Respect--The Military Parade in New York--Progress of
the Funeral Train Across the Country--Ceremonies at St.
Louis--The Warrior's Last Encampment by the Side of his
Loved Ones 474
CHAPTER XXX.
TRIBUTES.
A National Outburst of Grief--The President's Message to
Congress--The Senate's Memorial Resolutions--Senator
Hawley's Eulogy--A Touching Tribute from a Southern
Senator--Speeches by Senators who were also Soldiers--
Eloquent Words from Lawrence Barrett--Judge Gresham Recalls
Sherman's Prophetic Words--A Comparison Between Sherman and
Lee--General Slocum's Reminiscences--Chauncey Depew on
Sherman in Social Life 491
CHAPTER XXXI.
IN MEMORIAM.
New York's Official Tribute--The Consolidated Stock Exchange--
The Union League Club--The Republican County Committee--The
Grand Army of the Republic--The Chamber of Commerce--Speech
by the Hon. Carl Schurz--The Ohio Society--Brief Words from
Many Friends 512
CHAPTER XXXII.
TRAITS AND INCIDENTS.
His Positive Refusal to be a Presidential Candidate--
Remembering a California Drummer--Dealing with a Newspaper
at Memphis--Suppressing Praise of Himself at Savannah--
Confiscating Medicine--The Electoral Commission--His Love
of Music--Excuses for Swearing--A Tribute to his Mother--
An Incident at Yale--Expressions of Kind Feeling Toward the
South and Toward his Foes 537
CHAPTER XXXIII.
REMINISCENCES.
Life at the Fifth Avenue Hotel--Ex-President Hayes's
Memories--General Meigs's Tribute--Professor Howe on
Sherman's School Days--A Visit to the Catskills--Sherman
and Joe Johnston--Telling about Resaca--Thinking of
the Sea--Marvellous Versatility--General Rosecrans's
Reminiscences of Sherman at West Point 562
CHAPTER XXXIV.
SHERMAN'S OWN WORDS.
Speech at a Clover Club Dinner--A Famous New England Society
Dinner--Teaching Geography in Georgia--Speaking for the
United States--Old Times in Ohio--At a Grand Army National
Encampment--Why he did not March to Augusta--One of
his Last Letters--A Story of Grant--Congratulations to
President Harrison 587
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
GENERAL WM. TECUMSEH SHERMAN (frontispiece), Steel
MRS. GENERAL SHERMAN, 20
SHERMAN'S BIRTHPLACE, 37
SHERMAN ENTERING U. S. SENATE, 56
HON. JOHN SHERMAN, 73
GENERAL JOHN C. FREMONT, 91
GENERAL THOMAS' BIVOUAC (after the first day's battle), 109
MAJOR-GENERAL O. O. HOWARD, 128
MAJOR-GENERAL SLOCUM, 145
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN, 164
MAJOR-GENERAL BUTTERFIELD, 181
GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN, 200
GRANT'S MARCH UPON VICKSBURG, 217
ADMIRAL D. D. PORTER, 236
BATTLE OF LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, 253
SPRAGUE'S BRIGADE PROTECTING SHERMAN'S WAGON TRAIN AT
DECATUR, 272
CAPTURING THEIR HEADQUARTERS, 289
MAJOR-GENERAL SCHOFIELD, 308
MAP OF ATLANTA CAMPAIGN, 317
DEATH OF GENERAL J. B. McPHERSON, 325
BATTLE OF ATLANTA, 344
BATTLE OF ATLANTA--THE CONTEST OF BALD HILL, 361
A BIVOUAC AMONG THE GEORGIA PINES, 380
MAP OF ATLANTA TO SAVANNAH, 388
SHERMAN SENDING HIS LAST TELEGRAM BEFORE CUTTING THE WIRES, 397
CAPTURING THE FLAG, 416
CAMP OF THE SECOND MASSACHUSETTS--CITY HALL, ATLANTA, 433
BATTLE OF EZRA CHURCH, JULY 28TH, 1864, 452
THE ROAD FROM McPHERSONVILLE, 469
ARMY AND CORPS COMMANDERS OF THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, 488
HEAD OF THE PROCESSION COMING DOWN BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY, 505
THE CATAFALQUE PASSING FIFTY-SEVENTH STREET AND BROADWAY,
NEW YORK CITY, 524
THE RIDERLESS HORSE, 541
GENERAL LEW. WALLACE, 559
SHERMAN'S SENTIMENTS APPROVED, 578
CHAPTER I.
THE SHERMAN FAMILY.
HONORABLE RANK IN THE MOTHER COUNTRY--EARLY MIGRATION TO NEW
ENGLAND--SETTLING IN THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY--PLAYING AN
IMPORTANT PART AT WOODBURY--LONG TERM OF PUBLIC SERVICE--THE
STODDARDS--A MILITARY MINISTER--SEEKING NEW FORTUNES IN THE
WEST--AN EARLY OHIO JUDGE--THE MOTHER OF GREAT MEN.
The artificial law of primogeniture has little effect upon the natural
law of heredity. In nations where the family descent outranks all
other personal or social considerations, degenerate sons--even first
sons--of noble sires are often found, and famous families become
extinct, or worse. In other nations, where descent is scorned, and
the proud individualism of democracy prevails, hereditary genius
appears, and families contribute to the service of society and of the
State generation after generation of great men. Thus human nature
vindicates its disregard of time and places, and establishes itself as
the one immutable factor in the life of the world, albeit changeful,
capricious, and kaleidoscopic.
In the United States no laws of entail or descent prevail. Yet scarcely
elsewhere in the world, within two centuries and a-half, have there
appeared so many striking instances of worth and greatness made
hereditary. The names that lived at Plymouth and at Massachusetts Bay
in the early sixteen hundreds, live now in the late eighteen hundreds,
in old plantations, or in the greater and newer England that has risen
beyond the Appalachian ranges. With such a name this memoir has to deal.
The name Sherman is not a common one in England, from which country
the family migrated to America, but where it occurs in that country's
annals it is mentioned with honor and respect. The will of Lord
Stanley, Earl of Derby, dated May 23d, 1521, bears the name of Sir
Henry Sherman as one of its executors. In the time of Henry VIII. one
William Sherman was invested with a knighthood. The Davy manuscripts
relating to the County of Suffolk, which are to be found in the
British Museum, contain much mention of the Shermans of Laxley, who
were the direct progenitors of the American branch of the family. The
direct line of the Laxley Shermans is recorded as follows: Thomas
Sherman, of Laxley; Thomas Sherman, 2d, of Laxley; Thomas Sherman,
3d, gentleman, of Laxley and Stutson, and afterward of Ipswich; John
Sherman, son of Thomas Sherman 2d; William Sherman, eldest son of John.
This William Sherman was born in 1588, and married Mary Lascelles, of
Nottinghamshire. Their son, John Sherman, came to America in 1634, and
settled at Watertown, Massachusetts. He took a prominent part in the
military operations of the infant colony, and was known as Captain
John Sherman; by which title he is distinguished from his cousin John
Sherman, who also lived at Watertown. This Captain John Sherman was the
grandfather of Roger Sherman, famous in American history as one of the
chief signers of the Declaration of Independence.
[Illustration: MRS. GENERAL SHERMAN.]
Two brothers, cousins of Captain Sherman, came to America at the same
time with him in 1634. One of these was the Rev. John Sherman, already
mentioned, who became famous throughout the New England colonies as
the most eloquent preacher and most accomplished mathematician and
astronomer of the day. The other was Samuel Sherman, the progenitor
of the illustrious subject of this work. These two brothers soon
removed from Watertown, Mass., to the Valley of the Connecticut, and
thenceforward for several generations the family was conspicuously
identified with that colony.
In Cothren's "History of Ancient Woodbury," much mention of Samuel
Sherman is to be found. "The Court," says Cothren, "grants Mr. Samuel
Sherman, Lieutenant Wm. Curtice, Ensign Joseph Judson, and John Minor,
themselves and associates, liberty to erect a plantation at Pomperouge;
provided it does not prejudice any former grant to any other plantation
or particular person; provided any other honest inhabitants of
Stratford have liberty to joyne with them in setleing there, and that
they enterteine so many inhabitants as the place will conveniently
enterteine, and that they setle there within the space of three years."
Again, in the same work, appears the following: "In October, 1675,
Wm. Curtiss was appointed by the General Court captain of sixty men
to be raised in Fairfield County, to serve in King Philip's war, with
power to appoint his inferior officers. In May, 1676, when the people
of Woodbury were at Stratford, on account of this war, he and Mr.
Samuel Sherman were appointed Commissioners for Stratford and Woodbury.
Intimately associated with Captain Curtiss in all that related to
the welfare of the new town, was the Hon. Samuel Sherman. He was,
at the date of its settlement, undoubtedly the most distinguished
man connected with the enterprise. He was from Dedham, Essex County,
England. He came to this country in 1634, and previous to the date
of the new plantation, had been a leading man in the colony. He had
assisted in the settlement of several other towns in the colony, and
now undertook the same for Woodbury."
Samuel Sherman died in 1682, leaving a son, John Sherman, who became
the leading man of Woodbury and one of the most conspicuous citizens
of the colony. Beginning in 1684, he was for forty-four years an
Associate County Court Judge; for seventeen sessions a Representative
in the Legislature; for two terms Speaker of the Law House; for
twenty-five years Town Clerk; and for nine years Judge of Probate for
the District of Woodbury, beginning with the organization of that
Court in 1719. A direct descendant of John Sherman was Daniel Sherman,
of whom it is recorded that on November 17th, 1774, he was Moderator
of a great town meeting at Woodbury, held to take into consideration
measures for carrying into effect the "Resolves of the late General
Congress," and of the House of Representatives of Connecticut, one of
which resolves was to have no dealing with the "foes to ye Rights of
British America." On September 19th, 1775, another mass-meeting of
the people of Woodbury was held, at which a "Committee of Inspection"
was appointed, consisting of thirty members. The heads of this
committee were Daniel Sherman and Gideon Stoddard, who held their
places during the entire War of the Revolution. Again, at a similar
meeting held on April 3d, 1777, Daniel Sherman was chosen Moderator
and it was "Voted, that the selectmen in this town, for the time
being, be a committee, as is specified in the Resolve issued by his
honor, the Governor and Committee of Safety, dated March the 18th,
1777, to take care of such soldiers' Famelys as shall Inlist into the
Continental army." This order was given by the Governor with the advice
and consent of the Council of Safety, which Council was appointed
annually by the Assembly and consisted of from nine to fourteen of
the most distinguished men in the colony, whose duty it was to assist
the Governor when the Assembly was not in session. Daniel Sherman
represented Woodbury in this Council for four years, beginning in May,
1777; and another member of the Council was his kinsman, Roger Sherman.
To quote again from Cothren's history: "Daniel Sherman was perhaps the
most distinguished man that had arisen in the town to his day. He was
a descendant of Samuel Sherman, of Stratford, was a Justice of the
Quorum for twenty-five years, and Judge of the Litchfield County Court
five years, from 1786. For sixteen years he was Probate Clerk for the
District of Woodbury, and Judge of that District thirty-seven years.
He represented his native town in the General Assembly sixty-five
sessions. This was by far the longest period of time any one has ever
represented the town. He was of commanding powers of mind, of sterling
integrity, and every way qualified for the various public trusts
confided to his care. His son, Taylor Sherman, the fifth from Samuel,
was married in 1787 to Elizabeth Stoddard, the great grand-daughter
of the parson who shot one Indian after church on Sunday and another
before breakfast the next morning. He lived and died as a lawyer and
judge in Norwalk, Connecticut. He was one of those who went West to
arrange a treaty with the Indians in 1808, and the same year came to
Ohio again to make a partition of the Fire Lands. He died in May, 1815,
and his widow came to Ohio, and died in Mansfield, in 1848."
The Stoddard family, which became closely allied with the Shermans,
demand some notice here. Their American progenitor, Anthony Stoddard,
came from the West of England to Boston in 1638 or 1639. His first
wife was Mary, daughter of the Hon. Samuel Downing, of Salem, and
sister of Sir George, afterwards Lord George Downing. Solomon Stoddard,
a son of Anthony, was graduated at Harvard College in 1662 and ten
years later was settled as minister at Northhampton, Mass. His son,
Anthony, was graduated at Harvard in 1697, and settled at Woodbury,
Conn. The first wife of this second Anthony Stoddard was Prudence
Wells, and his second, Mary Sherman. The great grand-daughter of
Anthony Stoddard and Prudence Wells, Elizabeth Stoddard has already
been mentioned as the wife of the Hon. Taylor Sherman, the grandfather
of the subject of this work.
Anthony Stoddard was for sixty years minister of the church at
Woodbury, at the same time a successful lawyer and physician, and for
forty years Clerk of Probate for the District of Woodbury. One Sabbath
evening during the French and Indian war, it is related, while walking
in his garden after the services at church, the Rev. Anthony Stoddard
discovered an Indian skulking with hostile intent among the trees
and bushes near by. Without seeming to notice the movements of the
intruder, he managed to return to his house and obtain his gun. Going
back to the garden he crept to within easy range, took careful aim and
fired and the Indian fell dead. He then gave the alarm to his neighbors
who barricaded themselves within their houses and kept guard for the
night. The next morning Mr. Stoddard observed another Indian near his
house, and shot and killed him also.
Both the Shermans and Stoddards were strict Presbyterians, and of
Mrs. Taylor Sherman (Elizabeth Stoddard) it is related that she could
never be induced to enter a church of any other denomination. "She
always made us stand around," says one of her grand-children. "Her
will was law. I could coax mother to let me do as I pleased, but never
grandmother."
Judge Taylor Sherman, as already recorded, went to Ohio as a
commissioner to survey and apportion the Fire Lands. The State of
Connecticut ceded to the National Government in 1786 her claim to a
part of the great western domain, but reserved a considerable district
in what is now northern Ohio, which is even still known as the "Western
Reserve." Half a million acres of this, known as the Fire Lands, and
comprising the present counties of Huron and Erie, were to be divided
among the people of Norwich, Norwalk, New London and other Connecticut
towns whose houses had been burned by Generals Arnold, Tryon and other
British raiders, to indemnify them for their losses. Judge Taylor
Sherman received two sections of land in Ohio to pay him for his work
as commissioner, and was much impressed by that country's prospects of
future greatness. He, however, returned to Norwalk, where he died in
1815; after which the remainder of his family migrated to Ohio. His
wife and daughter went to Mansfield, where the latter married Judge
Parker; one of his sons, Daniel, settled at Monroeville as a farmer;
and of the other son, Charles R. Sherman, some more extended notice is
necessary.
Charles R. Sherman was born in 1790, and during his early life lived
in Norwalk, Conn., of which place he was a conspicuous citizen. He was
married to Mary Hoyt, a member of a numerous and influential family,
who were among the first settlers of Norwalk. Mr. Sherman was admitted
to the bar in 1810, and during the administration of President Monroe
was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue. While he held this office
two of his deputies defaulted for large amounts, and as he was
responsible for them, almost his entire fortune was taken to make good
the loss. From this financial embarrassment he never fully recovered;
but the incident had a most important effect upon the future history
of the family, and indeed it is to this turn in affairs, apparently
so disastrous, that the subsequent prosperity and greatness of the
Shermans may be directly traced.
Charles R. Sherman, being thus apparently ruined by his rascally
subordinates, determined to seek new fortunes in the Western country
of which his father had given such a glowing account. He at first
intended to settle at Zanesville, Ohio, but finally selected Lancaster,
in Fairfield County. Having established himself there as a lawyer, he
returned to Norwalk for his wife, who meanwhile had become the mother
of their first-born, Charles Taylor Sherman. Then, in 1811, he and his
wife set out on horseback for Ohio, he carrying their infant child on
a pillow on the saddle before him. After a weary and perilous journey,
largely through a wilderness, they reached the village of Lancaster and
there made their new home. By lovers of curious co-incidences it will
be observed with interest that Sir Henry Sherman, the first English
Sherman mentioned, was a resident of the County of Lancaster, England.
Mr. Sherman rapidly rose to eminence in Ohio as a painstaking and
trustworthy counsellor at law and a most eloquent and forcible
advocate. He also maintained the reputation of his family for earnest
and practical piety. It is told that, failing one Saturday night to
reach the place where Court was to be held on Monday, he, in company
with several other eminent lawyers, resolved, out of regard to the day
of rest, to remain at the small town where they were over Sunday.
There was no minister of the Gospel in that place and so Mr. Sherman,
who was then Judge of the Supreme Court, was selected to preach a
sermon and conduct other religious exercises, which he did with great
acceptability.
At the age of thirty-five, Mr. Sherman was made by the Ohio Legislature
a Judge of the Supreme Court. It was an honorable position, and offered
prospect of a brilliant future. He did not occupy it long, however.
While on the bench at Lebanon he was stricken with sudden illness,
and died on June 24th, 1829, being then only forty-one years old. His
salary had been small and he had been able to save almost nothing. His
widow therefore, was left practically penniless, with eleven children
to care for, the oldest eighteen years of age, and the youngest six
weeks. This was a desperate situation indeed. But Mary Hoyt Sherman was
not the woman to be daunted. She addressed herself to the training and
education of her children with energy, patience and prayer, and was
remarkably successful in her arduous work. From four of her children
she was for a time partially separated in order that they might enjoy
the advantages offered to them by kind relatives and friends. Two of
them were thus taken into the family of their aunt, Mrs. Parker, one
into the family of the Hon. Thomas Ewing and one into the family of
her kinsman, John Sherman, a merchant of Mount Vernon, Ohio. The last
mentioned child was John Sherman, who has since become one of the
foremost of American statesmen, while the ward of Mr. Ewing was William
T. Sherman, whose famous career we are now about to consider.
The Hoyt family were Episcopalians, but Mrs. Charles Sherman, on
going to the West, found there no church of that denomination, and
accordingly attached herself to the Presbyterian Church, of which her
husband was a member. Later in life she had an opportunity to return to
the Episcopal Church, and remained in its communion until her death,
in 1852. She was a woman of quiet and unobtrusive, but most earnest
piety. In manner she was courtly and affable, and in temper calm and
placid. She had, however, a strong will and great energy. These latter
traits were inherited by her illustrious sons, and indeed it is to her
example, precepts and untiring labors that we must largely attribute
their sterling characters, and the great success which they have
achieved in their widely differing life works.