William Tecumseh Sherman | |
|---|---|
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| Born | February 8, 1820 Lancaster, Ohio, USA |
| Died | February 14, 1891 New York City, New York, USA |
| Political party | Republican |
William Tecumseh Sherman (February 8, 1920 – February 14, 1891) was a Statesian general who fought against the Confederacy during the Civil War and against native nations after the war.[1]
Early life
Sherman was born to some of the first settlers in the Ohio Valley. Ironically, he was named after the Shawnee leader Tecumseh who was killed by the U.S. Army. Before the civil war, he worked as a lawyer and banker in San Francisco and New York.[1]
Civil War
During the Civil War, Sherman used scorched-earth tactics and destroyed enemy food supplies, particularly in the siege of Atlanta. This form of total war had been common against natives east of the Mississippi. He based his strategy on British colonial campaigns around the world.[1]
Post-Civil War
In 1869, Sherman replaced Ulysses S. Grant as leader of the Army when Grant became President, serving until 1883. After the Sioux, Arapaho, and Cheyenne defeated the Army at the Bozeman Trail, Sherman told grant to exterminate the Sioux regardless of age or gender. He brought George Custer to the West, where he attacked Cheyenne civilians at Washita Creek in Oklahoma.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (2014). An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States: '"Indian Country"' (pp. 144–5). [PDF] Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press. ISBN 9780807000403