William Tecumseh Sherman

Named after Tecumseh, a famous Shawnee leader, William Tecumseh Sherman was raised by a foster family following his father’s death. At military school, he was a good student but a mediocre soldier, and after graduation, he became frustrated with his chosen career. Sherman quit the military to become a partner at a bank in San Francisco and then became president of a military college in Louisiana. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he volunteered his services, eventually fighting under General Ulysses S. Grant. Made supreme commander of the armies in the West, Sherman’s abilities began to shine through. Despite declaring ‘War Is Hell’, his March to the Sea campaign through Georgia was an integral reason for the surrender of the Confederate armies in 1865. After the Civil War, Sherman was promoted to the rank of full general of the entire U.S. Army. He published his memoirs in 1875 and retired in 1883.