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Story · A CLOSER LOOK

Sherman and the war others underestimated

Autumn 1861

Engraved portrait of William Tecumseh Sherman in military uniform, with his signature beneath, from his memoir.

ABOUT THIS STORY

In his memoir, Sherman recounts explaining that defending Kentucky required tens of thousands of men and a wider offensive required far more. The scale of his estimate alarmed his listeners.

Newspaper reports questioned his sanity during the same period of command strain. In this collection, the episode accompanies Brown’s warning and Lincoln’s later description of a war greater and longer than either side had expected.

Autumn 1861 · Kentucky

How it unfolded.

William Tecumseh Sherman →

  1. Sherman and the war others underestimated

    The commander whose estimates of the coming struggle were treated as evidence against him.

A CLOSER LOOK

The story behind it.

The commander whose estimates of the coming struggle were treated as evidence against him.

Two military requirements

The memoir distinguishes the estimate for holding Kentucky from the estimate for conquering the wider region. That distinction explains the numbers in the dispute.

A reputation nearly broken

Sherman’s 1861 crisis came before Shiloh, Vicksburg, and the campaigns through Georgia. The later public figure had first endured this period of doubt and dismissal.

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FOLLOW THE CONNECTIONS

There’s a thread here.

HOPPER THREAD · 4 CONNECTIONS

Brown, the war, and the price of slavery

Brown’s warning, Sherman’s experience, and Lincoln’s later words form a question I want to explore.

Archival black-and-white portrait of John Brown, clean shaven, wearing a dark coat and high white collar.Black-and-white head-and-shoulders portrait of Abraham Lincoln in suit and bow tie, from the NPS history page.Engraved portrait of William Tecumseh Sherman in military uniform, with his signature beneath, from his memoir.Archival photograph of the crowd and platform at Lincoln’s second inauguration at the U.S. CapitolArchival photograph of the crowd and platform at Lincoln’s second inauguration at the U.S. Capitol

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Sources & credits

Introductions are grounded in the sources below. Collection notes and reading prompts provide an editorial starting point; personal opinions are identified in the collection’s content.

Engraved portrait of William Tecumseh Sherman in military uniform, with his signature beneath, from his memoir.

William T. Sherman · Memoirs · Project Gutenberg

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