Was Sherman a hero?

Question

I'll need to send this one to a vote since I'm no authority on the subject.
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Answer 1

Depends on what you call a hero. Did he assist in ending the war in as quick a manner as possible. Yes. Was this a good thing in the long run. Yes. Did he spread death and destruction in the process of doing this - Yes again. But as the man said - War is hell, you can not refine it.
An effective military leader - yes
A hero - no

Answer 2

To the North he was. His news to the North was electrifying when he reported, "Atlanta is ours and fairly won!" His tactics are still studied today. His was a war of movement during a time that the other fronts saw seige or frontal assault warfare that would become so commonplace in WW I.

Though probably anathema in the South, there is a five verse song called Marching Through Georgia. If you can read the lyrics and keep an open mind, to view the deeds of the song through the eyes of those reporting the events for the Union, I think you would say he is a hero.

Answer 3

OldHippy has it about right. Sherman's principal opponent, Joe Johnston certainly thought so. Sherman was for a hard war, but a soft peace. When Johnston surrendered the army of Tennessee in 1865 Sherman's terms were so generous that Washington forced him to go back and make harder terms. I think that by burning farms and supplies he actually saved Southern lives by making it too difficult for the Confederate Army to remain in the field.

Answer 4

He did what you have to do in a war. He broke the enemy's stuff and killed them. That in turn broke the spirit of the enemy. You cannot fight a war and be nice at the same time expect to win. Do I think Sherman was a hero of course. I think anyone in the military is a hero. They are laying down their life for the greatest country in the history of the world.

Answer 5

The thing is you have to look at General William Tecumseh Sherman in the context of his time. Now many of his tactics today such as marching captured enemy soldiers through minefields to clear them and allowing his men to loot and pillage would get him convicted of war crimes but in the 1860s that is how wars were fought. Your job was to kill and terrify the enemy to make them sue for peace. And Sherman's goals were no different. he wanted to end the Civil war as quickly as possible and realized to do this he would need to destroy The South's ability to wage war by cutting off their food supply by looting and destroying farms as well devestating key towns such as Atlanta.


Some of the Confederacy's Officers employed total war policy as well. Men such as Captain William (Bloody Bill) Anderson. Anderson was renowned for his guerilla warfare tactics of raiding Union camps and massacreing Union troops. His men would also pillage and rob Union towns and murder and rape many of the townspeople. Two of Anderson's soldiers would go on to become some of the old west's most famous outlaws. They were Jesse and Frank James.

Captain "Bloody Bill" Anderson and General William Tecumseh Sherman were a mixed bag. To those who stood with them they were heroes to their enemies they were terrorists and war criminals. It all depended on which side you fought for.

Answer 6

I wouldn't say a hero, but he definitely embraced Sun Tzu's teachings in that he brought an Army into enemy territory....their only means to survive was to win!! While creating fear and desertion among the enemies ranks.

War sucks, but you gotta do what you gotta do!

Answer 7

That's for the poets and historians to decide while sitting in their comfy leather chairs or debating over a double-latte.

He was a soldier.

Answer 8

he was a war criminal - he took the war to the civilian population of the south burning all the farms through georgia and south carolina -

Answer 9

He sure was responsible for a lot of deaths so I think he was an anti-hero.

Answer 10

No.Sherman was not a good General..his tactics were sub-standard and today he would be tried for war crimes.