William Tecumseh Sherman
Sherman was born in Ohio in 1820. He graduated from West Point and served in the Mexican War.
The Union army consisted of approximately 2.2 million men. They ranged in age from eighteen to forty-six, the average age being in the midtwenties. The majority had been farmers, and very few had any previous military experience. The average Union soldier was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 145 pounds. About 75 percent were born in the United States, and nearly all were volunteers.
Sherman's affection for the South didn't stop him from rejecting a commission in the Confederate army when the Civil War broke. A Unionist, he joined the Federal army and was appointed a colonel in the infantry. Sherman saw combat in the first Manassas campaign in July 1861. A month later, he was promoted to brigadier general and assigned to Kentucky. In October, Sherman was made commander of the Department of the Cumberland, but he found himself in constant fights with his commanding officers and the press. After he was accused of being unstable, Sherman's command was severely restricted and he even contemplated suicide. However, he was able to overcome his depression and was given a new chance as commander of the Fifth Division, Army of the Tennessee, in March 1862.
Sherman participated in the Battle of Shiloh, during which he was wounded and had three horses shot out from under him. Some newspapers criticized Sherman's command in this battle, but General Grant and General Halleck had only praise for Sherman's bravery and quick thinking. From that time forward, Grant and Sherman became a remarkable team, pressing their commands through some of the hardest fighting of the war until the North finally prevailed.
Ely Parker, a full-blooded Seneca, was the highest ranking Native American officer in the Union army. Grant made Parker his military secretary with a rank of lieutenant colonel. He suffered prejudice during the war but was with Grant when Lee surrendered. Upon learning that Parker was a Seneca, Lee is reported to have remarked, “I am glad to see one real American here.” Parker replied, “We are all Americans.”
