MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN
By William T. Sherman
VOLUME I.
VOLUME I.
GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN
HIS COMRADES IN ARMS,
VOLUNTEERS AND REGULARS.
Nearly ten years have passed since the close of the civil war inAmerica, and yet no satisfactory history thereof is accessible tothe public; nor should any be attempted until the Government haspublished, and placed within the reach of students, the abundantmaterials that are buried in the War Department at Washington.These are in process of compilation; but, at the rate of progressfor the past ten years, it is probable that a new century will comebefore they are published and circulated, with full indexes toenable the historian to make a judicious selection ofmaterials.
What is now offered is not designed as a history of the war, oreven as a complete account of all the incidents in which the writerbore a part, but merely his recollection of events, corrected by areference to his own memoranda, which may assist the futurehistorian when he comes to describe the whole, and account for themotives and reasons which influenced some of the actors in thegrand drama of war.
I trust a perusal of these pages will prove interesting to thesurvivors, who have manifested so often their intense love of the"cause" which moved a nation to vindicate its own authority; and,equally so, to the rising generation, who therefrom may learn thata country and government such as ours are worth fighting for, anddying for, if need be.
If successful in this, I shall feel amply repaid for departingfrom the usage of military men, who seldom attempt to publish theirown deeds, but rest content with simply contributing by their actsto the honor and glory of their country.
WILLIAM T. SHERMAN,
General
St. Louis, Missouri, January 21, 1875.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
Another ten years have passed since I ventured to publish myMemoirs, and, being once more at leisure, I have revise