Sherman And Grant example essay topic

General Shermans Views on Modern War The Civil War was a war of great bloodshed and a war in which brothers fought against brothers and neighbors against neighbors. The war caused many devastating tragedies and affected many people in many different ways, but one man stood out amongst the rest in this civil unrest. This man was General Cup Sherman. General Sherman at the time of his home state of Louisiana's secession from the Union was a proslavery and negro phobic white man who found great disturbance in the fact that the South, which he was so fond of and loved so much, would cause the break up of the nation. He was outraged with the South for this and believed that they must be severely punished for opening the way to such chaos. He had learned to love the South and Louisiana, but he loved the Union more, and because of this chose to use his strong military knowledge to fight along side Ulysses S. Grant for the Union cause of antislavery.

Sherman related extremely well with Grant, they complemented each other. They operated together in perfect harmony. Sherman was the side of the more intelligent and excitable nature, where as Grant held strong qualities of determination and calm stability which linked him and Sherman together so well. Sherman and Grant not only gave help and confidence to each other the brought them together in aid of the Union. Sherman believed that Grant brought a simple faith in success to the Union that enabled himself to act with confidence.

These two war heroes paired together left the Confederacy with only the option the bicker and complain that Grant was a psychotic and bloodthirsty man that wanted no more than to see the complete death of the people he turned his bac on. Shermans reputation among white Southerners was that of a killer, but there are many strong points to support the fact that he wanted no bloodshed but only to see the nation to become a whole again. He was not a psychotic, he was simply a man with a vivid imagination. The point that greatly backs up the fact that General Sherman was not one for bloodshed is in his plans of his march through Georgia.

He did not want to kill the people, but only there spirits and there will to resist. His plan consisted of ruining the Souths will to resist in the way of literally burning all crops, houses, and possessions in his way. This he believed would cause the South to surrender because they would have no reason to fight and this was General Shermans view of what modern war was. In Shermans march through Georgia he left his army in the air and started off without a base to march from Georgia to South Carolina, he had either done one of the most brilliant or one of the most foolish things ever preformed by a military leader. This is what the British had to say about the tactics that Sherman put into play.

Sherman knew what he believed modern war was supposed to be and his reasoning reflected his understanding of this. He knew that in order to win they must fight against the hostile people that stood with the C.S.A. and the had to let the feel the wrath of war for themselves, not in the way of blood but lost spirits and will.