To the South he was a barbarian. To the North he was a hero. To historians he was a man who changed the course of American military history and reshaped military strategy.
William Tecumseh Sherman was a man driven by an intense desire to be a successful soldier. Using superior intellect, practical observation, and logical reasoning, he developed his theory of “Total War.” He then put his theories to the ultimate test and emerged victorious in Civil War battles from Shiloh to Savannah.
Sherman: Merchant of Terror, Advocate of Peace is not another biography of the Civil War general. Instead, it analyzes Sherman’s philosophy of war. This investigative book examines the personality of this famous figure and the influences behind his military philosophy, tracing back to his military beginnings at West Point and including his relationship with General Grant and their shared perspective on the goal of war.
A noted Sherman scholar, Dr. Charles Edmund Vetter evaluates Sherman’s place in the full context of military history and explains the sociological impact of the general’s actions and the resulting devastation. Vetter claims that Sherman’s war against the economic, political, and social systems of the South during his March to the Sea were crucial in establishing superiority over the South’s military.
In going beyond the scope of biographical works, Vetter researched Sherman’s personal letters and papers to focus on the psyche of the man, his commitment to his goals, and the effects he had on the world around him. This thorough, accurate, and insightful study of General Sherman brings new light to the military and social history of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.