Volume
29, No. 6 – June 2016
Website:
www.CivilWarRoundTablePalmBeach.org
The President’s Message:
Thank you to those
who have paid their dues.
Someone asked me at our last meeting how other Round Tables function.
Each Round Table operates independently. There is no unifying
national organization. Some
Round Tables have a lunch or dinner meeting and members are charged for
the meal as well as the cost of the speaker. Each local group creates a
structure that works best for them.
Gerridine LaRovere
April 13, 2016 Program:
Josh Liller is the
Historian & Collection Manager at Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum.
He is a passionate historian (particularly military and political
history) with experience as a tour guide, lecturer, and archivist.
Josh has a particular focus on the American Civil War and
lighthouses. His duties
include cataloging, data entry, organization, inventory, research,
lectures and presentations, visitor tours, and generating content for
social media and newsletters. Research includes answering staff and
visitor questions, conducting oral history interviews, and expanding
collection content and knowledge.
May 11, 2016 Program:
 Sherman
at Shiloh
was presented by Robert Schuldenfrei.
This was a study in psychology.
It is not quite what the title suggests.
It is an attempt explain the character traits possessed by
William Tecumseh Sherman from early childhood until the battle of
Shiloh.
It was these
changing traits that made Sherman the first modern general.
One of the most impressive features
of Sherman’s mind is his ability to look at facts on the “ground” and
see the big picture. The
best example of this is a dinner conversation with a faculty members,
David Boyd, of the Louisiana College that had Sherman as president.
As recalled by Boyd, it is worth taking time to listen to
Sherman’s words on
December 24th
1860:
You people of the South don't know
what you are doing. This
country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end.
It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization!
You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're
talking about. War is a terrible thing!
You mistake, too, the people of the North.
They are a peaceable people but an earnest people, and they will
fight, too. They are not going
to let this country be destroyed without a mighty effort to save it…
Besides, where are your men and appliances of war to contend
against them? The North can
make a steam engine, locomotive, or railway car; hardly a yard of cloth
or pair of shoes can you make.
You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful,
ingeniously
mechanical, and determined people on
Earth — right at your doors.
You are bound to fail. Only
in your spirit and determination are you prepared for war.
In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start
with. At first you will make
headway, but as your limited resources begin to fail, shut out from the
markets of Europe as you will be, your cause will begin to wane.
If your people will but stop and think, they must see in the end
that you will surely fail.
William
Tecumseh Sherman, called “Cump,” by his friends and family, was born
into a prominent family. His
father was a member of the Ohio Supreme Court.
Sadly, his father died when Cump was 9.
The family was destitute.
His mother, with 9 of 11 children to raise kept the 3 youngest at
home with her while the oldest 6 were raised by friends.
William went to live in the household of Thomas Ewing.
This was very fortunate as the Ewings were very kind, but still
young William felt, and this is key, abandoned.
This is the first critical mindset that will play a large part in
our story.
While he was at West Point we see another element of his character;
Sherman was very observant.
We know this through the vehicle of his letters home, many of which
survive because Ellen kept them.
For example Cump writes about the physical features of the campus
like the Kosciuszko monument.
He describes himself as a “happy cadet.”
The Army notes that he was creditable, but unremarkable.
He ranked 6th out of a graduating class of 47.
He would have ranked 4th if it were not for his tendency not
to regard “neatness in dress and form” as important.
He concluded that he himself was “not a good soldier.”
In the spring of 1839 Sherman writes home about the possibility
of war with England and/or Canada or at least some trouble with Indians.
He comments that this would be good for the cadets at West Point
as they would get to go into the field and do what they were being
trained to do. Sherman
graduated and was assigned to the 3rd US Artillery stationed in Ft.
Pierce, FL. Although the
Seminole war was still on, and is in fact still on today as there was
never a formal end to that conflict, there was almost no combat.
What Sherman did see was Army life at a station out in the
wilderness.
In 1841 his unit was transferred to
Ft. Moultrie just outside Charleston, SC.
Here we get some insight into Sherman’s feelings about the South.
Over the next 4 years he will mix with all levels of southern
society, but mainly with the elite.
He would conclude that Southerners had steel and determination
under a veneer of charm and hospitality.
During this time Cump kept up his correspondence with Ellen
Ewing. On leave in 1843 he
officially became engaged to her over the objection of her father.
Although Thomas Ewing liked Sherman, he did not want to see his
sickly daughter marry an army officer and endure the rigorous life on
the frontier. Thus, the
engagement dragged on for 7 years.
In April of 1846 the United States
went to war with Mexico.
Although he was not sent to Mexico as part of Taylor’s army, he was
pleased to be ordered to California.
Sherman thought that this would be an important theater of
operations.
Sherman shipped out on
USS Lexington for the long trip around the horn.
The Mexican settlers in California had surrendered to the local Americans so
that when
Lexington arrives the Army will play the role
of occupiers, not fighters.
When gold was discovered Sherman was called in to verify that the
nuggets brought in from Sutter’s Mill were actually gold.
He determined that they were.
It was hoped by many that the discovery could be kept secret, but
this was not to be. This
caused rapid inflation such that Sherman could not live on his Army
salary. The ever resourceful
Sherman hired himself out as a surveyor.
Ellen Ewing made it quite clear, although she wanted to marry him, she did
not look forward to being an army wife.
When he returned from California he asked for and obtained a 7
month leave of absence from the Army.
Thomas Ewing, and Ellen, looked upon this as a good sign that
Cump would leave the Army altogether.
So, on May 1st 1850 he and Ellen tied the knot.
It was a lavish affair with the guest list including President
Zachary Taylor and the Cabinet.
Sherman did not leave the Army after the leave, but by 1853 he
resigned and took a job as a bank manager in San Francisco.
While Ellen like his position as banker, she hated the West Coast
and missed her family.
In 1856 he accepted the position of
commander of the state militia.
He had the rank of Major General, but the State was broke and
could not pay him very much.
Fortunately, he kept his banking job.
This taught him something about character.
First, he was very skilled in multitasking.
Second, he found himself in the middle of political corruption
which made him very reluctant to enter politics or have anything to do
with politicians. And third,
he was in command of volunteers who were almost impossible to command.
The end of the gold rush had caused
banks to fail. Because of
his good management his bank did not, but when it was decided to close
his branch Sherman left to return east.
The Panic of 1857 finished off the
bank so he was out of work.
Cump did the thing he dreaded most; taking a position from his father in
law. As he feared he was
Thomas Ewing errand boy in spite of the fact he headed up a law firm.
In desperation Sherman applied for readmission into the regular
Army. There was no room for
recent West Point graduates let along someone who had resigned.
Another character trait, pride, was both his downfall and support
in these times and in times to come.
David Boyd wrote of him that he was
no scholar, but a man of brilliant and original thought.
On January 26, 1861 Louisiana seceded and Sherman resigned with a
heavy heart. In order to
honorably wrap up his affairs, he stayed on until April.
In formation, he bid goodbye to the staff and the cadets.
He was choked with emotion in delivering his farewell speech.
It was clear that William Tecumseh Sherman had a deep love and
understanding for the people of the South.
 As proof of his loyalty to the
Union, Cump left the South.
But it was more a loyalty to a cause rather than to men.
His Senator brother John invited him to Washington and set up a
meeting with the President in hopes that he could persuade him to enter
the government. His meeting
with Lincoln went rather poorly.
The President was not interested in the views of the South for
which Sherman was an expert.
Sherman was shocked at how casual the North was treating secession.
And even in John he saw just another politician.
This view of that profession would stay with him for life.
As the clouds of war enveloped the
nation that April, job offers came in.
The first were civilian government positions.
Sherman refused these.
Then Ft. Sumter happened and more positions in the War Department
opened up. John suggested he
go back to Ohio and raise a regiment of volunteers, Sherman’s mind was
dead set against volunteers.
In his letters home you see his mind at work.
The war would be fought, he said, for Union
and Slavery. He believed that it
should be fought over the former and not over the latter.
If slavery was the issue the South would fight to the last man he
reasoned. On May 8th he swallowed his pride and wrote
Secretary Cameron asking, really begging, for a position.
The War Department offered him either a regular army commission
as a colonel or as a major general of volunteers.
He chose being a colonel and was given command of the 13th US Infantry.
This clearly demonstrates how his mind was working.
When Sherman reported into Washington he met with General Winfield Scott.
He wanted to leave immediately, but Scott had other ideas.
Sherman was to serve as the Army’s inspector general.
Although it was not what he wanted, the job gave him the ability
to travel all around the eastern theater of operations and see for
himself the “big picture.”
And what he saw was the folly of most of Washington, except for Scott,
in believing in a short war.
“On to Richmond” was in vogue.
At the last moment Sherman was placed in command of a brigade in
McDowell’s army. He summed
up the situation: “We had good organization and good men, but no
cohesion, no discipline, no respect for authority, and no real knowledge
of war.” On the morning of
July 21, 1861 Sherman deployed his men on the north bank of Bull Run.
A small incident occurred which, once again, gives you insight
into his thinking. A rebel
officer on horseback crossed Bull Run and came up on the Yankee
positions, just out of musket range.
There he proceeded to shout curses and insults at Sherman’s men.
Cump’s sharp eye followed him carefully and noted the ford that
the hot-headed officer used to cross the stream.
At 2:00 PM Sherman’s unit was ordered to advance, so he marched
his men to the remembered ford and got the brigade across in short
order.
The advance went well, but when they
were close to the fighting the terrain was rough so the regiments had to
be sent forward one at a time.
This piecemeal commitment of troops meant they were each chewed
up in turn. Finally, the men
decided on their own that they had had enough.
Despite their commander’s urgings to stay each unit began making
its way slowly and deliberately to the rear.
Therefore Sherman wisely guided them back to the ford and safely
made it across. Unlike many
other units he kept his brigade in reasonably good order despite heavy
losses.
Sherman had
kept his head, while many around him had lost theirs.
In fact, on the way back he formed his brigade into strong
defensive positions for the follow up attack he thought was coming.
It never did. But the
actions at Manassas caused him to sink into a “black depression.”
Never mind that he had predicted poor results and that he
performed very well, defeat weighed heavily on his psyche.
He could never choose to lead volunteers nor would he have much
faith in them.
During his depression Sherman expected to be cashiered, as did a number of
Union officers. Much to his
surprise he received a promotion to Brigadier General.
He was ordered that summer to serve under Robert Anderson, late
of Ft. Sumter. Before
leaving Anderson and his four assistants, Sherman, Thomas, Buell and
Burnsides met with President Lincoln.
Sherman had one request; to serve only in a subordinate capacity
and not in high command.
This gives us insights to his mind and his personal assessment of his
own strengths and weaknesses.
Anderson was ordered to keep Kentucky in the Union and told to control 300
miles of front with only 18,000 men.
Still reeling from Sumter, Anderson request to be relieved of
command. Much to Sherman’s
horror, he was made commanding general.
He was by nature tense and nervous and this put him over the top.
The enemy was led by the much feared Albert Sidney Johnston so
our boy complained to everyone that he did not have the force to
populate a command he did not want.
In a conference with Secretary of War Cameron he was asked how
many men would he need. He
exclaimed that just to hold the state he would need 60,000.
Cameron was shocked and this was reported to the press as an
“insane” request. From this
newspapers reported that Sherman WAS insane.
This was the source of his “madness,” and also the beginnings of
his opinion of the press.
Cump was fortunate that his career did not end there.
Halleck, his friend, gave him an assignment to be an inspector
general in Missouri. But the
Black Depression did not improve, but got worse.
In February he was assigned to command a support unit.
The unit was to support Grant on his advance on what was to
become the battles of forts Henry and Donelson.
It is interesting to note that at the time Sherman had rank on Grant.
Further, Grant had out run his supplies in moving on to Donelson.
Sherman was ordered by Halleck to help Grant and, because of his
rank, could have made the command difficult.
This Sherman did not do.
He was very deferential.
With every boat that came up with supplies he included a note of
encouragement. Grant never
forgot this and thus a pattern for the future was established.
We should note what this means for our study of Sherman’s mind.
At this point we are ready to put it
all together. Here are the
character traits that I believe explain his action during the battle of
Shiloh and during the rest of his military career.
In no particular order, we have discussed
these topics. Although he will
have a serious lapse in the upcoming battle, Sherman was an objective
observer of things as they are.
He never really got over the feeling of abandonment and poverty
of his childhood. He was
both smart and flexible while being guided by an internal “compass.”
Sherman was both likeable and somewhat prideful and this led him
to be an excellent manager of men.
In both business and battle he was cool under pressure and
learned from his mistakes.
Sherman was resourceful and always played the “hand he was dealt.”
And finally, he was loyal to superiors above him and subordinates
below him.
Like so many battles in so many wars, the battle of Shiloh was never
supposed to take place. It
was Halleck’s plan to combine Grant and Buell’s forces into one large
army led by Halleck. With
Anderson out of the picture, Sherman now finds himself leading the 5th Division and ready to move by river
starting from Paducah.
Halleck understands logistics far better than any other commander in the
west needs to cut Rebel supplies from the east to Corinth, MS.
Sherman is given the independent mission to destroy the Memphis &
Charleston Railroad.
Starting on March 6th they load transports and steamed
south, up-river, to accomplish the mission.
Along the way, the ever observant Sherman, notes Pittsburg
Landing where some of Hurlbut’s division is already based.
Continuing south the expedition meets with rain and floods so
severe as to endanger the naval vessels upon which it depends.
He makes the decision to withdraw and disembarks his troop at
Pittsburg Landing. This is
excellent grounds for doing what Sherman needs to do; train his green
troops. Grant concurs with
this decision and sends all but one of his divisions there to wait for
Buell’s men and Halleck to take command.
None of the Union commanders considered it necessary to construct
defensive positions because all was quiet and the South had been
retreating after a string of defeats.
Sadly for the North, the Rebels were thinking something else.
Although the brilliant and aggressive Johnston was saddled with
Beauregard, plans were being made to strike Grant where he was least
Buell could join him with overwhelming strength.
Now began a series of encounters that should have warned the
North that the Rebels meant to attack them and not wait to be attacked
in Corinth. The first
occurred on April 1st when Cheatham stumbled into Lew
Wallace’s division. Cheatham
was well out in front of the main body of Rebel troops due to the
horrible logistical mess in the move up from Corinth.
On the 3rd cavalry was spotted.
On April 4th one of Sherman’s units reported it
had seen a sizable enemy force.
Later that same day more Southern cavalry was spotted.
Prisoners were captured who stated that they were part of a
“grand army.”
Since most of these actions were reported to Sherman, let’s look at what
developed and how Cump’s traits worked against him.
Sherman and Prentiss divisions are way out in front of the
encampment and closest to the Rebels.
His keen sense of observation sees
nothing. His division is made up of
raw recruits and his brigade commanders are green.
His inner directed mind suggests that he knows what is going on
while he sees others as timid and childlike.
From his feeling of abandonment Cump has come to learn he must
depend on his own judgement.
Thus, when the report comes in of a “sizable enemy force” he tells
Hildebrand, one of his brigade commanders who rode out and saw the
enemy, that the Rebs are a “reconnoitering party.”
Later that day Sherman orders infantry and cavalry units out to scout
which does suggest resourcefulness and cool under pressure.
However, when the brigade commander, Buckland, reports contact
with the enemy, Cump orders him to take your units back to camp and he
will deal with Buckland “later.”
The first shots came in on the afternoon of Saturday, April 5th.
This was not the real attack, which would happen the next day,
but a serious little fight which was to play on Sherman’s psyche.
All afternoon reports of sightings came into his headquarters
near Shiloh Church. This
caused him some irritation.
31 year old Jesse Appler of the 53rd Ohio, in Buckland’s command, got
reports of butternut clad troops to his front.
Appler commanded the “long roll” and sent word to Sherman that
the enemy was to his front.
Appler heard from his courier that the division commander wants him to:
“Take your damned regiment back to Ohio.
There is no enemy closer than Corinth.”
Sherman’s behavior may have stemmed from being labeled “insane.”
To have appeared to be shaken and alarmed would have invited more
criticism. In presenting a
posture of confidence he overlooked legitimate cause for concern.
At this point we see the character traits working against him.
Early the next morning the battle began.
The traits will now work in his favor.
At 6:30 AM on Sunday the Confederates hit Sherman full force where his
division met Prentiss’ division.
Although this was the real thing, the attacking troops were as
inexperienced as the defenders so the advance was not coordinated.
As they hit the aforementioned Jesse Appler was heard to say:
“This is no place for us” and “Retreat, and save yourselves!”
All was chaos along Sherman’s front.
At 7:00 AM he rode to Rea’s Field where he realized how wrong he
had been as he exclaimed: “We are attacked!”
Shots rang out. His
orderly fell dead and Sherman was shot in the hand.
At this point a wounded commander might have retreated or at
least gone to a field hospital.
Cump made his stand with the troops that had not “skedaddled.”
Of the traits we have listed these
were on display that fateful morning: objective observer, smart,
flexible, inner directed, prideful, manager of men, cool under pressure,
learns from errors, and resourceful.
This was not the turning point in the battle, but it was the
turning point in his mind.
He kept in close communication with his brigade commanders, winning some
fights, losing others. As at
Bull Run, his front continued to resist in spite of the panic which
plagued a sizable group of his division.
The battle ebbed and flowed around Rea’s Field.
Some of his units stood up to the onslaught in fine fashion like
the CPT Allen Waterhouse’s artillery.
But the weight of the Rebel attack was too much so that by 10:00 Sherman
know he could not hold the line. His division was being pushed back from
south to north and from west to east.
But, the move back was causing the Confederates to have to commit
more troops in this area and not the planned push towards the river.
This four hour effort paid big dividends for Grant who had landed
and rode out to confer with Sherman first.
Grant was pleased with his division commander and did not stay
long. They made plans to
form a new line to the north and east along the Hamburg – Savannah Road
also called the River Road.
The resourceful Sherman did not just retreat, but made a counter attack
along the Pittsburg – Corinth Road.
The reinforced Rebel troops made holding that line impossible, but by 4:00
PM Sherman’s division was safely behind the new line on the River Road.
Although beaten it was a strong defensive position with Mulberry
field to its front and to the west of that lies the ravine of Tilghman
Creek.
Earlier, Sherman had called for artillery support for this defensive
position. At about 3:30 PM
various cannon units arrived and set up shop.
Many of these were armed with the highly effective 20# Parrott
rifles. The Rebs brought up
Ketchum Alabama battery and the “Great Artillery Duel” was fought.
After a while the South tried a frontal assault which never stood
a chance.
As the battle shifted to the famous “Hornet’s Nest” Sherman had stabilized
Grant’s line. At the end of
day one he has learned from his errors, kept cool under pressure, and
demonstrated his flexibility.
With Lew Wallace’s division and Buell’s army on the way, things
would be very different the next day.
About midnight Sherman went to meet with Grant that concluded
with the famous exchange: “Well, Grant, we’ve had the devil’s own day,
haven’t we?” Grant replied: “Yes. Lick ’em tomorrow, though.”
Sherman is both likeable and loyal and that will serve him well
in the immediate future and down the months and years to follow.
Before the sun comes up on April 7th, the Confederates are expecting an
easy “mop up” operation.
However, it is now the Rebs who are surprised.
Buell, who had crossed the river during the night, opened up on
the Union left by the river.
In Sherman’s sector Beauregard’s troops moved forward into Jones’ Field
to face Sherman and the fresh troops under Lew Wallace.
Grant, sensing Rebel weakness, orders Wallace and Sherman to move
forward into the fray. At
first they were successful, but later on that morning the Confederates
stiffened and started to turn the tide back again.
A small note about the aforementioned Jesse Appler and the Ohio
53rd.
His unit is now attached to McClernand and true to form it broke
and ran. So disgusted was
McClernand at their “disgraceful and cowardly” conduct that he ordered
the whole unit from the field.
Sherman’s cool once again contributed staving off the panic that
might have prevailed at 1:30 PM.
 Some of Buell’s units came to support and the Rebel threat was squashed.
By an hour later Beauregard had thrown in the last of his
reserves and by 3:00 PM it was all over for the South.
Sherman did not play a big role during the late morning and early
afternoon. This should come
as no surprise as his 8,000 man division had been reduced to 2,500
effectives by the 4,000 who had fled and the rest who had been killed or
wounded.
Historian continue to argue as to what would have happened if Grant and/or
Buell had given a vigorous pursuit.
Time does not permit going into that here.
It suffices to say that a perfunctory pursuit was conducted by
Sherman on the April 8th.
He sent out a couple of small contingents that were easily driven
off by the Rebel rear guard.
Later on he sent a brigade sized unit out that ran into a small force of
Confederate cavalry under the command of Nathan Bedford Forrest.
The resourceful Forrest ambushed the much larger Union force and
got them along with Sherman to flee back to their own lines.
Almost immediately after the battle the blame game began.
It was clearly a Northern victory, but the “butcher’s bill” was
so high that someone had to pay the price.
Sherman was spared from being a target due in no small part for
being a friend of Halleck.
Halleck was jealous of Grant and believed this was his chance to scuttle
Grant’s ship. Sherman was
promoted to Major General, but his loyalty and honesty caused him to
speak out when he could have remained silent.
Cump publically spoke out against politicians and army officers
who found fault with Grant.
And Grant had one politician whose vote counted the most; the President.
Grant never forgot who stood with him after Shiloh.
This relationship would last the whole war through and in the
post war years.
There is but one last story to tell.
On a cold and windy day in mid-February 1891, an elaborate
funeral was held in New York City for General of the Army William
Tecumseh Sherman. All the
important people were there: Among them were President Benjamin
Harrison, former presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and Grover Cleveland,
and thirty thousand troops, including the entire corps of cadets from
West Point. One of the
honorary pallbearers, present, at Sherman's previous request, was an
unlikely member: Joseph Eggleston Johnston, a onetime general of the
Confederate States of America and Sherman's fierce antagonist.
The two men, with a fourteen-year difference in their ages, had
fought hard against each other during the Civil War, but in later years
they had developed a warm friendship, working together to repair the
Union that had been rent asunder between the years 1861 and 1865.
Johnston's friends were worried about him, for despite the icy
winds, his eighty-four years of age, and frail health, he insisted on
remaining bareheaded throughout the ceremony.
Johnston would have none of his friends' protests.
If I were in Sherman's place, and he were standing in mine, he
would not put on his hat."
Last changed: 06/02/16
Home
About News
Newsletters
Calendar
Memories
Links Join
|
