Category Archives: Army of the Potomac

William Tecumseh Sherman Facts

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War is Hell…

Facts and Notes About General William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

  • William Tecumseh Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio on February 8, 1820. Sherman’s middle name of “Tecumseh” was given to him at birth. The name “Tecumseh” was from a great Shawnee Indian leader and warrior who had almost defeated the United States Army.
  • Sherman graduated sixth in his class of 1840 at West Point. He was highly intelligent, aggressive, and had a good imagination. These characteristics would help to make Sherman one of the great Union generals of the Civil War.
  • When the Civil War broke out, Sherman was the superintendent of a military academy in Louisiana called the Alexandria Military Institute. This military academy would become the foundation of Louisiana State University.* Sherman was a West Point graduate, age 41, and a civilian when the Civil War started. He volunteered for service. Sherman took command of a brigade and led it at the Battle of First Bull Run. Sherman was lean, grizzled, and had red hair, he did not much care about his personal appearance.
  • The Battle of Shiloh was fought on April 6, and 7, 1862. On the first day of battle, troops led by General Sherman came under heavy fire. Despite efforts by Sherman to rally the men, the Union troops (who were new to battle) fled to the rear. That evening, Confederates were camped on ground that in the morning had belonged to Union troops. Confederate General Beauregard spent the night sleeping in Sherman’s bed. The next day, April 7, Grant renewed the fight and pushed the Rebel troops back to their original attack position. The Billy Yanks had their camp again. Perhaps on the night of April 7, General Sherman got his bed back from General Beauregard.
  • Benjamin Harrison was from Ohio and saw action in the Western Theater during the Civil War. He served in Sherman’s Army during the March to the Sea. In 1888, he became president of the United States of America.
  • On May 4, 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman begins his march to Atlanta, Georgia. His army numbered 110,000 men. Sherman’s March to the Sea will make history, and make him hated in the South.
  • In 1864, when Sherman was making his way through the South, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston won a victory at Kennesaw Mountain. At the end of the Civil War, Johnston was in command in the Carolinas. Johnson staged a defensive campaign after Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865. Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston finally surrendered to General Sherman at Durham Station, North Carolina on April 26, 1865. After the war, Sherman and Johnston became friends.
  • William Tecumseh Sherman died of pneumonia in New York City on February 14, 1891. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnston (Sherman’s old Confederate adversary) had reconciled in the years since the Civil War. Johnston served as an honorary pall bearer at Sherman’s funeral on a rainy and cold day. During the funeral, Johnston removed his hat in the cold rain as other mourners did the same. He was urged to put the hat back on so he would avoid the wet and cold. Johnston said: “If I were in his place and he standing here in mine he would not put on his hat.” Former Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston developed pneumonia from the rain and cold at Sherman’s funeral. Johnston died only a few weeks later.
  • In Washington, D.C., there is a small park at Fifteenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. At this park there is a statue of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. This statue is forty-three feet high and depicts Sherman on a horse during a march. On the granite base of this statue is a Sherman quote in which he states his idea of what the purpose of war is: “War’s Legitimate Object Is More Perfect Peace.”

My book 501 Civil War Quotes and Notes features quotes made before, during, and after the Civil War. Each quote has an informative note to explain the circumstances and background of the quote. Learn Civil War history from the spoken words and writings of the military commanders, political leaders, the Billy Yanks and Johnny Rebs who fought in the battles, the abolitionists who strove for the freedom of the slaves, the descriptions of battles, and the citizens who suffered at home. Their voices tell us the who, what, where, when, and why of the Civil War. Available as a Kindle device e-book or as a paperback. Get 501 Civil War Quotes and Notes now!

Hardtack Recipe

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The diet of soldiers fighting in the Civil War was most likely high in calories, but low in vitamins. Fresh fruits and vegetables were hard to come by when an army was on the march. Constant rations of salt beef, beans, coffee, and hardtack could jeopardize a soldier’s health. Both Yankee and Rebel soldiers would often forage the countryside for fresh vegetables and fruit to round-out their diets.

Civil War hardtack from 1862.

Civil War hardtack from 1862.

Salt beef (also called salt horse) was a standard army ration during the Civil War. It was pickled beef preserved in very strong salt brine. The soldiers had to soak the salt beef in water to get rid of the salty brine before they could cook and eat it. The pickling process would often fail and moldy, rancid, salt beef was common.Hardtack was a typical item in the diet of both Billy Yanks and Johnny Rebs. Hardtack was a quarter-inch thick square of baked unleavened flour. The soldiers often joked about hardtack. One joke the soldiers told was that the only protein in their diet came from the worms found in the hardtack.

Recipe For Hardtack

Here is a recipe for that common Civil War food, hardtack. This is only one of many hardtack recipes to be found.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of flour
  • 2/3 cup of shortening
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 1 cup of water

Instructions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Combine flour and salt, begin mixing in shortening a little at a time. Use the mixer on medium setting. Add more water or salt as needed, to obtain a similar consistency to Playdough.
  3. Roll the Hardtack dough into a thickness of about 1/2 inch.
  4. Cut dough into squares of 3 inches by 3 inches by 1/2 inch.
  5. Poke 16 holes into each biscuit. An old ballpoint pen might work best.
  6. Put biscuits on a non-greased cookie sheet and bake in the pre-heated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20 to 25 minutes per side.

If the biscuits come out soft, don’t worry… they will become hard in a day or two!