Francis Trowbridge Sherman (1825–1905) was a Union general during the American Civil War. He served in the cavalry and infantry, seeing action in both the Western Theater and Eastern Theater.

Biography

Early life

Sherman was born in Connecticut in 1825 but his family moved to Illinois in 1834 where his father,

Francis Cornwall Sherman Francis Cornwall Sherman (September 18, 1805November 7, 1870) served as Mayor of Chicago, Illinois, for three terms (1841–1842, 1862–1865) as a member of the Democratic Party. Early life Sherman was born September 18, 1805, in Newtown, Co ...

became heavily involved in Chicago politics serving as

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

and mayor of the city and as a state representative. Francis T. Sherman traveled to West to participate in the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

before returning to Illinois.

Civil War service

Early in the Civil War began, Sherman served as lieutenant colonel of the 56th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

of the 12th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry without seeing any significant action. On September 4, 1862 he was appointed

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the 88th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment (a.k.a. 2nd Board of Trade Regiment).Civil War Archive
/ref> Sherman led his regiment at the battles of Perryville and

Stones River The Stones River (properly spelled Stone's River) is a major stream of the eastern portion of Tennessee's Nashville Basin region and a tributary of the Cumberland River. It is named after explorer and longhunter Uriah Stone, who navigated the r ...

. He was not with the army during the

battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 18–20, 1863, between the United States Army and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a U.S. Army offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southe ...

but took command of a brigade shortly after the battle. His brigade became the 1st Brigade in

Philip H. Sheridan Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the n ...

's 2nd Division of the newly formed

IV Corps 4 Corps, 4th Corps, Fourth Corps, or IV Corps may refer to: France * 4th Army Corps (France) * IV Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * IV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperi ...

. Sherman was one of the brigade commanders that made the charge up Missionary Ridge during the battle of Chattanooga. He continued leading his brigade during the early part of the Atlanta Campaign at

Rocky Face Ridge The Battle of Rocky Face Ridge was fought May 7–13, 1864, in Whitfield County, Georgia, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union army was led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and the Confederate army by Gen ...

and Resaca before he was appointed as the

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

to the IV Corps. He served in that capacity during the rest of the campaign until he was captured outside Atlanta on July 7, 1864. He was officially exchanged on October 7, 1864 and was assigned to the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

as the assistant inspector general of the Cavalry CorpsEicher p.484 during the Appomattox Campaign. Sherman was brevetted to brigadier general on March 13, 1865 and received a full promotion to brigadier general of volunteers on July 21, 1865. He was mustered out of the volunteer services on January 15, 1866.

Later life

Following the war General Sherman embarked on a series of business ventures starting with managing a sugar plantation in Louisiana for a year before returning to Chicago. Back in Chicago he worked as the postmaster of Chicago for two years before starting a stone and sand manufacturing company called Sherman, Haley & Company. The business was ruined in 1871 by the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...

which forced Sherman to seek business ventures elsewhere in the U.S. before he settled in Waukegan, Illinois where he died in 1905. He was buried at

Graceland Cemetery Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Irving Park R ...

in Chicago.

References

External links

Francis Trowbridge Sherman Papers
at

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