Thomas West Sherman (March 26, 1813 – December 31, 1879) was a United States Army officer with service during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. While some contemporaries mistakenly identified him as the brother of the more famous General

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

, modern scholarship notes that the two were not closely related.

Early career

Sherman, known to his friends as "Tim", was born in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, the son of Elijah and Martha (West) Sherman. His desire to attend the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

was so strong that he walked from Newport to Washington, D.C. to secure a Congressional appointment. Sherman graduated from West Point on July 1, 1836 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Artillery Regiment. Sherman would serve the bulk of his career with the 3rd Artillery and eventually became its commander. His early career included service in the Florida Wars against the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

s from 1836‑38 and in the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

in 1838 while transferring the Native Americans to the West. He was promoted to first lieutenant on March 14, 1838. He served again in the Florida War from 1838 to 1842 and on recruiting service in 1842. He served at

Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of Cabbage Pal ...

, South Carolina from 1842 to 1844 and was again on recruiting service from 1844 to 1846. He was promoted to captain on May 28, 1846.

Mexican–American War

During the War with Mexico he took a distinguished part in the

Battle of Buena Vista The Battle of Buena Vista (February 22–23, 1847), known as the Battle of La Angostura in Mexico, and sometimes as Battle of Buena Vista/La Angostura, was a battle of the Mexican–American War. It was fought between U.S. forces, largely vol ...

on February 23, 1847, leading his battery in a defensive action helping to stop the Mexican attack, and was brevetted to major "for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct" during the battle. He was assigned to Fort Trumbull in New London, Connecticut in 1848 and then to

Fort Adams Fort Adams is a former United States Army post in Newport, Rhode Island, Newport, Rhode Island, that was established on July 4, 1799, as a Seacoast defense in the United States#First System, First System Coastal defence and fortification, coas ...

in Newport from 1849 to 1853. He was then on frontier duty at Fort Snelling, Minnesota from 1853 to 1857 and was in command of expedition to Yellow Medicine, Minnesota in 1857. He was involved in quelling the Kansas Border Disturbances in 1857 to 1858 and the Artillery School for Practice at Fort Ridgely, Minnesota from 1858 to 1861, except while in command of the expedition to Kettle Lake, Dakota in 1859.

Family

In 1858, Sherman married Mary Hannah Shannon, the daughter of Wilson Shannon, who had served as

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

and Governor of Kansas Territory. They were the parents of a son, Wilson Shannon Sherman (1860–1936). Mary Shannon Sherman died from surgical complications just four days before her husband's death. News stories in 1910 indicated that Wilson Sherman had not been heard from since the early 1890s, and that attorneys and police in Washington, DC and Newport were attempting to locate him. The effort to locate Wilson Sherman was undertaken because he was the only heir to his parents' estate, a large part of which had been held for him since their deaths. By the time of his death in 1936, he was living at the Masonic Home in Charlton, Massachusetts.

Civil War

At the start of the Civil War, Sherman was serving as a major in the 3rd Artillery when

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

appointed him to the grade of brigadier general of volunteers on August 6, 1861, to rank from May 17, 1861.Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 728. Sherman's nomination to the grade of brigadier general of volunteers was sent by

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on July 31, 1861 and the Senate confirmed the appointment on August 3, 1861. He assumed command of the ground forces in the Port Royal Expedition. Sherman and the naval force under Flag Officer Samuel F. du Pont captured Port Royal in a combined Army/Navy operation. After briefly commanding the Department of the South, Sherman was sent to the Western Theater. He took command of Major General George H. Thomas's division during the

Siege of Corinth The siege of Corinth, also known as the first battle of Corinth, was an American Civil War engagement lasting from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. A collection of Union forces under the overall command of Major General Henry H ...

when the latter assumed command of the right wing of Major General Henry W. Halleck's army group. After that he commanded the Defenses of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

before taking command of a division in Major General

Nathaniel P. Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union Army, Union general during the American Civil War, Civil War. A millworker, Banks became prominent in local ...

's army, which he led into action at the

Siege of Port Hudson The siege of Port Hudson (May 22 – July 9, 1863) was the final engagement in the Union (American Civil War), Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. While Union General Ulysses S. Grant, Ulysses Grant was S ...

. During the May 27, 1863 attack on Port Hudson, Sherman was severely wounded, which led to the amputation of his right leg. His injuries were so severe that he was not expected to live, and the newspaper in his hometown of

, printed an extensive obituary for him. For the rest of the war he held administrative commands in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Sherman was mustered out of the volunteers on April 30, 1866. In recognition of his heroism and services,

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

nominated Sherman for appointment to the grade of brevet major general of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865 and the

confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866. On June 30, 1866, President Johnson nominated Sherman to be appointed to the rank of brevet major general of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

(i.e.

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

), to rank from March 13, 1865, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on July 25, 1866.

Post war

On February 5, 1868, Sherman was elected as a First Class Companion of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

and was assigned insignia number 643. He was also, most probably, a member of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

. After Sherman was mustered out of volunteer service on April 30, 1866, he reverted to his Regular Army grade of colonel and was placed in command of the 3rd Artillery Regiment. He served in command of his regiment and the post of

, in Newport from July 29, 1866, to February 1869. He was in temporary command of the Department of the East from January to July 16, 1868. His final assignment was in command of his regiment and Fort Taylor in Key West, Florida from February 1869 to November 29, 1870. Sherman retired from active service on December 31, 1870, as a major-general for "Disability caused by the Loss of a Leg in Battle". Sherman lived at his home named "Twin Beeches" on Catherine Street in Newport until he died there on March 16, 1879, at the age of 66. He is buried in the Island Cemetery in Newport.

Legacy

In 2017, Major General Thomas West Sherman Camp 1 was chartered by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW). Camp 1 serves as the local chapter of the SUVCW in

Newport County, Rhode Island Newport County is one of five counties located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,643. It is also one of the seven regions of Rhode Island. The county was created in 1703. Like all of the counties i ...

Dates of rank

* Cadet, United States Military Academy – 1 July 1832 * 2nd Lieutenant, 3rd Artillery – 1 July 1836 * 1st Lieutenant, 3rd Artillery – 14 March 1838 * Captain, 3rd Artillery – 28 May 1846 * Brevet Major – 23 February 1847 * Major, 3rd Artillery – 27 April 1861 * Lieutenant Colonel, 5th Artillery – 14 May 1861 * Brigadier General, Volunteers – 17 May 1861 * Colonel, 3rd Artillery – 1 June 1863 * Brevet Brigadier General, USA – 13 March 1865 * Brevet Major General, Volunteers – 13 March 1865 * Brevet Major General, USA – 13 March 1865 * Mustered out of Volunteers – 30 April 1866 * Retired with rank of Major General, USA – 31 December 1870 ''Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1789–1903''. Francis B. Heitman. Vol. 1. pg. 882.

References

External links

Cullum's Register of USMA Graduates
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherman, Thomas W. Military personnel from Newport, Rhode Island Union army generals United States Military Academy alumni 1813 births 1879 deaths People of Rhode Island in the American Civil War American military personnel of the Mexican–American War