The officer told Lincoln that Sherman had threatened to “shoot him like a dog” if he tried it.
Lincoln told told the officer that “Well, if I were you, and he threatened to shoot, I would not trust him, for I believe he would do it.”
It would be nice if we had a few generals today who understood logistics and were prepared to just get it over and then leave.
From his papers Sherman felt that if there wasn’t a formal surrender of Johnston’s army, it would fade into the country side and fight a contracted guerrilla war. Too bad no one figured that out in Iraq.
]]>Sherman’s goal was to end the war in as short a period as necessary, and he did that, basically taking a war that had slogged on for four long years and ending it in a single eight-month campaign — and he did that in such a way that the South never, ever considered running an insurgency against the Federal occupation (though they did run an insurgency of sorts against the Federally-installed local governments). Because they feared that if they actually fired a weapon in the direction of federal soldiers, Sherman would be back… and punish them even worse the second time.
]]>Sherman actually told Joe Johnston about Lincoln’s assassination before he told his troops, because he wanted the war over. What he offered Johnston was what he, Grant, and Lincoln agreed to at their last meeting. He knew what would happen if he requested instructions from Washington on terms.
He convinced Grant to allow him to march through South Carolina, rather than going by sea to Virginia, to ensure that South Carolina felt the effects of the war they started. He got rather pointed in letters to his brother, the Senator, about people who glorify war.
]]>What is especially interesting about Sherman is his attitude towards people who *start* wars. He didn’t like them. How VD-H reconciles that fact with the fact that Dear Leader has started at least one war against someone who was no threat to America (the war in Iraq) will be interesting indeed. George W. Bush brought war to our nation (in Iraq at least). To quote Sherman, …those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. Somehow I doubt that Sherman would love Dubya…
General LeMay, on the other hand… somehow I think VD-H and LeMay would be, like, the bestest of buddies…
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