“Goodbye” William Tecumseh Sherman – Died 14 February 1891

William Tecumseh Sherman (February 8, 1820 – February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–65), for which he received recognition for his military strategy. He did however come in for criticism for  the “scorched earth” policies that he implemented during the war against the Confederate States

He served under General Ulysses S. Grant in 1862 and 1863 and in 1864, Sherman succeeded Grant as the Union commander in the western area of the war. He proceeded to lead his troops to the capture of the city of Atlanta and his subsequent march through Georgia and the Carolinas further undermined the Confederacy’s ability to continue fighting. He accepted the surrender of all the Confederate armies in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida in April 1865.

In 1869, Sherman succeeded Grant as Commanding General of the Army(1869–83). He did not wish to enter into politics and in 1875 published his Memoirs, one of the best-known first-hand accounts of the Civil War.