What are facts about general Sherman?

Answer 1

One of the few officers on either side who realised it would be a long war.

He distinguished himself at the war's first major battle (Bull Run/Manassas), but declared himself insane afterwards.

At Shiloh, a Colonel warned him (correctly) that the enemy were within striking distance, and Sherman told him to stop wasting his time. The Union were taken by surprise, and were nearly pushed into the Tennessee river.

He devised an entirely new form of warfare in the crossing of Georgia - attacking the civilian infrastructure that supported the enemy troops in the field.

When he destroyed railroads, he got his men to twist the rails, so they couldn't be re-used. Then they tied them round trees - 'Sherman's neckties'.

For the rest of his life, wherever he went, the band would strike up "While We Were Marching Through Georgia" - a tune he learned to LOATHE.

He wrote a remarkably good book of memoirs, being the son of a judge and a better-educated man than he looked.

He ended up as General-in-Chief of the United States Army.