Through the veil of time, the Civil War has come to mean many things. For some, it was a war to free the slaves—for others, it was a matter of patriotism under the fist of tyranny. However, to concede to either of these explanations as the sole correct answer is an over simplification of grotesque proportions. To uncover the real meaning of the war, it is necessary to view all aspects of the conflict exactly as they were and not pander to the fickle nature of memory and remembrance. To William T. Sherman, the war was not about slaves, or cotton, or even states rights—it was about righting a wrong of epic magnitude. The South, through insurrection had shattered the union, and that sort of criminal act could not stand if the nation were to survive and prosper. Sherman understood the war best because he cut past all the political window dressing to the bare facts: Southerners and Northerners are really no different and Secession is essentially chaos. To end the war was to put down the rebellion and re-establish order among a common people.
Early in him memoirs, Sherman dispels the myth of a war fought for slavery. While he was still employed as an instructor at the Louisiana Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, S
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The same sort of structure that was critical to keeping an army together and cohesive was imperative to running a nation as well. Many claim that Sherman’s "March to the Sea" was a brutal and blood thirsty solution to ending the war; however, in Sherman’s eyes, it was the only way to end the war. As backward as this might sound, Sherman’s views were not at all deviant from the popular views held at that time. In the introduction to the his memoirs, Sherman is described as "stressing kindly paternalistic feelings for blacks" (xvi) but he never speaks of empowering them beyond their servant status; the reality is that Sherman was a huge opponent of blacks in positions above or equal to that of white men and refused to enlist a black unit them under his command.
In A Place Called Appomattox, the fact that most southerners were detached from the political issue of secession was obvious. For Sherman, and the soldiers who didn’t return home, there was the matter of Indian troubles in the West to occupy their desire for adventure. The thoughtless and hasty decision which caused Ft. The truth of the issue stands that before the war, no one except radical abolitionists wanted to free the slaves. Yet as soon as the South fired upon Ft. Sumter, there was no choice but to be swept away on the tide of war. His goal stretched beyond the battlefield; the war was a matter of re-establishing authority over insurrection and rejoining the Union. And what’s more, the men agree with him and debate the point in support of giving slaves basic human rights. herman attended a dinner at the Governors mansion, during which he states, " I would deem it wise to bring the legal condition of slave more near the status of human beings under all Christian and civilized governments". Sherman’s largest fear was that men who had lived the life of a soldier and adventurer during the war would end up causing trouble and disrupting peace time affairs. " They viewed themselves as heroes and saviors, much the same way the soldiers who went to war thought themselves patriots and re-deemers.
Approximate Word count =
1193
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5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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