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OmniClassics · Literature

Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete

William T. Sherman

Sherman reconstructs a commander's decisions under the pressures of war.

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About the book

William T. Sherman traces his early life and military formation before turning to the Civil War campaigns that defined his public reputation. His account gives sustained attention to the movement and supply of armies, relations between commanders, and the reasoning behind strategic decisions. The Atlanta campaign and subsequent marches bring the relationship between military operations and civilian society sharply into view. Letters, orders, and recollections help him explain what he knew and intended at particular moments. Sherman explicitly presents himself as a participant and witness rather than an impartial historian of the whole conflict. The revised memoir therefore offers both a detailed record of command and a forceful defense of actions that continued to provoke argument.

  • Military strategy
  • War and society
  • Memory and justification

Why read it

Read it for the practical calculations behind large campaigns and the revealing limits of a commander's retrospective account.

English text of the revised memoir

Contents and reading sections