General William Tecumseh Sherman was a man who falls into the category of having been at the right place at the right time. He missed out on the action of Th Mexican War and lamented a careering a military that never seemed to be quite enough, but was also the only life he felt he was capable of living. This biography ranks very high up in the list of the ones about this man. It may not change how you think of him, but seeing his story on its own and not part of a larger narrative does give you a bit of an understanding.
That is the highest praise that can be given about this book, It gives you more details than you ever had before and you get to see Sherman as a man who made tough decisions, right and wrong, and lived with their consequences. Having always believed himself that his campaign from Savannah and into North Carolina was hundred time more harrowing than his march through Georgia you get to feel his frustration and the later was the one most celebrated. You also get to grieve with the man who lost a number of children, whom he did love greatly and walk with him as the Civil War tore the Union apart. The life of Sherman is made all the more fascinating in contrast to the death that always seemed to be hovering near him.
James Lee McDonough tells this story and tells it well. With a subject like Sherman you can expect it to never be boring and McDonough does a good job of capturing the General’s spirit. In one passage near the end the author tells of Sherman, having outlived many of his famous military contemporaries, spent more and more time at funerals for the men that he fought alongside and even sometimes against. While the first part of book tells a tale a man of his time, the last part is about a man who time has passed on.
There is a reason that “Uncle Billy”, as his men called him, remains the quintessential American warrior. Few ever fought as hard or as steadfast and few will ever refuse to fade like the old warhorse. This book goes a long way to explaining why.