Produced by David Widger. Additional proofing was done by Bryan Sherman
By William T. Sherman
Nearly ten years have passed since the close of the civil war inAmerica, and yet no satisfactory history thereof is accessible tothe public; nor should any be attempted until the Government haspublished, and placed within the reach of students, the abundantmaterials that are buried in the War Department at Washington.These are in process of compilation; but, at the rate of progressfor the past ten years, it is probable that a new century will comebefore they are published and circulated, with full indexes toenable the historian to make a judicious selection of materials.
What is now offered is not designed as a history of the war, oreven as a complete account of all the incidents in which the writerbore a part, but merely his recollection of events, corrected by areference to his own memoranda, which may assist the futurehistorian when he comes to describe the whole, and account for themotives and reasons which influenced some of the actors in thegrand drama of war.
I trust a perusal of these pages will prove interesting to thesurvivors, who have manifested so often their intense love of the"cause" which moved a nation to vindicate its own authority; and,equally so, to the rising generation, who therefrom may learn thata country and government such as ours are worth fighting for, anddying for, if need be.
If successful in this, I shall feel amply repaid for departing fromthe usage of military men, who seldom attempt to publish their owndeeds, but rest content with simply contributing by their acts tothe honor and glory of their country.
WILLIAM T. SHERMAN,
General
St. Louis, Missouri, January 21, 1875.
Another ten years have passed since I ventured to publish myMemoirs, and, being once more at leisure, I have revised them inthe light of the many criticisms public and private.
My habit has been to note in pencil the suggestions of critics, andto examine the substance of their differences; for critics mustdiffer from the author, to manifest their superiority.
Where I have found material error I have corrected; and I haveadded two chapters, one at the beginning, another at the end, bothof the most general character, and an appendix.
I wish my friends and enemies to understand that I disclaim thecharacter of historian, but assume to be a witness on the standbefore the great tribunal of history, to assist some future Napier,Alison, or Hume to comprehend the feelings and thoughts of theactors in the grand conflicts of the recent past, and thereby tolessen his labors in the compilation necessary for the futurebenefit of mankind.
In this free country every man is at perfect liberty to publish hisown thoughts and impressions, and any witness who may differ fromme should publish his own version of facts in the truthfulnarration of which he is interested. I am publishing my ownmemoirs, not theirs, and we all know that no three honest witnessesof a simple brawl can agree on all the details. How much morelikely will be the difference in a great battle covering a vastspace of broken ground, when each division, brigade, regiment, andeven company, naturally and honestly believes that it was the focusof the whole affair! Each of them won the