Early this summer, I read American General: The Life and Times of William Tecumseh Sherman by John S.D. Eisenhower and I found it a pleasant read. To this date, many in the south still hate Sherman, and in recent years the many on the left have labeled him a genocidal lunatic. The truth is that he was a man of his time, without which the history of the American Civil War might have been drastically different.

Sherman is remembered for his infamous march in which he destroyed everything in his path from Atlanta to Savanah. After taking Atlanta, Sherman realized that holding it would be too large a task. So he decided to march east toward the coast, feed his men with the spoils of the land on the way there, and once there – his supplies coming from the sea – supplying his men would be of no concern. While working his way there, he would break the Confederacy supporters’ will – and he did.

Sherman and Grant introduced the idea of total war in modern warfare. Taking the fight to civilians was something; both sides had not seriously considered at the start of the war, but by the end, it was what the north felt was necessary to bring the conflict to a resounding end.

The book is a well written and concise account of some of the major events in General Sherman’s life, particularly events during the civil war.