WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.980 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. We know exactly 00:00:01.980 --> 00:00:05.179 why you're here. You are the ultimate learner. 00:00:05.379 --> 00:00:07.259 Yeah, you want to get thoroughly informed, you 00:00:07.259 --> 00:00:10.300 want the full picture, but you absolutely do 00:00:10.300 --> 00:00:12.480 not want that overwhelming information overload 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:14.740 that usually comes with it. Right, exactly. Well, 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:18.399 you are in the right place. Because today, we 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:20.420 are looking at a pretty comprehensive Wikipedia 00:00:20.420 --> 00:00:24.079 article on the memoirs of General W .T. Sherman, 00:00:24.339 --> 00:00:28.420 which was originally published in 1875. And our 00:00:28.420 --> 00:00:31.019 mission for this deep dive is to explore the 00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:33.659 incredible story of how one of America's most 00:00:33.659 --> 00:00:36.840 famous, or I guess infamous, generals actively 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:39.799 engineered his own historical legacy. But before 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:42.359 we even begin unpacking this text, we really 00:00:42.359 --> 00:00:44.579 need to provide a mandatory disclaimer. Yes, 00:00:44.579 --> 00:00:46.939 absolutely. The material we're exploring today 00:00:46.939 --> 00:00:49.000 contains highly politically charged historical 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:51.859 content. We will be discussing the clashing viewpoints 00:00:51.859 --> 00:00:53.899 of Northern historians and Southern historians, 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:56.619 specifically those propagating the Lost Cause 00:00:56.619 --> 00:00:59.049 narrative. Right, and we'll also be examining 00:00:59.049 --> 00:01:01.890 19th century debates on slavery, as well as some 00:01:01.890 --> 00:01:04.150 highly controversial wartime military tactics. 00:01:04.829 --> 00:01:07.189 We want to make it unequivocally clear to you, 00:01:07.290 --> 00:01:09.670 the listener, that we are absolutely not taking 00:01:09.670 --> 00:01:12.430 any sides here. Not at all. We're not endorsing 00:01:12.430 --> 00:01:15.170 any of the historical viewpoints, the arguments, 00:01:15.250 --> 00:01:17.430 or the military actions described in this text. 00:01:17.670 --> 00:01:20.510 Our sole job today is to impartially report and 00:01:20.510 --> 00:01:23.609 just unpack the ideas contained within this specific 00:01:23.609 --> 00:01:25.750 source material so you can fully understand the 00:01:25.750 --> 00:01:28.209 historical context. Exactly. We are simply your 00:01:28.209 --> 00:01:30.609 guides through the historical record. And I have 00:01:30.609 --> 00:01:32.709 to say, that record is full of surprises. It 00:01:32.709 --> 00:01:35.400 really is. wars feature high stakes publishing 00:01:35.400 --> 00:01:39.140 deals, 19th century real world troll book bindings, 00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:42.079 and just unfiltered campfire style storytelling. 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:45.120 Okay, let's unpack this. Immediately following 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:47.540 the end of the American Civil War, Sherman's 00:01:47.540 --> 00:01:50.090 reputation was starkly divided. Yeah, on one 00:01:50.090 --> 00:01:51.989 side, you had the Southern perspective, which 00:01:51.989 --> 00:01:54.430 was heavily influenced by the emerging Lost Cause 00:01:54.430 --> 00:01:57.269 movement. And that was an intellectual and literary 00:01:57.269 --> 00:02:00.129 movement that attempted to reframe the Confederate 00:02:00.129 --> 00:02:02.989 rebellion as a noble defense of states' rights 00:02:02.989 --> 00:02:05.409 rather than a fight to preserve slavery. And 00:02:05.409 --> 00:02:07.230 Edward A. Pollard, who was a prominent Southern 00:02:07.230 --> 00:02:09.789 historian of the era, offered a really scathing 00:02:09.789 --> 00:02:12.270 critique. He wrote that Sherman would scarcely 00:02:12.270 --> 00:02:14.689 be known in future history other than as the 00:02:14.689 --> 00:02:17.430 man who depopulated and destroyed Atlanta and 00:02:17.430 --> 00:02:20.530 essayed a new code of cruelty. He even predicted 00:02:20.530 --> 00:02:23.030 Sherman would end up with a fame that was mediocre 00:02:23.030 --> 00:02:42.000 and insignificant, which is a bold claim. denying 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.479 his genius would obliterate the most brilliant 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:47.280 achievements of the war. So you have this massive 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:49.240 gap in public perception, and that was something 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:52.020 Sherman observed very closely. Oh, he was highly 00:02:52.020 --> 00:02:54.479 aware of his detractors. He wanted to push back 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:56.479 against the narratives taking root in the South. 00:02:56.659 --> 00:03:00.000 I mean, during an 1867 address to the Society 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:02.840 of the Army of the Tennessee, he expressed astonishment 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:05.620 that anyone could still boast of the lost cause 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:08.810 without a sense of shame. He pointed to the plain, 00:03:08.990 --> 00:03:11.349 palpable facts of the Union victories, staring 00:03:11.349 --> 00:03:14.110 them in the face. What's fascinating here is 00:03:14.110 --> 00:03:17.050 how explicit he was about that philosophy. He 00:03:17.050 --> 00:03:19.169 didn't view history as just a passive record 00:03:19.169 --> 00:03:21.750 of events. Right. He saw the writing of history 00:03:21.750 --> 00:03:24.069 as an active battleground. In a letter written 00:03:24.069 --> 00:03:26.930 in the early 1870s, Sherman laid his intentions 00:03:26.930 --> 00:03:30.310 bare. He stated, We the victors must stamp on 00:03:30.310 --> 00:03:32.330 all history that we were right and they wrong, 00:03:32.590 --> 00:03:34.830 and that we must give direction to future events. 00:03:35.210 --> 00:03:37.330 Stamping on all history requires a deliberate 00:03:37.330 --> 00:03:40.229 strategy. But initially, he kind of downplayed 00:03:40.229 --> 00:03:42.569 his ambitions. When he sent an early draft of 00:03:42.569 --> 00:03:44.569 his writings to an English scholar named John 00:03:44.569 --> 00:03:47.990 W. Draper in 1874, Sherman claimed he had merely 00:03:47.990 --> 00:03:50.129 written it for his children. Or perhaps to assist 00:03:50.129 --> 00:03:54.009 a future historian, yeah. But Draper read the 00:03:54.009 --> 00:03:57.250 manuscript, recognized this really engaging narrative 00:03:57.250 --> 00:04:00.129 style, and strongly urged Sherman to publish 00:04:00.129 --> 00:04:02.349 it for the general public. And that push from 00:04:02.349 --> 00:04:04.310 Draper led Sherman directly into the publishing 00:04:04.310 --> 00:04:07.449 business. While living in St. Louis, he negotiated 00:04:07.449 --> 00:04:09.849 with multiple publishers before signing a three 00:04:09.849 --> 00:04:14.699 -year contract on January 21, 1875. D. Appleton 00:04:14.699 --> 00:04:17.139 and Company. The contract stipulated two volumes, 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:19.899 averaging about 400 pages each, covering his 00:04:19.899 --> 00:04:23.920 life from 1846 to 1865. But the most revealing 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:26.000 detail of this business arrangement is that Sherman 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:28.420 actually paid for the cost of the printing plates 00:04:28.420 --> 00:04:32.600 out of his own pocket. That cost him $2 ,165 00:04:32.600 --> 00:04:36.000 .36, which was a massive capital investment in 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:38.819 1875. It really was. And understanding the mechanics 00:04:38.819 --> 00:04:41.660 of 1875 printing reveals exactly why he made 00:04:41.660 --> 00:04:43.920 that investment. Back then, books were often 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:46.199 printed using stereotype plates, which were these 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:48.819 metal casts of the set type. So by paying for 00:04:48.819 --> 00:04:51.019 and owning the physical metal plates, Sherman 00:04:51.019 --> 00:04:53.939 secured absolute ultimate creative control. Yes. 00:04:54.139 --> 00:04:56.639 The publisher could not alter a single word, 00:04:56.740 --> 00:04:59.160 change a paragraph, or refuse to print certain 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:01.759 passages without his permission because he literally 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.379 owned the molds the words were printed from. 00:05:04.699 --> 00:05:07.540 He bought the right to ensure his exact version 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:10.259 of history went to press. When the two -volume 00:05:10.259 --> 00:05:14.199 set officially dropped in May 1875, bound in 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:16.339 a distinctive blue cloth with gold lettering, 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:20.639 it retailed for $5 .50, and Sherman negotiated 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:23.769 a royalty of $0 .40 per volume sold. and he knew 00:05:23.769 --> 00:05:25.509 exactly what kind of reaction this set would 00:05:25.509 --> 00:05:27.569 provoke. In a letter to his brother -in -law 00:05:27.569 --> 00:05:30.029 right after signing the deal, Sherman noted that 00:05:30.029 --> 00:05:32.050 handing over the manuscript might bring him some 00:05:32.050 --> 00:05:34.550 profit. but more controversy. He was definitely 00:05:34.550 --> 00:05:36.829 self -aware. The structure of the memoirs itself 00:05:36.829 --> 00:05:39.089 really reflects a man methodically setting the 00:05:39.089 --> 00:05:42.709 record straight across 814 pages and 24 chapters. 00:05:42.930 --> 00:05:45.209 The first seven chapters actually often surprise 00:05:45.209 --> 00:05:47.410 readers who come to the book strictly for Civil 00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:50.269 War history. They cover his life from 1846 to 00:05:50.269 --> 00:05:52.910 1861, a period that profoundly shaped his worldview. 00:05:53.209 --> 00:05:55.810 The text delves into his military experience 00:05:55.810 --> 00:05:57.930 in California during the Mexican -American War. 00:05:58.250 --> 00:06:00.509 It covers his time working as a banker in San 00:06:00.509 --> 00:06:02.759 Francisco during the height of the Gold Rush, 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:05.339 where he observed massive economic inflation, 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:08.720 rampant speculation and a somewhat lawless society 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:11.800 governed by vigilance committees. It's wild stuff. 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:14.740 It is. It also details a crucial period where 00:06:14.740 --> 00:06:16.860 he served as the president of the Louisiana State 00:06:16.860 --> 00:06:19.860 Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, the 00:06:19.860 --> 00:06:22.120 institution that would eventually become Louisiana 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:25.100 State University. And then the remaining 17 chapters 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:28.100 focus entirely on his experiences as a leading 00:06:28.100 --> 00:06:31.170 general in the Civil War. The writing style throughout 00:06:31.170 --> 00:06:34.550 those chapters is highly distinct. It's meandering 00:06:34.550 --> 00:06:36.930 and frequently interrupted by the insertion of 00:06:36.930 --> 00:06:39.629 official post -battle reports, casualty lists, 00:06:39.769 --> 00:06:42.029 and battlefield correspondence. Yet historians 00:06:42.029 --> 00:06:44.850 consistently describe it as incredibly engaging. 00:06:45.089 --> 00:06:47.569 Historian John F. Marzelek captured the tone 00:06:47.569 --> 00:06:49.990 perfectly, describing it as Sherman telling his 00:06:49.990 --> 00:06:52.790 story around a campfire. He's forthrightly presenting 00:06:52.790 --> 00:06:56.029 his view of a massive national crisis to a mixed 00:06:56.029 --> 00:06:59.649 audience of friends, admirers, family, former 00:06:59.649 --> 00:07:03.089 enemies and current critics. It's an unapologetic 00:07:03.089 --> 00:07:05.970 conversational delivery of his own historical 00:07:05.970 --> 00:07:08.750 truth. And that tone is really what sets it apart 00:07:08.750 --> 00:07:12.310 from typical dry military histories. Here's where 00:07:12.310 --> 00:07:15.410 it gets really interesting, because that campfire 00:07:15.410 --> 00:07:18.050 tone, that unvarnished way of speaking, his mind 00:07:18.050 --> 00:07:21.009 is on full display when he recounts his life 00:07:21.009 --> 00:07:23.779 in Louisiana right before the war. There's a 00:07:23.779 --> 00:07:26.019 specific anecdote about a dinner he attended 00:07:26.019 --> 00:07:28.779 with Louisiana Governor Thomas O'Moore and several 00:07:28.779 --> 00:07:31.060 other prominent Southern political leaders in 00:07:31.060 --> 00:07:33.139 the months just before the Civil War broke out. 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:35.240 And the men at the table flat out asked Sherman 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:37.500 for his views on slavery. Now, before we detail 00:07:37.500 --> 00:07:40.120 his response, it's crucial to reiterate our impartiality 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:42.379 disclaimer here. Yes, absolutely. We are about 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:44.620 to outline Sherman's exact arguments on slavery 00:07:44.620 --> 00:07:47.459 as they are written in his 1875 text. We are 00:07:47.459 --> 00:07:50.120 imparting the historical record exactly as it 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:52.639 is presented, not taking sides or endorsing these 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:55.779 19th century viewpoints. So at this dinner, Sherman 00:07:55.779 --> 00:07:57.959 presented an argument that was deeply pragmatic 00:07:57.959 --> 00:08:01.660 and entirely unsentimental. He told the table 00:08:01.660 --> 00:08:04.240 that he recognized two distinct conditions of 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:07.060 slavery, domestic slaves employed by families 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:10.139 and fieldhands. He argued that the condition 00:08:10.139 --> 00:08:12.519 of the fieldhands was entirely dependent on the 00:08:12.519 --> 00:08:15.019 temper of their masters. He then stated that 00:08:15.019 --> 00:08:17.139 if he were a citizen of Louisiana and a member 00:08:17.139 --> 00:08:19.180 of the legislature, he would try to bring the 00:08:19.180 --> 00:08:21.480 legal condition of slaves closer to the status 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:23.980 of human beings. And he offered two specific 00:08:23.980 --> 00:08:27.199 legal changes he would advocate for. First, forbidding 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:29.959 the separation of families at state sales, ensuring 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:32.340 fathers, mothers, and children were sold together 00:08:32.340 --> 00:08:35.399 rather than separated. His second proposed legal 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:38.039 change really struck at the economic core of 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:41.049 the men sitting at that table. He advised repealing 00:08:41.049 --> 00:08:43.769 the Louisiana statute that penalized owners who 00:08:43.769 --> 00:08:45.990 taught their slaves to read and write. And he 00:08:45.990 --> 00:08:48.070 didn't base this on a moral crusade for human 00:08:48.070 --> 00:08:51.169 education. Instead, he argued that the law actually 00:08:51.169 --> 00:08:53.450 qualified the property and took away a part of 00:08:53.450 --> 00:08:55.570 its value. To prove his point about property 00:08:55.570 --> 00:08:58.289 value, Sherman shared a real -world story with 00:08:58.289 --> 00:08:59.830 the governor right there at the dinner table. 00:09:00.490 --> 00:09:03.730 He told them about Henry Sampson, a slave belonging 00:09:03.730 --> 00:09:06.389 to a Colonel Chambers of Rapides parish. Sampson 00:09:06.389 --> 00:09:08.470 had traveled to California, where Sherman eventually 00:09:08.470 --> 00:09:10.909 hired him to work at the San Francisco bank he 00:09:10.909 --> 00:09:14.070 was managing. Initially, because Sampson could 00:09:14.070 --> 00:09:17.250 not read or write, Sherman paid him $100 a month. 00:09:17.690 --> 00:09:21.309 However, a bank teller named Riley took the time 00:09:21.309 --> 00:09:24.529 to teach Sampson literacy skills. Because of 00:09:24.529 --> 00:09:27.169 those new skills, Samson's practical value to 00:09:27.169 --> 00:09:29.769 the bank operations increased dramatically, and 00:09:29.769 --> 00:09:33.590 his salary was raised to $250 a month. And Samson 00:09:33.590 --> 00:09:36.009 then used that increased income to buy his own 00:09:36.009 --> 00:09:38.090 freedom, followed by the freedom of his brother 00:09:38.090 --> 00:09:40.250 and his family. If we connect this to the bigger 00:09:40.250 --> 00:09:43.129 picture, Sherman's use of the Samson story at 00:09:43.129 --> 00:09:46.090 that specific dinner is a masterclass in reading 00:09:46.090 --> 00:09:48.710 an audience. He's sitting with Southern secessionist 00:09:48.710 --> 00:09:51.320 leaders on the eve of a war over slavery. Instead 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:53.480 of making a moral argument about human rights, 00:09:53.620 --> 00:09:56.100 which they would have immediately rejected, he 00:09:56.100 --> 00:09:58.759 frames upward mobility and self -emancipation 00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:01.419 entirely around the concept of property value 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:04.299 and economic utility. It's a striking example 00:10:04.299 --> 00:10:07.080 of that campfire storytelling style. Just laying 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:09.779 out his complex, unvarnished thoughts exactly 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:12.940 as he argued them at the time, prioritizing practical 00:10:12.940 --> 00:10:17.330 logic over ideology. That reliance on pure, cold 00:10:17.330 --> 00:10:19.730 logic over sentiment perfectly sets the stage 00:10:19.730 --> 00:10:21.590 for how he handled the most heavily criticized 00:10:21.590 --> 00:10:24.210 part of his wartime record in the memoirs, the 00:10:24.210 --> 00:10:26.490 expulsion of the citizens of Atlanta in September 00:10:26.490 --> 00:10:29.889 1864. After capturing the city, Sherman made 00:10:29.889 --> 00:10:31.929 the decision to require all citizens and families 00:10:31.929 --> 00:10:34.129 living in Atlanta to leave. They were given the 00:10:34.129 --> 00:10:36.370 option to go north or south, but they could not 00:10:36.370 --> 00:10:38.929 stay. This raises an important question. How 00:10:38.929 --> 00:10:41.490 does a general justify the mass expulsion of 00:10:41.490 --> 00:10:44.139 a civilian population to history? Schumann does 00:10:44.139 --> 00:10:46.200 it by leaning heavily into strategic necessity. 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:48.519 He wrote that he was resolved to make Atlanta 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:51.440 a pure military garrison. He wanted absolutely 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:54.480 zero civil population present to influence military 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:57.850 measures or drain resources. And he based this 00:10:57.850 --> 00:11:00.009 directly on his past experiences in the war. 00:11:00.190 --> 00:11:02.649 He pointed out that when the Union Army captured 00:11:02.649 --> 00:11:05.629 Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, and New Orleans, 00:11:05.870 --> 00:11:08.230 they were forced to leave massive numbers of 00:11:08.230 --> 00:11:11.009 troops behind just to garrison those cities. 00:11:11.129 --> 00:11:12.970 Right, to protect military interests from hostile 00:11:12.970 --> 00:11:15.990 local populations. He argued that these territorial 00:11:15.990 --> 00:11:18.629 successes were actually crippling the Union armies 00:11:18.629 --> 00:11:20.870 in the field because they had to detach so many 00:11:20.870 --> 00:11:23.269 men for guard duty. He just refused to let that 00:11:23.269 --> 00:11:25.789 happen in Atlanta. He even included his own letter 00:11:25.789 --> 00:11:28.590 to General Halleck from September 4th, 1864, 00:11:28.870 --> 00:11:31.409 to back up his mindset. It remains one of the 00:11:31.409 --> 00:11:33.470 most famous testaments to his view of warfare. 00:11:33.710 --> 00:11:47.049 He wrote, War is war. He knew the expulsion would 00:11:47.049 --> 00:11:49.570 be heavily criticized, but he wrote that he executed 00:11:49.570 --> 00:11:52.190 it with the absolute certainty of its justness. 00:11:52.730 --> 00:11:55.149 He wanted the South to draw two very specific 00:11:55.149 --> 00:11:58.929 conclusions from the action. First, that the 00:11:58.929 --> 00:12:01.009 North was entirely in earnest about winning. 00:12:01.190 --> 00:12:04.210 And second, if the Southern population was sincere 00:12:04.210 --> 00:12:06.850 in their popular clamor to die in the last ditch, 00:12:06.990 --> 00:12:10.190 that opportunity was rapidly arriving. That bluntness 00:12:10.190 --> 00:12:12.370 resonated deeply when the memoirs were published 00:12:12.370 --> 00:12:15.549 in 1875. The book was a massive commercial hit 00:12:15.549 --> 00:12:17.509 with the general public, but it also sparked 00:12:17.509 --> 00:12:19.549 intense rivalries among his fellow veterans. 00:12:19.809 --> 00:12:22.149 The feud with Henry the Feet -Boynt is a perfect 00:12:22.149 --> 00:12:24.710 example of how fiercely veterans fought over 00:12:24.710 --> 00:12:27.590 the historical narrative. Boynton was a fellow 00:12:27.590 --> 00:12:30.669 Union veteran who took major issue with Sherman's 00:12:30.669 --> 00:12:32.889 recollections. So to counter Sherman, Boynton 00:12:32.889 --> 00:12:35.649 wrote an entire book based on official War Office 00:12:35.649 --> 00:12:39.830 files titled Sherman's Historical Raid. the memoirs 00:12:39.830 --> 00:12:42.110 in the light of the record. But Boynton didn't 00:12:42.110 --> 00:12:44.690 just write a rebuttal. He engineered a physical 00:12:44.690 --> 00:12:47.169 protest. He purposely instructed his publisher 00:12:47.169 --> 00:12:50.610 to match the exact blue cloth and gold lettering 00:12:50.610 --> 00:12:53.309 of Sherman's memoirs. He designed his critical 00:12:53.309 --> 00:12:55.690 hit piece to look identical to Sherman's work 00:12:55.690 --> 00:12:58.190 so that bookstores would place them side by side 00:12:58.190 --> 00:13:00.990 on the shelves. It was essentially a 19th century 00:13:00.990 --> 00:13:04.070 visual photobomb of Sherman's legacy, ensuring 00:13:04.070 --> 00:13:06.250 that anyone reaching for the triumphant memoir 00:13:06.250 --> 00:13:08.309 would also have to look at the scathing critique. 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:12.039 But Sherman did not ignore the provocation. In 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:14.519 an 1880 interview with the Cleveland Leader, 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:17.279 Sherman publicly attacked Boynton's character. 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:20.159 He stated that Boynton was a man you could hire 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:23.240 to do anything for money, adding, why for $1 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:26.320 ,000 he would slander his own mother. And Boynton 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:28.860 actually read the interview and wrote Sherman 00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:31.480 a letter directly confronting him about the insult. 00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:34.000 Sherman wrote back, standing his ground completely, 00:13:34.179 --> 00:13:36.620 stating, this is a hard thing to say of any man, 00:13:36.740 --> 00:13:40.149 but I believe it of you. Wow. While he was busy 00:13:40.149 --> 00:13:42.309 feuding with critics like Boynton, Sherman was 00:13:42.309 --> 00:13:44.769 simultaneously receiving highest praise from 00:13:44.769 --> 00:13:46.470 some of the most powerful figures in the country. 00:13:46.649 --> 00:13:49.870 In July 1875, Union General and future President 00:13:49.870 --> 00:13:52.409 James A. Garfield wrote to Sherman, praising 00:13:52.409 --> 00:13:54.929 the fresh and vivid style and the graphic descriptions 00:13:54.929 --> 00:13:57.809 of people and events. Garfield noted that he 00:13:57.809 --> 00:14:00.129 didn't think a just criticism could charge Sherman 00:14:00.129 --> 00:14:03.659 with doing intentional injustice to anyone. Six 00:14:03.659 --> 00:14:06.440 months later, sitting President Ulysses S. Grant 00:14:06.440 --> 00:14:08.779 gave his assessment, stating he didn't believe 00:14:08.779 --> 00:14:10.940 a more correct history could be given. And the 00:14:10.940 --> 00:14:13.220 narrative style of Sherman's work actually heavily 00:14:13.220 --> 00:14:15.659 influenced Grant's own legendary memoirs written 00:14:15.659 --> 00:14:18.500 a decade later. The impact of the memoirs extended 00:14:18.500 --> 00:14:21.460 far beyond American borders, too. Right. European 00:14:21.460 --> 00:14:23.940 military powers were actively studying Sherman's 00:14:23.940 --> 00:14:28.090 logistics and tactics. In 1876, a Prussian military 00:14:28.090 --> 00:14:31.950 captain named A. von Clausewitz translated Sherman's 00:14:31.950 --> 00:14:34.190 entire chapter on the Atlanta campaign for a 00:14:34.190 --> 00:14:36.850 German military journal. The translated piece 00:14:36.850 --> 00:14:38.950 was published under a title that roughly translates 00:14:38.950 --> 00:14:41.330 to a railroad war in the American Civil War, 00:14:41.490 --> 00:14:43.950 highlighting the global interest in how Sherman 00:14:43.950 --> 00:14:47.330 utilized modern infrastructure in conflict. Even 00:14:47.330 --> 00:14:49.789 with international praise and presidential endorsements, 00:14:49.870 --> 00:14:52.919 Sherman continued to curate his legacy. After 00:14:52.919 --> 00:14:55.539 nearly a decade of absorbing reviews, praise, 00:14:55.740 --> 00:14:58.240 and criticism, he published a revised second 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:01.500 edition of the memoirs around 1885. He made approximately 00:15:01.500 --> 00:15:04.879 50 changes to the text. He added a new preface, 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:07.299 a completely new first chapter focusing on his 00:15:07.299 --> 00:15:10.740 life before 1846, and a new final chapter detailing 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:13.440 his life after the Civil War. He also appended 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:15.779 two sections filled with letters and excerpts 00:15:15.779 --> 00:15:18.080 that were both complimentary and critical of 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:20.759 his first edition, offering readers context for 00:15:20.759 --> 00:15:23.279 his revisions. Most of the textual edits were 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:25.740 minor, though he notably softened his criticisms 00:15:25.740 --> 00:15:28.419 of General Joseph Hooker. This second edition 00:15:28.419 --> 00:15:30.879 was the final version Sherman edited himself. 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:33.919 But the text has never truly faded from public 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:36.879 or academic discourse. Just a few months ago, 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:41.080 on September 23, 2025, Harvard University's Belknap 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:44.100 Press published the very first completely annotated 00:15:44.100 --> 00:15:46.750 edition of the memoirs. And the project was edited 00:15:46.750 --> 00:15:49.450 by John F. Marzalek, Louis P. Gallo, and David 00:15:49.450 --> 00:15:51.710 S. Nolan, the exact same team of historians who 00:15:51.710 --> 00:15:53.789 produced the definitive annotated edition of 00:15:53.789 --> 00:15:56.690 Grant's memoirs back in 2017. The publication 00:15:56.690 --> 00:15:59.690 of a fully annotated edition 150 years later 00:15:59.690 --> 00:16:02.009 demonstrates the enduring power of the text. 00:16:02.370 --> 00:16:04.450 Historians are still meticulously unpacking the 00:16:04.450 --> 00:16:06.929 nuances of how Sherman presented his story. They're 00:16:06.929 --> 00:16:09.610 constantly cross -referencing his campfire storytelling 00:16:09.610 --> 00:16:12.289 with the official records to separate the man 00:16:12.289 --> 00:16:14.889 from the myth he helped build. So what does this 00:16:14.889 --> 00:16:17.440 all mean? When we zoom out from the specific 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:20.480 troop movements in 19th century politics, this 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:23.639 deep dive into a Wikipedia article reveals a 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:26.480 masterclass in how historical figures battle 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:28.980 to write their own legacy. Sherman used everything 00:16:28.980 --> 00:16:31.700 at his disposal from raw, unfiltered storytelling 00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:35.519 to sharp, self -funded business contracts to 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:37.620 ensure his version of events became the foundation 00:16:37.620 --> 00:16:40.159 of history. History isn't just a record of what 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:41.820 happened. It's a record of what the survivors 00:16:41.820 --> 00:16:44.860 managed to get printed, bound in blue cloth and 00:16:44.860 --> 00:16:46.840 put on a shelf. It really highlights the vital 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:49.659 importance of understanding the bias, the intention, 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:52.440 and the human friction behind the historical 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:56.039 narratives we consume. Every memoir, every historical 00:16:56.039 --> 00:16:58.240 account has an author who is making deliberate 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:00.799 choices about what to include, what to omit, 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:03.220 and how to frame their own actions for posterity. 00:17:03.379 --> 00:17:05.400 Which brings us to a final thought to leave you 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:07.839 with. Think back to that detail about the printing 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:10.859 plates. Sherman paid thousands of dollars to 00:17:10.859 --> 00:17:13.460 buy the physical metal molds so he could absolutely 00:17:13.460 --> 00:17:16.259 own the work and guarantee his narrative survived 00:17:16.259 --> 00:17:19.700 without interference. In our modern age of highly 00:17:19.700 --> 00:17:22.559 curated social media feeds, personal branding, 00:17:22.660 --> 00:17:24.960 and meticulously managed digital footprints, 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:28.460 aren't we all essentially buying our own printing 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:31.269 plates? Exactly. How much of your own personal 00:17:31.269 --> 00:17:33.490 history, your own narrative, are you actively 00:17:33.490 --> 00:17:35.710 trying to edit and control for future generations 00:17:35.710 --> 00:17:38.049 right now? It's something to mull over the next 00:17:38.049 --> 00:17:40.130 time you draft an update or delete an old photo. 00:17:40.490 --> 00:17:42.769 Thank you for joining us on this deep dive into 00:17:42.769 --> 00:17:45.809 the memoirs of General W .T. Sherman. Keep exploring, 00:17:46.109 --> 00:17:48.250 keep questioning the narratives, and as always, 00:17:48.430 --> 00:17:49.130 keep learning.