IN THE FIELD,
GOLDSBORO, N. C.,
April 5, 1865.
I have now finished my Report and answered all letters that
called for my personal action. These are being copied and sent by a courier
to-morrow and then “What next” as old Lincoln says.1 That next is
also thought over and it again takes me into danger and trouble, but you must
now be so used to it that you can hardly care. I have no late letters from you,
none since you went to Chicago, but you too are becoming a public character and
the busy newspapers follow you. I see that the public authorities and citizens
of Chicago paid you a public visit with speeches and music and that Bishop
Duggan responded for you. If these give you pleasure I am glad of it for I
would rather that you and the children should be benefitted by any fame I may
achieve than that it should ensue to me personally. Of course as a General my
case will be scrutinized very closely by men abroad as well as here, and my
reputation will rather depend on their judgment than on any mere temporary
applause. I have been trying to get some pay to send you, for I suppose you are
“short,” but the paymasters cannot catch up, and in a few days I will be off
again. I have pay due since January 1, and yet was unable the other day to buy
a pair of shoes which I need. I have those big boots you sent me from
Cincinnati, but the weather is getting warm and they are too close and heavy.
They stood me a good turn however on the last march when for weeks we were up
to our eyes in mud and water. When we got here the army was ragged and hard up,
but already our new clothing is issued, and I will challenge the world to
exhibit a finer looking set of men, brawny, strong, swarthy, a contrast to the
weak and sickly fellows that came to me in Kentucky three years ago. It is a
general truth that men exposed to the elements don't “catch cold,” and I have
not heard a man cough or sneeze for three months, but were these same men to go
into houses in a month the doctor would have half of them. Now the doctors have
no employment. I myself am very well, though in a house for the time
being, and too have the convenience of a table and chair to write, also to
prevent the flaring of the candle which makes writing in a tent almost
impossible. I write as usual very fast and can keep half a dozen clerks busy in
copying. Hitchcock, nephew of the General, writes private letters not needing
my personal attention, such as autographs and locks of hair; Dayton the
military orders, but I must of course keep up correspondence with War
Department, General Grant, my army commanders, governors of states, etc., and
you should be satisfied even if my letters are hasty and ill digested. You can
almost trace my progress through the world by the newspapers. . . .
I got a long letter from Bowman2 last night. He
is resolved to write up my campaigns, and is anxious for the most authentic
records. These are contained in my Letter and Order Books. You have some up to
the time of my leaving Atlanta. Webster has those from Atlanta to Savannah, and
I have here the balance. I would much prefer he would wait the end of the war,
but he wants to make money out of the job, and I do not object, for he says
that others less capable will do the thing, and make a botch of it. He can get
access to my official Reports at Washington as also those of my subordinate
Reports, but the letters I daily write give the gradual unfolding of plans and
events better than Reports made with more formality after the events are past.
The last March from Savannah to Goldsboro, with its legitimate fruits, the
capture of Charleston, Georgetown and Wilmington, is by far the most important
in conception and execution of any act of my life. . . .
I continue to receive the highest compliments from all
quarters, and have been singularly fortunate in escaping the envy and jealousy
of rivals. Indeed officers from every quarter want to join my “Great Army.”
Grant is the same enthusiastic friend. Mr. Lincoln at City Point was lavish in
his good wishes, and since Mr. Stanton visited me at Savannah he too has become
the warmest possible friend. Of course I could not venture north, and it
accords both with my pleasure and interest to keep close with my army proper.
Officers and soldiers have in my foresight and knowledge a childlike confidence
that is really most agreeable. Whilst wading through mud and water, and heaving
at mired wagons the soldiers did not indulge a single growl, but always said
and felt that the Old Man would bring them out all right; and no sooner had we
reached the Cape Fear River at Fayetteville than a little squeaking tug came
puffing up the river with news, and we had hardly spread out in the camps about
Goldsboro than the locomotive and train came thundering along from the sea
ninety-six miles distant, loaded with shoes and pants and clothing, as well as
food. So remarkable and happy a coincidence, which of course I had arranged
from Savannah, made the woods resound with a yell that must have reached
Raleigh. Some of our officers who escaped from the enemy say that these two
coincidences made the Rebel officers swear that I was the Devil himself, a
compliment that you can appreciate. But enough of this vanity, save and except
always when it redounds to your advantage and pleasure. My wants are few and
easily gained, but if this fame which fills the world contributes to your
happiness and pleasure, enjoy it as much as possible. Oh, that Willy could hear
and see! His proud heart would swell to overflowing, and it may be that 'tis
better he should not be agitated with such thoughts. . . .
The army is now well clad and fed. Our wagons are loading
and on the 10th I will haul out towards Raleigh. I need not tell you my plans,
but they are good, and I do not see but the next move and one more will
determine the fate of this war, not conclude it, but assure the fact that the
United States has not ceased to be a nation. If we can force Lee to let go
Richmond, and can whip him in open fight, I think I can come home and rest and
leave others to follow up the fragments. . . .
__________
1 When Sherman took Savannah, Lincoln
wrote to him, Dec. 26, 1864: “It brings those who sat in darkness to see a
great light. But what next? I suppose it would be safer if I leave Gen. Grant
and yourself to decide.”
2 S. M. Bowman, with R. B. Irwin, published in 1865
his volume, Sherman
and His Campaigns.
__________
SOURCES: M. A. DeWolfe Howe, Editor, Home Letters of
General Sherman, p. 338-42. A full copy of this letter can be
found in the William
T Sherman Family papers (SHR), University of Notre Dame Archives
(UNDA), Notre Dame, IN 46556, Folder CSHR 2/22
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