General William T. Sherman to Senator John Sherman, September 12, 1869

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES.        

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 12, 1869.

Dear Brother:

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I now do both duties, Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War. The truth is, the offices both united, are easier of execution than either separate; because the Statutes do not clearly define the spheres of each, and a natural conflict or suspicion arises. United in one person settles all disputes. In the present attitude of things, it would be a good thing to dispense with a Secretary of War, and unite Army and Navy in one representative in the Cabinet, and let the Internal Revenue go into the Cabinet. . . .

Yours,

W. T. SHERMAN.

SOURCE: Rachel Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891, p. 328-9