Saturday, March 2, 2024

General William T. Sherman to Senator John Sherman, December 29, 1875

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
ST. LOUIS, Mo., Dec. 29, 1875.

Dear Brother: . . . As to the army, I agree that it is entirely too costly. Twenty-five thousand soldiers with a due proportion of officers ought to be maintained at less than present estimates, which I see are stated at forty and also at fifty-five millions. This must embrace appropriations for forts, harbors, etc., whose disbursements fall under the engineer and other bureaus of the War Department. The heaviest cost to the army is in these expensive bureaus of which we have ten, all of which have a head in Washington and run, as it were, a separate machine. I have no hesitation in saying that if the Secretary of War has the lawful power to command the army through the Adjutant-General, then my office is a sinecure and should be abolished. Instead of being useful, it is simply ornamental and an obstacle to unity of command and harmony of action. No two men can fulfil the same office; and the law should clearly define the functions of each, or mine should be abolished. . .

Yours affectionately,
W. T. SHERMAN.

SOURCE: Rachel Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891, p. 346-7

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