William Tecumseh Sherman Quotes

This is a brief selection of William Tecumseh Sherman quotes. In this collection, we hear the General speak on the horror of war and the unreliability of newspapers.

Please enjoy these quotes from General Sherman...

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"I confess, without shame, that I am sick and tired of fighting — its glory is all moonshine; even success the most brilliant is over dead and mangled bodies, with the anguish and lamentations of distant families, appealing to me for sons, husbands, and fathers ... it is only those who have never heard a shot, never heard the shriek and groans of the wounded and lacerated ... that cry aloud for more blood, more vengeance, more desolation."

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"An army to be useful must be a unit, and out of this has grown the saying, attributed to Napoleon, but doubtless spoken before the days of Alexander, that an army with an inefficient commander was better than one with two able heads."

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"I am a damned sight smarter man than Grant. I know more about military history, strategy, and grand tactics than he does. I know more about supply, administration, and everything else than he does. I'll tell you where he beats me though and where he beats the world. He doesn't give a damn about what the enemy does out of his sight, but it scares me like hell."

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"You might as well appeal against the thunder-storm as against these terrible hardships of war."

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"I want peace, and believe it can only be reached through union and war, and I will ever conduct war with a view to perfect an early success."

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"Grant stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he was drunk, and now we stand by each other."

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"I think I know what military fame is; to be killed on the field of battle and have your name misspelled in the newspapers."

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"I make up my opinions from facts and reasoning, and not to suit any body but myself. If people don't like my opinions, it makes little difference as I don't solicit their opinions or votes."

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"Courage - a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to endure it."

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"I regard the death and mangling of a couple thousand men as a small affair, a kind of morning dash — and it may be well that we become so hardened."

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"War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want."

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"Let it be known that if a farmer wishes to burn his cotton, his house, his family, and himself, he may do so. But not his corn. We want that."

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"If you don’t have my army supplied, and keep it supplied, we’ll eat your mules up, sir – eat your mules up."

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"I tell you, war is Hell! "

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"I can make this march, and I will make Georgia howl! "

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"Atlanta is ours, and fairly won."

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"I will not accept if nominated, and will not serve if elected."

(Response to speculation that he would run for President after Grant.)

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"If forced to choose between the penitentiary and the White House for four years, I would say the penitentiary, thank you."

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"In our Country... one class of men makes war and leaves another to fight it out."

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"I will accept no commission that would tend to create a rivalry with Grant. I want him to hold what he has earned and got. I have all the rank I want."

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Now its your turn! Feel free to share your favorite William Tecumseh Sherman quotes in the comments section below...

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