William Tecumseh Sherman and the Settlement of the West by Robert G. Athearn N ORMAN University of Oklahoma Press FOR CLAIRE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Contrary to the information carried on the title page, this book is not the work of one person. There are many hidden partners in such a project, and credit should go to them. First and fore most, thanks for assistance are due the Social Science Research Council. Without its financial support, the extensive travel re quired to gather material could not have been undertaken. The University of Colorado, through its Council on Research and Creative Work, rendered additional aid. Criticizing and correcting the manuscripts of a fellow laborer in the field comprise yet another of the many additional duties loaded onto my colleagues in the profession. To William Newell Davis, Jr., California State Archives Professor Earl Pomeroy, Department of History, University of Oregon Professor Robert E. Riegel, Dartmouth College and Professor Hal Bridges, De partment of History, University of Colorado, I offer an expres sion of deep appreciation for their time, patience, and talent. The late Professor Carl Coke Rister, Department of History, Texas Technological College, Lubbock, Texas, gave valuable suggestions and pointed the way to additional materials. Wayne D. Overholser, of Boulder, Colorado, lent some of his knowledge gained through years of successful writing. The willing and enthusiastic assistance rendered by staff mem bers in a number of libraries and archives is gratefully acknowl edged. C. Percy Powell, Division of Manuscripts, Library of Con gress, and Richard G. Wood, War Records Branch, National Ar chives, both of Washington, D. C., were extremely helpful. Harry E. Pratt, Illinois State Historical Library, Springfield, Illinois Colton Storm, William L. Clements Library, University of Mich igan, Ann Arbor, Michigan Watt P. Marchman, Hayes Me-VII Sherman and the Settlement of the West morial Library, Fremont, Ohio and Elizabeth C. Biggert, Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, Columbus, Ohio, all provided extremely useful manuscript material that enriched the study considerably. From the following directors, staff members, and libraries, I received the fullest co-operation Nyle H. Miller, Kansas State Historical Society Charles Van Ravenswaay, Missouri Historical Society St. Louis Margaret Rose, State Historical Society of North Dakota James C. Olson, Nebraska State Historical So ciety Claude R. Cooke, Iowa State Department of History and Archives Arthur H. Parsons, Omaha Public Library Gertrude McDevitt, Historical Department of Idaho A. R. Mortensen, Utah State Historical Society Lola M. Homsher and Henryetta Berry, Wyoming State Archives and Historical Department Caroline Wenzel, California State Library Elizabeth Tindall, St. Louis Mercantile Library Edward B. Morrison, Division of Manuscripts, New York Public Library Dorothy C. Barck, New York Historical Society K. Ross Toole, Historical Society of Montana Mulford Winsor, Arizona Department of Library and Archives Ina T. Aulls, Alys Freeze, and Opal Harber, Denver Public Library George P. Hammond, Bancroft Library, Univer sity of California Agnes Wright Spring, State Historical Society of Colorado Eugene H. Wilson, University of Colorado Library Archibald Hanna, Western Americana Collection, Yale Univer sity and the staff at Chicagos Newberry Library. Others who lent their skills or materials for the volume are Mr. Victor D. Spark of New York City Burton Harris Virginia Brasel Grieder and Professor Isaac Bacon. The maps were drawn by William A. Greig, Barbara Dumont Samsel, and Pamela Wilson, under the direction of Professor Albert W. Smith, Department of Geography, University of Colo rado. Some of the material used in writing this book has appeared in article form in The Pacific Historical Review, The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, and Montana, The Magazine of West ern History...

William Tecumseh Sherman is known primarily for having cut a swath of destruction through Georgia and the Carolinas during the Civil War. From the fame of these years, however, he moved into an eighteen-year phase of “insuring the tranquility” of the vast region of the American West. As commander of the Division of the Missouri from 1865 to 1869 and General of the Army of the United States under President Grant from 1869 to 1883, Sherman facilitated expansion and settlement in the West while suppressing the raids of the Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Kiowa, Comanche, and Crow Indians. Robert G. Athearn explores Sherman’s and his army’s roles in the settling of the West, especially within the broad framework of railroad construction, Indian policy, political infighting, and popular opinion.

Presents a thorough and compelling day-to-day account of General William T. Sherman's progress through North Carolina from early March 1865, when his troops entered the state from South Carolina, through 4 May 1865, when they crossed its northern border into Virginia. Research is based on eyewitness accounts, newspaper reports, and published sources. Includes 4 maps.

Robert G. Athearn's biography of William Tecumseh Sherman provides a compelling account of the Civil War general's life and achievements. From his infamous march through Georgia to his role in shaping the American West, Sherman's legacy is explored in detail. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Bright, compulsively articulate, famous, loved, hated, and deeply troubled, William T. Sherman was perhaps one of the most compelling personalities in American history. This groundbreaking, in-depth portrait of this significant Civil War figure reveals much about Sherman--and about the concept of manliness in his culture. NOTE: This edition does not include photographs.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • William Tecumseh Sherman was more than just one of our greatest generals. Fierce Patriot is a bold, revisionist portrait of how this iconic and enigmatic figure exerted an outsize impact on the American landscape—and the American character. America’s first “celebrity” general, William Tecumseh Sherman was a man of many faces. Some were exalted in the public eye, others known only to his intimates. In this bold, revisionist portrait, Robert L. O’Connell captures the man in full for the first time. From his early exploits in Florida, through his brilliant but tempestuous generalship during the Civil War, to his postwar career as a key player in the building of the transcontinental railroad, Sherman was, as O’Connell puts it, the “human embodiment of Manifest Destiny.” Here is Sherman the military strategist, a master of logistics with an uncanny grasp of terrain and brilliant sense of timing. Then there is “Uncle Billy,” Sherman’s public persona, a charismatic hero to his troops and quotable catnip to the newspaper writers of his day. Here, too, is the private Sherman, whose appetite for women, parties, and the high life of the New York theater complicated his already turbulent marriage. Warrior, family man, American icon, William Tecumseh Sherman has finally found a biographer worthy of his protean gifts. A masterful character study whose myriad insights are leavened with its author’s trademark wit, Fierce Patriot will stand as the essential book on Sherman for decades to come. Praise for Fierce Patriot “A superb examination of the many facets of the iconic Union general.”—General David Petraeus “Sherman’s standing in American history is formidable. . . . It is hard to imagine any other biography capturing it all in such a concise and enlightening fashion.”—National Review “A sharply drawn and propulsive march through the tortured psyche of the man.”—The Wall Street Journal “[O’Connell’s] narrative of the March to the Sea is perhaps the best I have ever read.”—Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post “A surprising, clever, wise, and powerful book.”—Evan Thomas, author of Ike’s Bluff

The Vicksburg Campaign, November 1862-July 1863 continues the series of campaign brochures commemorating our national sacrifices during the American Civil War. Author Christopher R. Gabel examines the operations for the control of Vicksburg, Mississippi. President Abraham Lincoln called Vicksburg "the key," and indeed it was as control of the Mississippi River depended entirely on the taking of this Confederate stronghold.

"Homesteading the Plains offers a bold new look at the history of homesteading, overturning what for decades has been the orthodox scholarly view. The authors begin by noting the striking disparity between the public's perception of homesteading as a cherished part of our national narrative and most scholars' harshly negative and dismissive treatment. Homesteading the Plains reexamines old data and draws from newly available digitized records to reassess the current interpretation's four principal tenets: homesteading was a minor factor in farm formation, with most Western farmers purchasing their land; most homesteaders failed to prove up their claims; the homesteading process was rife with corruption and fraud; and homesteading caused Indian land dispossession. Using data instead of anecdotes and focusing mainly on the nineteenth century, Homesteading the Plainsdemonstrates that the first three tenets are wrong and the fourth only partially true. In short, the public's perception of homesteading is perhaps more accurate than the one scholars have constructed. Homesteading the Plainsprovides the basis for an understanding of homesteading that is startlingly different from current scholarly orthodoxy. "--