Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1888-08-09
Helena Montana, Thursday, August g. 1888
"SuIlen at the repudiation OF his agree

"Sullen at the reputation of his agree
ment with Johnston, angry at the inter-
ference of Gen. Halleck with the cooper
ative movements of himself and Sheridan
and furious at the countermanding of his
orders by the secretary of war, he marched
to Washington with his army, breathing
vengeance upon Halleck and hate and
contempt upon Stanton. No nation safely
before witnessed such a spectacle-a
victorious general, at the head Of $4,000
men devoted to him and jealous of his
fame as part Of their own. marching to
the capital of the country with threats
against his military superiors breath
ing from his lips and fow-
ing from his pen. For days Sher-
man raved around Washington, expressing
his contempt for Halleck and Stanton in
the strongest terms and denouncing them
as mere non -cOmbatants whom he
despised. He wrote to his friends and
through them to the public comparing
Halleck and Stanton to cowardly Falstaffs
seeking to win honor for the deeds he had
done, accusing the secretary of war of sup
pressing his reports and endeavoring to
slander him before the American public
in official bulletins. For days his army
roamed the streets Of the capital with the
same freedom with which they had roamed
through the fields of Georgia and the
swamps of the Carolinas, and no man dared
to raise his voice in condemnation of their
leader or approval of the superiors who
had opposed him. No republic ever sur
vived such condition of affairs, and this
republic never was in such danger before,
and yet the danger was hardly suspected" !"
x*x
This affair, however, blew over and
Sherman was never called to account for
his actions. No record was made of the
offense against discipline which in any
other country would have cost him not
merely his position but his reputation,
and in many armies his life. Still in all
this he never meditated anything against
the government and never forgot his
allegiance. x*x
Shermans first command was issued at
the time of his baptism and he showed
that he had mind of his own. An old
preacher, who lived in the town at the
time of the occurrence, told me the story.
1t seems that, though both his father and
mother were devout Presbyterians, he had
never been baptized. A few months after
his fathers death he was taken to the
church to have the rite performed. When
his name was given to the preacher he
objected to baptizing youth by the name
of heather Indian (Tecumseh). He
wanted to call the boy simply William.
But the future general would have none
of it. He stopped the ceremony. Said
he: "My father called me Tecumseh and
Tecumseh l will be called. If you bap-
tie me so, all right. If you will not,
will have none of your baptism" The
preacher waived the point and the cere-
mony went on. x*x
During the first part of Andrew
Jackson's term William Tecumseh
lived in the family of Senator Ewing,
at Lancaster, O., sleepy country town
of perhaps a couple of thousand in
habitants, where the boys loafed about
the stores and listened to the older loafers
tell stories. His comrades called him
"Cump," and one of them says he was
among the LATEST Of them, and that he
could always be found at the stores of an
evening. He was a different fellow"
says this gentleman, from John, who
was great reader and sort of plod-
der. 'Cump' had a great idea of going to
West Point, and he talked of it contin-
ually. shall never forget the day his
uncle finally got him his appointment.
He was so happy he could hardly contain
himself, and he almost walked on the air
for several days"
Gen. Sherman graduated at the early
age of 20, and entered the artillery, serv-
ing first in the Florida war, as first lieu
tenant during the Mexican war, in Cali
fornia as adjutant general. Ten years
after he graduated he married Ellen Boyd
Ewing, his patrons daughter Ewing
was then secretary of the interior, and
the wedding came off in grand style at
Washington. Clay, Webster, Calhoun
and Tom Benton were all present, as was
also the president and his cabinet Sher-
man was 80 years old then. His beard
was dingy red, and he had face bronzed
with service in the west. The couple
went to New York, Niagara Falls, and
then came back here Gen. Sherman
stayed in the army three years after his
marriage, but in 1853 resigned and went
to San Francisco, where he opened a
brokers' shop. He afterward had bank
at No. 10 Wall street, New York CITY.
But neither of these ventures could have
paid very well, for very shortly otter we
find he left for Kansas, where Tom and
Hugh Ewing, his brothers law, were
practicing at the bar.
x*x
Gen. Sherman had studied some law
and he was fairly fitted to engage in the
practice, but at this time he had no con-
fidence in his speech making powers, and
he made it a stipulation that he should
not be called upon to plead. He was no
speaker then as he is now, and he got
along for some time without coming be-
fore the courts; but one day a case came
up when both of his partners were busy.
He concluded to try it, and studied it
thoroughly.
He took his books under his arms and
went off to the court rooms. 1t looked
very clear to him, and he undoubtedly
was right. But a pettifogging lawyer,
whom Sherman knew and thoroughly de-
'pised, had the other side of the case In
he debate Sherman grew very angry and
through his rage lost his case. He was
20 Disguised that he went at once to the
lwings, told them he would have nothing
more to do with the law, and decided to
70 back to the army. A few days before
his he received an offer of the superin-
endency of military academy in Lauisi-
ina at salary of 1000 year. This he
accepted. Had he gained his case he
would have probably refused it and the
Vorld would have lost a general.
FRANK q. CARPENTER.
Maintaining the Average.