Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1904-05-27
GENERAL SHERMAN-THE MAN
BY Major General o. O. Howard.
Omitted States Army. RetiredJ

Gen. Sherman and myself each COM
manded brigade in the first battle OF
Bull Run. l had heard much about
Capt. Sherman, formerly Of the artil-
lery in the regular service, but l had
with him only passing acquaintance
while we were in the East. When he
first came to Washington from Louisi-
ana he could not understand the ap-
parent apathy of the War department
He knew that secession was a reality
and that a terrible war was upon us.
In the West my first meeting with
Sherman was at Chattanooga, in a
large upper room of a private house,
where, before his coming, Gen. Grant
had brought together bevy of West
ern generals, among them Thomas,
Palmer, Gordon Granger and myself.
We were talking in a social way when
Sherman, who had come up from
Bridgeport, Ala, distance of twenty
miles from his head of column, to re-
port progress to Grant, burst in upon
US.
His tall, sinewy figure, never for a
moment still, his high head and hand
some brow, with few wrinkles at the
corners of his eyes and across his
forehead, his keen, bright, searching
look and his deep toned, melodious
voice, presented man once seen new
err to be forgotten.
After Grant went east to command
the armies of the United States, Sher-
man, having the three armies of the
West called the Military Division OF
the Mississippi, which embraced all
The troops from Cincinnati to Mobile,
was always moving forward with
,easeless activity.
ON spring campaign of 1864, by
.hese movements, under the untiring,
ndefatigable General, was continued
for 113 days, during which we were
under fire of artillery or musketry
every day except three. These three
were occasioned by Gen. Joe Johnston,
the Confederate commander, passing
suddenly and Unexpectedly below the
Etowah River.
The night before Sherman entered
Atlanta in person he was near my
headquarters in the vicinity of Jones'
boro, Ga. He was too restless to sleep.
About midnight he heard from the
north sounds of shells exploding and
other sounds like that of musketry."
He walked over to farm house and
called the farmer out ito listen to the
reverberations which came from At
lanta." The distance was twenty
miles.
Sherman asked the farmer if he had
lived there for any length of time. He
answered that he had, and that these
sounds were like those of battle.
After these reverberations there was
quiet till about dawn, when Sherman
heard again a renewal of the eXplo-
sions. He could not determine in his
mind whether or not there was real
battle.
Not long after sunrise rumors came
in that Hood had abandoned his posi-
ton and was in retreat. At last as
the day wore on dispatch came from
Gen. Slocum stating that Hood had
gone and that the Twentieth corps had
marched into the city. AS soon as
this news was in his hand Sherman
mounted his horse and rode back to
Atlanta.
Then he sent that memorable tele-
gram:-"Atlanta is ours and fairly
won"
To the administration at Washing
ton and to the people at large Sher-
man had really burst from the clouds.
ATLANTA wont" was, indeed, bow of
promise to America and to the world
that right and justice would soon pre-
vail, and that the American Union
would be restored.
Again on Dec. %, 1864, Sherman,
who had been away in the harbor Wis
iting the admiral Of the navy there in
charge, came back and Joined Gen.
Slocum and myself, who had entered
Savannah day before, the next
morning after Hardee's evacuation of
the city.
Sherman was delighted that we
were not obliged to make a siege or
attempt to carry Savannah by as
sault. A siege would have taken much
time, and an assault, owing to the few