Thomas W . Sherman Thomas West Sherman ( March 26 , 1813 – December 31 , 1879 ) was a United States Army officer with service during the Mexican - American War and the American Civil War . Early career . Sherman , known to his friends as " Tim " , was born in Newport , Rhode Island . His desire to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point was so strong that he walked from Newport to Washington , D . C . to secure a Congressional appointment . He graduated from the Academy the on July 1 , 1836 . Upon graduation he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 3rd U . S . Artillery Regiment . Sherman would serve the bulk of his career with the 3rd Artillery and eventually became its commander . His early career included service in the Florida War against the Seminoles from 1836 ‑ 38 and in the Cherokee Nation in 1838 while transferring the Native Americans to the West . He was promoted to first lieutenant on March 14 , 1838 . He served again in the Florida War from 1838 to 1842 and on recruiting service in 1842 . He served at Fort Moultrie , South Carolina from 1842 to 1844 and was again on recruiting service from 1844 to 1846 . He was promoted to captain on May 28 , 1846 . Mexican - American War . During the War with Mexico he took a distinguished part in the Battle of Buena Vista on February 23 , 1847 , leading his battery in a defensive action helping to stop the Mexican attack , and was brevetted to major " for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct " during the battle . He was assigned to Fort Trumbull in New London , Connecticut in 1848 and then to Fort Adams in Newport from 1849 to 1853 . He was then on frontier duty at Fort Snelling , Minnesota from 1853 to 1857 and was in command of expedition to Yellow Medicine , Minnesota in 1857 . He was involved in quelling the Kansas Border Disturbances in 1857 to 1858 and the Artillery School for Practice at Fort Ridgely , Minnesota from 1858 to 1861 , except while in command of the expedition to Kettle Lake , Dakota in 1859 . Civil War . At the start of the Civil War , Sherman was serving as a major in the 3rd Artillery when he received a volunteer commission as brigadier general on May 17 , 1861 . He assumed command of the ground forces in the Port Royal Expedition . Sherman and the naval force under Flag Officer Samuel F . du Pont captured Port Royal in a combined Army / Navy operation . After briefly commanding the Department of the South , Sherman was sent to the Western Theater . He took command of Major General George H . Thomas ' s division during the Siege of Corinth when the latter assumed command of the Right Wing of Major General Henry W . Halleck ' s army group . After that he commanded the Defenses of New Orleans before taking command of a division in Major General Nathaniel P . Banks ' s army , which he led into action at the Siege of Port Hudson . During the May 27 , 1863 , attack on Port Hudson , Sherman was severely wounded , which led to the amputation of his right leg . His injuries were so severe that he was not expected to live and the newspaper in his hometown of Newport , Rhode Island printed an extensive obituary for him . For the rest of the war he held administrative commands in Louisiana . In recognition of his heroism and services , Sherman was breveted to the rank of major general at the end of the war . Post war . After the war , Sherman joined the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and was issued insignia number 643 . Sherman was mustered out of volunteer service on April 30 , 1866 and reverted to his Regular Army rank of colonel and was placed in command of the 3rd Artillery Regiment . He served in command of his regiment and the post of Fort Adams , in Newport from July 29 , 1866 , to February 1869 . He was in temporary commanded the Department of the East from January to July 16 , 1868 . His final assignment was in command of his regiment and Fort Taylor in Key West , Florida from February 1869 to November 29 , 1870 . Sherman retired from active service on December 31 , 1870 as a Major - General for " Disability caused by the Loss of a Leg in Battle " . Sherman died in Newport on March 16 , 1879 at the age of 66 . He was buried in the Island Cemetery in Newport .