William Tecumseh Sherman He never commanded in a major Union
victory and his military career had repeated ups and downs, but
William T. Sherman is the second best known of Northern
commanders. His father had died when he was nine years old, and
Sherman was raised by Senator Thomas Ewing and eventually
married into the family. Through the influence of his patron, he
obtained an appointment to West Point. Only five cadets of the
class of 1840 graduated ahead of him, and he was appointed to
the artillery. He received a brevet for his services in
California during the Mexican War but resigned in 1853 as a
captain and commissary officer. The years until the Civil War
were not filled with success. Living in California and Kansas,
he failed in banking and the law. In 1859 he seemed to have
found his niche as the superintendent of a military academy
which is now Louisiana State University. However, he resigned
this post upon the secession of the state and went to St. Louis
as head of a streetcar company and then volu