Many people in the South, whether familiar with the Civil War or not, recoil at the mention of Gen. William T. Sherman.
William Tecumseh Sherman
The negative image of the man who wreaked havoc in the Carolinas and made “Georgia howl” persists to this day. But there is more to this story than first meets the eye. Sherman had many close relationships with Southerners before, during, and after the war. He spent most of his life after his 1840 graduation from West Point in the South, and just before the war began he was superintendent of the Louisiana Military Seminary, the forerunner of today’s Louisiana State University.
At the close of the war, this leading practitioner of “hard war” became the strongest advocate for a “soft peace,” so much so that he was roundly denounced by Stanton, Halleck and many Northern newspapers for the lenient peace terms he offered Joe Johnston.
Following the war when he toured the South, he received a warm welcome; not at all what one might have expected. Come join us as John Marszalek introduces us to a Sherman that may be a stranger to most of us. Come meet the general who was the South’s best friend.
Reservations are required for dinner. 865.671.9001.
From the Scout’s Report, the newsletter of the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable.
Knoxville Civil War Roundtable 
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