William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8 in the year 1820 in Lancaster Ohio. His father was Charles Sherman, a well-known lawyer and Ohio Supreme Court justice. Sherman was one of eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Sherman. In 1829 his father died when Sherman was only 9 years old. He went to live with a family friend. This family friend was Thomas Ewing, a senator from Ohio and a Whig member. Thanks to Sherman's contacts, especially Thomas Ewing, they got him an appointment at the Military Academy at West Point in New York state. Sherman excelled academically, but had little regard for their rules. He never got into too much trouble and managed to graduate in 1840, sixth in his class. His military career began slowly. Sherman first saw some action in Florida. He was a commander in the Second Seminole War. He had various duty stations in Georgia and South Carolina. While serving in those areas, he met some of the oldest and most respected families in the South. Sherman's early military career wasn't all that exciting compared to that of most of his colleagues who served in the Mexican-American War, seeing a lot of combat. Sherman on the other hand was stationed in California as an executive officer or as we say in the Army, an xo. In 1850, Sherman married Thomas Ewing's daughter, Eleanor Boyle Ewing. By 1853, after 3 years of marriage, Sherman was questioning his role in the Army. Feeling like he was going nowhere due to his lack of combat experience, he decided the U.S. Army wasn't for him. He resigned from his position. Sherman ended up staying in California as a banker during the gold rush period. His time as a banker ended with the Panic of 1857. Sherman and his family moved to Kansas, where he put his tactics into practice. Historians and other officials have given Sherman credit for his tactics. He forever changed the face of war and described it for what it is: "War is hell!" Bibliography William Tecumseh Sherman. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 03:47, April 19, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/william-tecumseh-sherman-9482051.Sherman's March. (2010). The History.com website. Retrieved 03:47, April 19, 2014, from http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/shermans-marchWilliam Tecumseh Sherman. (2009) The History.com site. Retrieved 03:47, April 19, 2014, from http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/william-t-shermanAmerican Experience: TV's most-watched history series. (n.d.). PBS. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/grant-sherman/