9 January 1880
Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891
Autograph letter signed
Title: to Charles A. Morton
Commander in Chief of the Army Sherman writes to Colonel Morton regarding the destruction incurred on Sherman's March to the Sea. He discusses the term "Sherman's Monuments" for the chimneys left after houses burnt down, claims that he never sanctioned the burning of a private dwelling, and states that there was more desolation in Vicksburg and the Shenandoah Valley left by Grant's troops. He dismisses Southern politicians who decry vandalism in the South during the war, seeing such destruction as something the South brought upon itself.
GLC03780