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Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891 to John Conness

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03341.01 Author/Creator: Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891 Place Written: St. Louis, Missouri Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 9 January 1876 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 21 cm, Width: 14 cm Order a Copy

Commander in Chief of the Army Sherman writes to Conness about the quarrel he had with Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton over the terms of Confederate General Joseph Johnston's surrender in 1865. Sherman suggests that he may have acted wrongly. " ... I do not profess to be infallible, or more than mortal. I have made some fearful mistakes in life which in a retrospect would be corrected, among them in regard to Mr. Stanton." Admits that he felt Stanton was trying to destroy him, " ... because he supposed I was not acting in full harmony on the then policy with the Negros - And failing there, he had used the last possible opportunity in making public the Johnston Terms at a time of profound National Excitement." Written on stationary marked Headquarters Army of the United States.

Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891
Conness, John, 1821-1909
Stanton, Edwin M. (Edwin McMasters), 1814-1869
McPherson, James Birdseye, 1828-1864

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