Gen Willian Tecumseh Sherman

Redneck

Active member
Sherman the Man

War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want.
- General William T. Sherman



I hope I'm not just being blind, but I believe these are all new to the site. I just found them squirrelled away on my computer.
 
"No army can be efficient unless it be a unit for action; and the power must come from above, not below"

"No matterhow troops come together, when once united, the highest ranking officer in rank is held."

"A bulky staff implies a division of responsibilitym slowness of action, and indecision, where as a small staff implies activity and concentration of purpose."

"Officers should never seek for houses, but share the condition of their men"

"Who ever has commanded an army in the field knows the difference between a willing, contented mass od men, and one that feels a cause of grievance. There is a soul to an army as well as to the individual man, an no general can accomplis the full work of his army unless he commands the soul of his men, as well as thier bodtes and legs.

" The "feeding" of an army is a matter of the most vital importance, and it demands the earliest attention of the general intrusted with a campaign."

"Once satisfied...that all has been done that can be, the soldiers are alwats willing to bear the largest measure of privation. Probably no army ever had a more varied experience in this regard than the one I commanded in 1864-1865."

"The only changes that breech-loading arms will probably make in the art and practice of war is to increase the ammount of ammunition to be expended, and necessarily to be carried along; to still further "thin out" the lines of attack, and to reduce battles to short, quick, and decisive conflicts. It does not in the least affect the grand strategy, of the necessity for perfect organization, drill an dicipline. THe companies and battalions will be more dispersed, and the men will be less under the immediate eye of their officers, and therefore a higher order of intelligence and courage on the part of the individual soldier will be an elelment of strength."

"I would define true courage to be a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and the mental willingness to incur it, rather than thatinsensibility to danger of which I have heard far more than I have seen."

"On the "defensive", there is no doubt of the propriety of fortifying; but in the assailing army the general must watch closely to see that his men do not neglect an opportunity to drop [leave]...defences, and act promptly on the "offensive" at every chance."

"IN the presence of an active enemy, it is much easier to maintain descipline than in the barracks inn time of peace."

"The hardest task in was is to lie in support of some position or battery, underfire with out the privilege of returning it."

"Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster."

"To be at the head of a strong column of troops, in execution of some task that requires brain, is the highest pleasure of war."

Quotes from On War and Leadership by Owen Connelly
 
"Death is popularly considered the maximum punishment in war, but is not; reduction to poverty brings prayers for peace more surely and more quickly than does the reduction of human life, as the selfishness of man has demonstrated in more than one great conflict."
 
We have good Corporals and good Sergeants, and some good Lieutenants and Captains; and those are far more important than good Generals.
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There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys it is all Hell.
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In our Country... One class of men makes War and leaves another to fight it out.
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I am sick and tired of war. It's Glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heared the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengance, for desolation. War is Hell.
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I knew wherever I was that you thought of me, and if I got in a tight place you would come- if alive.
(In a letter to Gen Ulysses S. Grant)
 
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