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77 Motivational Quotes By William Tecumseh Sherman

Famous As: Former Commanding General of the United States Army (1869 - 1883)
Born On: February 8, 1820
Died On: February 14, 1891
Born In: Lancaster, Ohio, United States
Died At Age: 71
William Tecumseh Sherman was an eminent American soldier, author, businessman and educator. During the American Civil War he served as a General in the Union Army. He was both recognized and criticised for his tenure as a General. He also provided logistical support to Brig and put up awe-inspiring action in the First Battle of Bull Run. Sherman also jotted down his first hand experience of the Civil War in his book ‘Memoirs.’ Sherman was declared as the ‘the first modern general’ by B.H Liddell Hart, a famous British military historian. A tank was named after him and was called ‘Sherman Tank’ and a Civil War gunboat was also named ‘Fort Sherman’ in his honour. Following is a compilation of thoughts by William Tecumseh Sherman which have been excerpted from his books and life. 
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I want peace, and believe it can only be reached through union and war, and I will ever conduct war with a view to perfect an early success.

I want peace, and believe it can only be reached through union and war, and I will ever conduct war with a view to perfect an early success.

William Tecumseh Sherman
You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing!

You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing!

William Tecumseh Sherman
Wars are not all evil, they are part of the grand machinery by which this world is governed.

Wars are not all evil, they are part of the grand machinery by which this world is governed.

William Tecumseh Sherman
War's Legitimate Object Is More Perfect Peace.

War's Legitimate Object Is More Perfect Peace.

William Tecumseh Sherman
Some of you young men think that war is all glamour and glory, but let me tell you, boys, it is all hell!

Some of you young men think that war is all glamour and glory, but let me tell you, boys, it is all hell!

William Tecumseh Sherman
War is cruel and you cannot refine it.

War is cruel and you cannot refine it.

William Tecumseh Sherman
If nominated, I won't run; If elected, I won't serve.

If nominated, I won't run; If elected, I won't serve.

William Tecumseh Sherman
I see every chance of a long, confused and disorganizing civil war, and I feel no desire to take a hand therein.

I see every chance of a long, confused and disorganizing civil war, and I feel no desire to take a hand therein.

William Tecumseh Sherman
Though I never ordered it, and never wished for it, I have never shed any tears over the event, because I believe that it hastened what we all fought for, the end of the war.

Though I never ordered it, and never wished for it, I have never shed any tears over the event, because I believe that it hastened what we all fought for, the end of the war.

William Tecumseh Sherman
You might as well appeal against the thunderstorm.

You might as well appeal against the thunderstorm.

William Tecumseh Sherman
Hold the fort! I am coming!

Hold the fort! I am coming!

William Tecumseh Sherman
If nominated by either party, I should peremptorily decline, and even if unanimously elected, I should decline to serve.

If nominated by either party, I should peremptorily decline, and even if unanimously elected, I should decline to serve.

William Tecumseh Sherman
The way to success is strategically along the way of least expectation and tactically along the line of least resistance.

The way to success is strategically along the way of least expectation and tactically along the line of least resistance.

William Tecumseh Sherman
Oh, it is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization.

Oh, it is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization.

William Tecumseh Sherman
I begin to regard the death and mangling of a couple thousand men as a small affair, a kind of morning dash-and it may be well that we become so hardened.

I begin to regard the death and mangling of a couple thousand men as a small affair, a kind of morning dash-and it may be well that we become so hardened.

William Tecumseh Sherman
The only good Indian is a dead Indian

The only good Indian is a dead Indian

William Tecumseh Sherman
I knew wherever I was that you thought of me, and if I got in a tight place you would come-if alive.

I knew wherever I was that you thought of me, and if I got in a tight place you would come-if alive.

William Tecumseh Sherman
...[We] must stop these swarms of Jews who are trading, bartering and robbing.

...[We] must stop these swarms of Jews who are trading, bartering and robbing.

William Tecumseh Sherman
We have good corporals and good sergeants and some good lieutenants and captains, and those are far more important than good generals.

We have good corporals and good sergeants and some good lieutenants and captains, and those are far more important than good generals.

William Tecumseh Sherman
The whole army is burning with an insatiable desire to wreak violence upon South Carolina. I almost tremble for her fate.

The whole army is burning with an insatiable desire to wreak violence upon South Carolina. I almost tremble for her fate.

William Tecumseh Sherman
The carping and bickering of political factions in the nation's capital reminds me of two pelicans quarreling over a dead fish.

The carping and bickering of political factions in the nation's capital reminds me of two pelicans quarreling over a dead fish.

William Tecumseh Sherman
After all, I think Forrest was the most remarkable man our Civil War produced on either side.

After all, I think Forrest was the most remarkable man our Civil War produced on either side.

William Tecumseh Sherman
You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end.

You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end.

William Tecumseh Sherman
The more Indians we can kill... the less will have to be killed the next war, for the more I see of these Indians, the more convinced I am that they all have to be killed or be maintained as a species of paupers.

The more Indians we can kill... the less will have to be killed the next war, for the more I see of these Indians, the more convinced I am that they all have to be killed or be maintained as a species of paupers.

William Tecumseh Sherman
We can make war so terrible and make them so sick of war that generations pass away before they again appeal to it.

We can make war so terrible and make them so sick of war that generations pass away before they again appeal to it.

William Tecumseh Sherman
The scenes on this field would have cured anybody of war.

The scenes on this field would have cured anybody of war.

William Tecumseh Sherman
It's a disagreeable thing to be whipped.

It's a disagreeable thing to be whipped.

William Tecumseh Sherman
An Army is a collection of armed men obliged to obey one man. Every change in the rules which impairs the principle weakens the army.

An Army is a collection of armed men obliged to obey one man. Every change in the rules which impairs the principle weakens the army.

William Tecumseh Sherman
I will accept no commission that would tend to create a rivalry with Grant. I want him to hold what he has earned and got. I have all the rank I want.

I will accept no commission that would tend to create a rivalry with Grant. I want him to hold what he has earned and got. I have all the rank I want.

William Tecumseh Sherman
The voice of the people is the voice of humbug.

The voice of the people is the voice of humbug.

William Tecumseh Sherman