Comment on A man of many contrasts
PugJesus@piefed.social 1 day ago
Sherman: “War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it.”
Shermanposting during the Civil War: 😀
Sherman: “War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it.”
Shermanposting during the Indian Wars: 😬
First_Thunder@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
I mean, I’m pretty sure I saw one of your memes of him while not exactly being friendly to native Americans, also recognising and being critical of the constant breaches of treaties
PugJesus@piefed.social 1 day ago
Yep. Even with that philosophy, Sherman, unfortunately, was far from the worst American, or worst American military commander, on the Western frontier, which is more a condemnation of the Americans of the period than absolution of Sherman.
He did whatever he thought was necessary to end the wars he was tasked to end, but attempted to prevent any new wars from breaking out, and didn’t exceed what he regarded as necessary (or legal) for the prosecution of the wars. Sherman considered himself (and the military in general) a tool of the civilian government, though, and whatever orders he was given, he executed to the best of his ability, even when he disagreed with them.
Also unfortunately, the strategic-level thinking of Sherman led directly to the mass slaughter of buffalo herds to restrict the movement of Native American tribes.