General William Tecumseh Sherman saw war for what it was.

[Swede]

"I confess, without shame, that I am sick and tired of fighting — its glory is all moonshine; even success the most brilliant is over dead and mangled bodies, with the anguish and lamentations of distant families, appealing to me for sons, husbands, and fathers ... it is only those who have never heard a shot, never heard the shriek and groans of the wounded and lacerated ... that cry aloud for more blood, more vengeance, more desolation."

[2naSalit]

1. The awful truth.

[SYFROYH]

2. What he said is true, but Sherman was also a master of creating the shrief and groans of the wounded and lacerated.

His Total Warfare crushed the South and helped end the war sooner rather than later. I sometimes wonder if our more "humane" wars that last years longer than past wars actually causes more pain and death.

[dutch777]

6. Good point. Trumans reason to approve the atomic bombings of Japan. Lemay was going to fire bomb the whole

country by the end of 1945 by shifting all the idle bombers in Europe to Okinawa and level all the major urban centers in Japan. His only concern was whether he could get enough napalm bombs to meet the need. The atom bombs were terrible, but firebombing all major cities full of civilians in wood houses would have been horrific.

[hlthe2b]

3. I only wish he had learned that before he left the Civil War battlefields to engage in Native massacres

Last edited Tue Mar 3, 2026, 09:25 PM - Edit history (1)

While his scorched earth (literally) tactics against confederates, civilians, infrastructure and their cities no doubt led to a faster end to the civil war--something many believe should be honored, his massacres of Native Americans in the most brutal and sadistic manner possible is not forgotten in the West. If you know anything about the Sand Creek Massacre, you'd understand why. (I made the trek to the site of the massacre in Southeast Colorado--now a national historic monument--a few years back. It was an incredibly emotional visit that I wish others would experience as well).

General William Tecumseh Sherman was involved in military campaigns against Native Americans (including women and children) during the Indian Wars, including the Salt Creek Massacre. His actions and policies contributed to the violent conflicts between settlers and Native American tribes during this period.

Sand Creek massacre
Massacre of a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in the American Indian Wars
The Sand Creek massacre was a massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho people by the U.S. Army in the American Indian Wars that occurred on November 29, 1864, when a 675-man force of the Third Colorado Cavalry under the command of U.S. Volunteers Colonel John Chivington, a Methodist pastor, attacked and annihilated a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in southeastern Colorado Territory, killing and mutilating an estimated 70 to over 600 Native American people Continued in Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Creek_Massacre_National_Historic_Site

A brutal, yet "heroic" figure of the Civil War? Maybe. But I can never forgive what he did in the so-called "Indian Wars." Nor can many in my area of the country. Just sayin... At least his quote suggests something broke through to him even if he reportedly never considered Native Americans to be other than non-human "savages"...

[WarGamer]

4. Hardly a hero... his record vs Native Americans and civilians speaks for itself

[Jim__]

5. Talking about Trump, "it is only those who have never heard a shot ..."

[ChicagoTeamster]

7. The Trumps have never served. No one in his family has served in over 150 years.

Elon left South Africa to avoid compulsory military service like Trump's family left Germany for the US