[CIVIL WAR]. SHERMAN, William Tecumseh (1820-1891). Autograph letter signed ("W.T. Sherman"), as Commanding General of the US Army, to General Henry M. Cist (1839-1902). Washington, D.C. 2 November 1879.

8pp, 5 x 8 in., on "Headquarters Army of the United States" letterhead, light toning.

A compelling letter written to General Cist prior to the 19 November 1879 dedication of a monument in Washington, D.C. to honor Major General George Henry Thomas (1816-1870), a Union officer known as the "Rock of Chickamauga." The large equestrian statue was to be a gift of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, an organization with which Cist was closely associated. It is likely that, working on behalf of the Society of the Cumberland, Cist had extended invitations to Civil War notables asking for their participation in the unveiling ceremonies. Here Sherman replies with his thoughts on the participation of Ulysses S. Grant, and offers a candid assessment of his own relationship with Thomas as well as that of Grant and Thomas during the Civil War.

"...I wrote him [Grant] a letter giving him substantial reasons why he should participate in the last chance to manifest what I know are his feelings about Thomas....Grant and I knew Thomas, better than you or the thousands of his more modern admirers....Grant was also younger and of less experience in the Old Army than Thomas, and always respected his courage and systemic habits of discipline and preparation; yet every man has his peculiarities and Thomas had his. On the Defensive he was Grand. Mighty, and subject to all praise, but in 1864 the interest of this government demanded aggression. The offensive in the most vehement form, and here Thomas was slow and methodic. No one ever loved him more than I did. No man ever trusted him more than I did. Yet war is a monster that devours everything, and I must not be construed as questioning Grants motives even if his actions towards Thomas seemed unjust, for in December 1864, he Grant would have been justified in sacrificing father, brother, friend, anybody who stood in the way of success...." Sherman closes the letter with remarks about how Grant's participation in the ceremony might be perceived, noting that the focus should be on Thomas. "The unveiling should be the principal and Grant's presence the accessory."

General George Thomas was one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Lauded for his brilliant defense at the Battle of Chickamauga and breakthrough on Missionary Ridge in the Battle of Chattanooga, as well as for service during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign, Thomas nonetheless never achieved the acclaim of his contemporaries Sherman and Grant. Modern historians have assessed Thomas as one of the most skilled Union commanders and some have argued that both Sherman and Grant denigrated his accomplishments. The letter offered here presents an intimate perspective on the complicated relationship between these three generals, as well as the powerful emotions aroused by the conflict more than a decade after the end of the Civil War. General Sherman, along with an estimated 50,000 others and notables President Rutherford B. Hayes and General Philip Sheridan, did attend the dedication ceremony in 1879. Ulysses Grant did not.

[With:] Head-and-shoulders portrait on paper of "Lieut. Gen. William T. Sherman," engraved by John Chester Buttre (1821-1893), photo by Anthony. Approx. 5 x 7 in. (light soil, adhesive residue on verso).