Origin and Evolution of the Sherman Family to 1840

Abstract This chapter traces the origin and evolution of the Sherman family. Unlike many of his fellow countrymen, William T. Sherman did not display an enduring fascination with his family tree. He never bothered to inspect his ancestral home, even during his European tour of 1872. Consequently, his biographers have been perplexed by his ancestry or thought better of treating it in detail. The Sherman family hailed from south-eastern England, and they played a minor part in the upheavals that culminated in a great civil war that engulfed the British Isles from 1642 to 1651. The full context of Sherman’s life is not complete without some consideration of this background and legacy bequeathed to him by his forebears. The chapter also details Sherman’s experience at West Point. During his time at the military academy, Sherman’s rebelliousness became obvious—and he paid the price. It is a curious feature of his life that he spent so many of his later years proclaiming West Point’s virtues, the very standards that he had ignored in his youth. But by graduating, Sherman entered a self-conscious elite, and its values had a powerful influence on his opinions and military attitudes.