⇒ PDF Fierce Patriot The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman Robert L O'Connell 0884949586395 Books

Fierce Patriot The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman Robert L O'Connell 0884949586395 Books

Download As PDF : Fierce Patriot The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman Robert L O'Connell 0884949586395 Books

Fierce Patriot The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman Robert L O'Connell 0884949586395 Books

Mr. O’Connell has written a very readable overview of the Life of William Tecumseh Sherman. Written in a conversational style, the author says Sherman was a complex individual and the best way to understand the man is to review his character along three different story lines.

The first story line is Sherman as the “general contractor” and the strategist of continental expansion. Essentially the author argues that Sherman was part of the generation that built the United States to the west coast. In the first section, beginning with Sherman’s boyhood and continuing through the Civil War, O’Connell covers the general’s life as a soldier in the Second Seminole War, his time in California, as a banker, and, of course, his Civil War experience. The theme is that Sherman saw the United States as “under construction” and he was part of the crew to build it. Even his wartime experience fits into this theme as he was driven to save the United States from dissolution, while his post-war years were spent subduing native tribes and supporting building the transcontinental railroad system.

The second story line focuses on Sherman the soldier and the army he built and used in the west to bring an end to the Civil War. O’Connell reviews how Sherman evolved as a commander, how he developed his army, and how his strategic views solidified.

The third story line takes a look at Sherman the man. The author takes a look at Sherman’s personnel life examining his family upbringing and the impact it had on him. It continues looking at Sherman’s personal side through his post-war years and retirement, his relationship with his wife and his mistresses, and his relationship with his children.

Unfortunately “Fierce Patriot” doesn’t provide anything new on Sherman. What it does do well is provide a very readable book on Sherman while taking a look at the man from a variety of viewpoints. Most Sherman biographies, and I think this applies to most biographies of military leaders, focus on their battles. In a way, the biography becomes just another way of presenting the battle and not the man. However, “Fierce Patriot” does not take this approach. You do learn about the man and not just his military exploits. And if O’Connell covers the same ground twice, it’s only because he’s viewing the subject from a different perspective.

In the end the author paints an image of a strategic thinker and a goal-oriented pragmatist in his professional life, while sharing a disjointed personal life with a woman he loved and knew very well (he married his foster father’s daughter), but with whom he had several key differences (primarily religion).


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Fierce Patriot The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman Robert L O'Connell 0884949586395 Books Reviews

This is a remarkable book a literary and historical achievement. Extremely well written, it captures the reader with such phrases as "Studying Sherman in detail can be compared to a really bad day at the beach." The organization is clear. Using an analytical approach, the author looks at Sherman from three perspectives his contribution to the preservation and expansion of the country, his contribution to military tactics and strategy, and his personal life.

The book is a historical achievement leading. The author cuts through both the hype and the hysteria surrounding Sherman. For example, Sherman's March to the Sea was composed of two parts. The first part was a conventional military campaign using traditional logistics to move from Chattanooga to Atlanta. The second part was Sherman's unconventional travel from Atlanta to Savannah. And, the author points out that this difficult march would have been impossible but for superbly conditioned troops who believed in and loved Sherman.

The reader comes away from the book with a mixture of awe, respect, and affinity for Sherman. He has strong convictions, but was hardly intolerant. Like everyone, he had faults, but rose above them to serve his nation at a crucial juncture.
I can say I disliked Sherman before I read this book. His march to the sea and the way his troops ravaged the area, property, and people in its path was terrible. The author glosses over much of this and attempts to portray the 'bummers' almost as Robin Hood and his band of merry men.

However, after reading the book I can more appreciate the rationale for what they did to destroy the morale of the south through their methods. Maybe it saved tens of thousands (or more) of soldiers lives by ending the war more quickly.

The author also skipped over a few issues that really lead to the civil war, but the book was about Sherman, not just the war.

Sherman was just as ruthless in dealing with native Americans as he was in dealing with the south. A general focused on winning regardless of the costs to the enemy, but without the same disregard for his own troops casualties as generals like Grant and others.

Probably the type of person we still need leading us today.

Very close to a 5 star book.
Not sure how this book became a national bestseller. The author seems to be out to prove that Sherman won the Civil War with little or no help from any other Union General and was the innovator of almost every tactic and strategy the North used. Ignoring that many of the strategies and tactics he used were merely adopted or adapted from other commanders isn't a problem because in these cases the author gives no mention that they were ever used until Sherman employed them. A perfect example of this is that O'Connell spends several chapters detailing how original and unheard of it was for Sherman to march away from his supply lines during the March to the Sea, ignoring entirely that it was merely adopting the same strategy as Grant's Vicksburg campaign.
O'Connell also perpetuates previous myths of the Civil War (Grant's drinking in combat) despite the fact that they have revealed as myths for some time. The end result is to present all other commanders faults while passing Sherman's off as either overblown or twisted to make him look bad. When one reads history it's important to remember that heroes have faults too, this book seems determined to remove all faults from Sherman and present him as the true reason that the Union won the American Civil War.
Mr. O’Connell has written a very readable overview of the Life of William Tecumseh Sherman. Written in a conversational style, the author says Sherman was a complex individual and the best way to understand the man is to review his character along three different story lines.

The first story line is Sherman as the “general contractor” and the strategist of continental expansion. Essentially the author argues that Sherman was part of the generation that built the United States to the west coast. In the first section, beginning with Sherman’s boyhood and continuing through the Civil War, O’Connell covers the general’s life as a soldier in the Second Seminole War, his time in California, as a banker, and, of course, his Civil War experience. The theme is that Sherman saw the United States as “under construction” and he was part of the crew to build it. Even his wartime experience fits into this theme as he was driven to save the United States from dissolution, while his post-war years were spent subduing native tribes and supporting building the transcontinental railroad system.

The second story line focuses on Sherman the soldier and the army he built and used in the west to bring an end to the Civil War. O’Connell reviews how Sherman evolved as a commander, how he developed his army, and how his strategic views solidified.

The third story line takes a look at Sherman the man. The author takes a look at Sherman’s personnel life examining his family upbringing and the impact it had on him. It continues looking at Sherman’s personal side through his post-war years and retirement, his relationship with his wife and his mistresses, and his relationship with his children.

Unfortunately “Fierce Patriot” doesn’t provide anything new on Sherman. What it does do well is provide a very readable book on Sherman while taking a look at the man from a variety of viewpoints. Most Sherman biographies, and I think this applies to most biographies of military leaders, focus on their battles. In a way, the biography becomes just another way of presenting the battle and not the man. However, “Fierce Patriot” does not take this approach. You do learn about the man and not just his military exploits. And if O’Connell covers the same ground twice, it’s only because he’s viewing the subject from a different perspective.

In the end the author paints an image of a strategic thinker and a goal-oriented pragmatist in his professional life, while sharing a disjointed personal life with a woman he loved and knew very well (he married his foster father’s daughter), but with whom he had several key differences (primarily religion).