General William Tecumseh Sherman remains a larger-than-life figure in American military history.
The most intimate and unknown details of the man behind the legend are revealed at the Sherman House Museum in Lancaster, Ohio.
We will start our business for this season from today, April 10th (Wednesday).
Grow a 500-pound pumpkin in your backyard: 5 tips from America’s world-record gourd grower
“Sometimes, like with George Washington, we almost turn our heroes into gods, and I think that’s a disservice to them,” Sherman House Museum Director Michael Johnson told Fox News Digital. ” he said.
“I think we need to show that these are ordinary people who did extraordinary things in a critical moment, and that’s what sets them apart.”
General William T. Sherman was born in this house in Lancaster, Ohio, on February 8, 1820. The house is now the Sherman House Museum, which opens this year on April 10, 2024. (Kelly J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
Sherman was born here in 1820, one of 11 children, and his father, who later became a West Point cadet and U.S. Army legend, was 9 years old. He lived there until his death.
The general was long remembered as a fearsome military commander, including infamy in the American South.
Introducing the American who wrote “Ben-Hur: The Story of Christ”: Federal General Lew Wallace
But the legend of this warrior, discovered in the Sherman House Museum, was a thoughtful artist, theater patron, Renaissance man, and beloved old man known by his men as “Uncle Billy” long after the war. It overshadows the commander.
The museum displays a copy of Sherman’s wonderful illustration “Death of a Centaur,” which he painted while a cadet at the military academy.
General William Tecumseh Sherman on horseback during the Civil War, circa 1864. (Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
The original still hangs at West Point.
“Artism ran through the Sherman family,” Johnson said. “He loved theater and art. He was a top student in art at West Point.”
“Artism ran through the Sherman family. He loved theater and the arts.”
The museum features needlepoint by the soldier’s mother, Mary Hoyt Sherman, and four chairs carved with scenes from Shakespeare’s plays.
Sherman had his chair made after the war while living in New York City, where he became a prominent supporter of the famous theater scene.
“Death of the Centaur”, illustration by West Point Cadet William Tecumseh Sherman. The future general’s original painting hangs at the U.S. Military Academy, and a copy was found at the Sherman House Museum in Lancaster, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Johnson/Authorized copy from USMA at Sherman House Museum, West Point)
In other lesser-known contributions to American history, while living in New York, Sherman personally chose Ellis Island as the site for the installation of the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the French people.
The life of the man known at the Sherman House Museum stands in sharp contrast to the fearsome wartime leader.
Polish metal detectors discover 400-year-old combat equipment: ‘unique discovery’
Sherman led Union forces that captured and burned the small crossroads of Atlanta in November 1864.
It was a cultural watershed event in American history. Among other things, the Atlanta Burning inspired the beloved fictional Civil War epic “Gone with the Wind.”
General William T. Sherman was a talented artist who supported theater. A chair at the Sherman House Museum in Lancaster, Ohio depicts a Shakespearean play written by a general after the Civil War. This chair is inspired by a scene from “Macbeth.” (Michael Johnson/Sherman House Museum)
He then led his army to conquer Georgia as far as Savannah. This has gone down in history as General Sherman’s infamous “March to the Sea.”
This is considered a precursor to the “total war” that would occur in the 20th century.
Click here to sign up for our lifestyle newsletter
The American GI during World War II added to the legend of his name by leading him to victory in Europe and Asia with the support of approximately 50,000 Sherman tanks.
Sherman lived a fascinating life before the Civil War, Johnson said.
William T. Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio in 1820. His birthplace is now the Sherman House Museum. (Kelly J. Byrne/Fox News Digital, Apic/Bridgeman, via Getty Images)
He graduated from West Point in 1840 and first retired from the Army in 1853.
In 1859, the man who later became infamous for blighting the South became the first superintendent of the Louisiana State Seminary and Military Academy.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
After Louisiana seceded from the Union in January 1861, he rejoined the Union Army.
The Ohio native helped found the southern university known today as Louisiana State University.
For more lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle..
