War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over. William Tecumseh Sherman More Quotes by William Tecumseh Sherman More Quotes From William Tecumseh Sherman I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell. William Tecumseh Sherman tiredwarblood If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world, but I am sure we would be getting reports from Hell before breakfast. William Tecumseh Sherman choiceswould-beamerica Courage - a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to endure it. William Tecumseh Sherman courageperfectmen The North can make a steam engine, locomotive or railway car; hardly a yard of cloth or a pair of shoes can you make. You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical and determined people on earth - right at your doors. You are bound to fail. Only in spirit and determination are you prepared for war. In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start with. William Tecumseh Sherman powerfuldeterminationwar We must act with vindictive earnestness against the Sioux, even to their extermination, men, women and children... during an assault, the soldiers cannot pause to distinguish between male and female, or even discriminate as to age. William Tecumseh Sherman soldiermenchildren We can make war so terrible and make them so sick of war that generations pass away before they again appeal to it. William Tecumseh Sherman sickwarhistory I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. William Tecumseh Sherman rumorcivil-warhate The more Indians we can kill... the less will have to be killed the next war, for the more I see of these Indians, the more convinced I am that they all have to be killed or be maintained as a species of paupers. William Tecumseh Sherman speciesnextwar You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. William Tecumseh Sherman warcountryblood I begin to regard the death and mangling of a couple thousand men as a small affair, a kind of morning dash-and it may be well that we become so hardened. William Tecumseh Sherman couplemorningdeath I found so many Jews and speculators here trading in cotton, and secessionists had become so open in refusing anything but gold, that I have felt myself bound to stop it. The gold can have but one use - the purchase of arms and ammunition... Of course, I have respected all permits by yourself or the Secretary of the Treasury, but in these new cases (swarms of Jews), I have stopped it. William Tecumseh Sherman cottongolduse War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want. William Tecumseh Sherman militarygivingwar The only good Indian is a dead Indian William Tecumseh Sherman native-american-indianwarpeace If the people raise a great howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not popularity seeking. William Tecumseh Sherman answerswarpeople Grant stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he was drunk, and now we stand by each other. William Tecumseh Sherman drunkcrazyhistory We have good corporals and good sergeants and some good lieutenants and captains, and those are far more important than good generals. William Tecumseh Sherman sergeantscaptainsimportant The young bloods of the South: sons of planters, lawyers about towns, good billiard-players and sportsmen, men who never did any work and never will... They are splendid riders, first-rate shots and utterly reckless. These men must all be killed or employed by us before we can hope for peace. William Tecumseh Sherman playerwarson To those who would submit to the rightful law and authority, all gentleness and forbearance; but to the petulant and persistent secessionists, why, death is mercy, and the quicker he or she is disposed of the better. Satan and the rebellious saints of Heaven were allowed a continuous existence in hell merely to swell their just punishment. To such as would rebel against a Government so mild and just as ours was in peace, a punishment equal would not be unjust. William Tecumseh Sherman punishmentgovernmentlaw After all, I think Forrest was the most remarkable man our Civil War produced on either side. William Tecumseh Sherman menwarthinking I will not accept if nominated, and will not serve if elected. William Tecumseh Sherman politicsmilitaryrunning
