20. The American Civil War Hero William Tecumseh Sherman once had to resign as General because of his poor mental health
Crucial to the Union’s victory over the Confederacy in the American Civil War was General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-91). Sherman was a ruthless military commander whose uncompromising approach to warfare saw his men strategically destroy railroads and crops across the South to reduce the Confederacy’s capacity for warfare and civilian morale during his famous March to the Sea. This was the first instance of what became known as ‘total war’, a tactic which saw all civilian resources and infrastructure as legitimate targets. He remained a soldier after the Civil War, living by the maxim, ‘war is hell’.
Yet, in 1861, he resigned as general in Kentucky as he deemed himself mentally incapable of command: ‘it would be better if a more sanguine mind were here’, he told President Lincoln. Plagued by fear and self-doubt, he suffered a mental breakdown. Journalists with him at the time remembered him in a manic state, pacing ceaselessly and muttering things to himself. Though he recovered from this episode to achieve lasting fame, it has been theorized that he suffered from bipolar disorder: Sherman’s character was one of the extremes of hyperactivity and despondency, and he seldom slept or spoke to other people.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
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