Significant and revealing ALS signed “W. T. Sherman,” eight lightly lined pages on four sheets conjoined in pairs, 5 x 8, Headquarters, Army of the United States letterhead, March 14, 1876. Sherman writes to General Manning F. Force (1824–1899), who, as commander of the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, led troops at the Battles of Raymond and Atlanta. For his actions at the latter, Force was promoted to major general and, in 1893, received the Medal of Honor for having “charged upon the enemy's works, and after their capture defended his position against assaults of the enemy until he was severely wounded.” In part: “I do not ask you or any one to approach the Secretary of War in my behalf. Now that I am out of the scramble I would hate to be drawn in again with almost the certainty of being thwarted by influences that Judge Taft [Alphonso Taft (1810–1891), father of William Howard Taft and, as of a week earlier, Secretary of War in Grant’s administration] can hardly be expected to visit. The old maxims of Government, especially those of the military service, came to us from England, and are today as true as when the first code was compiled in 1792. But as the French began to develop their system, their notions began to creep into our Army and gradually gain the force of habit. Till now we hardly knew what is military usage, military law—this must have struck you as a lawyer and soldier. Our military statues are a jumble. One paragraph makes the Secretary of War Commander in Chief—another denies him the right or power to give a personal order. The whole system by which the Secretary of War commands the Army grants leaves of absence, makes transfers, & exercises functions such that, if he is not in command, no body else can be, is based on a decision of the Supreme Court, that his order must be presumed, as those of the President, who is constitutional Commander in Chief. General Grant has felt the pinch so keenly, that he told me at Chicago in 1868 he intended to change all this when he became President, and he actually required me to prepare for the change. He intended to do right, but found the pressure too great ... and actually has allowed the ebb tide to go further than ever before. [William Worth] Belknap [the previous Secretary of War, who resigned less than two weeks earlier, on March 2] is not a cause, but functions were familiar to him, and he [Grant] repeatedly promised to bring Genl. Belknap & me together that we might confer & agree—but he never did. If the whole truth comes out, I feel confident that every officer & soldier who ever served in any way, will acquit me of the insinuations, now asserted openly, but often hinted by the parasites and flatterers that surrounded Belknap, that I arrived to usurp all the functions of his office. These men led him to the brink, saw him topple over, and now raise a howl of pity & indignation. The system is all wrong. The General should command the personnel & materiel of the Army, and should make all orders for their discipline and drill. He should have the right & power, and then be held to a strict account. Orders & instructions by the Secretary of War, as the representative of the President & the law, should go in writing to the General, and by him communicated to all parts of the Army, and he could then be held accountable that these orders & instructions were obliged.... I hope Judge Taft can run the machine without me. All men bear testimony to his integrity and ability, and I doubt not he will soon discover that he has a vast amount of machinery to move a very little body....” Though Sherman had been named Commanding General of the United States Army when Grant assumed the presidency in 1869, political differences strained relations between the two men, and the reform-minded Sherman left Washington to establish new headquarters in St. Louis. Sherman’s disillusionment with his official position was further fueled by the actions of Belknap as Secretary of War, effectively reducing Sherman’s role to that of a puppet. Facing the prospect of impeachment proceedings brought by Congress related to charges that he had accepted funds in exchange for post appointments, Belknap resigned less than two weeks before Sherman penned the present letter, and was succeeded by Taft. Faint show-through of ink, otherwise very fine, clean condition. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
