Sherman, William Tecumseh (1820-1891)

Sherman, William Tecumseh (1820-1891)

1865 (circa)

William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), a career Army officer, served under General Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War battle of Shiloh (1862). In 1864 he achieved his greatest military renown for his "March to the Sea" from Atlanta to Savannah, laying waste to the most populated area of Georgia by the extensive destruction of property. After the war Sherman became a lieutenant general. Following Grant's inauguration as President in 1869, Sherman succeeded him as Commander in Chief of the Army, a position he held until his retirement in 1883.

The artist of these paired portraits of Grant and Sherman is unknown, but one of the frames bears the label of a Washington, DC, frame maker, suggesting that they may have been painted in that city.

24" x 29"

Oil on canvas; gilt frame

Gift of Drs. Caroline and Peter Koblenzer.

General Collection, Museum Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia

1975.09.01

http://www.philaathenaeum.org/rights.html