Quotes by William Sherman

• There will soon come an armed contest between capital and labor. They will oppose each other, not with words and arguments, but with shot and shell, gun-powder and cannon. The better classes are tired of the insane howling of the lower strata and they mean to stop them.
• 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.
• If forced to choose between the penitentiary and the White House for four years, I would say the penitentiary, thank you.
• I would make this war as severe as possible, and show no symptoms of tiring till the South begs for mercy.
• I will accept no commission that would tend to create a rivalry with Grant. I want him to hold what he has earned and got. I have all the rank I want.
• I think I understand what military fame is; to be killed on the field of battle and have your name misspelled in the newspapers.
• I make up my opinions from facts and reasoning, and not to suit any body but myself. If people don't like my opinions, it makes little difference as I don't solicit their opinions or votes.
• I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices today than any of you to secure peace.
• I intend to make Georgia howl.
• This war differs from other wars, in this particular. We are not fighting armies but a hostile people, and must make old and young, rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war.
• I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah.
• If the people raise a great howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not popularity seeking.
• He belonged to that army known as invincible in peace, invisible in war.
• Grant stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he was drunk, and now we stand by each other.
• Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster.
• Courage - a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to endure it.
• But, my dear sirs, when peace does come, you may call on me for any thing. Then will I share with you the last cracker, and watch with you to shield your homes and families against danger from every quarter.
• An Army is a collection of armed men obliged to obey one man. Every change in the rules which impairs the principle weakens the army.
• A battery of field artillery is worth a thousand muskets.
• The voice of the people is the voice of humbug.
• You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will.
• War is too serious a matter to leave to soldiers.
• War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want.
• War is hell.
• War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.
• War is at its best barbarism.
• There's many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory but it is all hell.
• 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.
• There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell.
• If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve.
• The scenes on this field would have cured anybody of war.
• My aim, then, was to whip the rebels, to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us. Fear is the beginning of wisdom.
• My aim then was to whip the rebels, to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us.
• It's a disagreeable thing to be whipped.
• It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.
• In our Country... one class of men makes war and leaves another to fight it out.
• If you don't have my army supplied, and keep it supplied, we'll eat your mules up, sir.
• You may as well say, 'That's a valiant flea that dare eat his breakfast on the lip of a lion.