A biography of William Tecumseh Sherman, the Civil War commander known for his ""destructive war"" policy against Confederates and as a consummate soldier. It traces Sherman's involvement in the Mexican War in late 1840s, his years battling prospectors and deserting soldiers in gold-rush California, and his 1850 marriage to his foster sister, Ellen.

General William Tecumseh Sherman has come down to us as the implacable destroyer of the Civil War, notorious for his burning of Atlanta and his brutal march to the sea. A probing biography that explains Sherman's style of warfare and the threads of self-possession and insecurity that made up his character. Photos.