Historical Figure: General William Tecumseh Sherman - NY, NY

General William Tecumseh Sherman

Memorial

New York, NY

N 40° 45.885 W 073° 58.386

Short Description: 

A monument honoring General William Tecumseh Sherman is located at W. 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.

Long Description:

A 15.5' high gilded bronze equestrian statue of General William Tecumseh Sherman being led by a 10.5' high figure of Nike, the Winged Goddess of Victory, on an oblong granite base comprise the General Sherman Memorial on the southeast corner of Central Park in Manhattan. General Sherman is depicted on horseback wearing a military uniform and cape. The monument was created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and A. Phimister Proctor. Charles Follen McKim was the architect. It was dedicated at the south east corner of Central Park on May 30, 1903.

The sides of the base are decorated with laurel wreaths. The front of the base contains the following dedication:

TO GENERAL 

WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN

BORN FEB 8 1820

DIED FEB 14 1891

ERECTED BY CITIZENS OF NEW YORK

UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8, 1820 in in Lancaster, Ohio. He attended the West Point Military Academy and graduated in 1840. At the outbreak of the Civil War he was a colonel in the 13th U.S. Infantry regiment. He then served under General Grant and was a hero of the Battle of Shiloh. Thereupon, General Grant promoted him to the rank of Major General of volunteers. After the Union victory at Vicksburg, MS Sherman was given the rank of Brigadier General in the Regular Army, in addition to his rank as a Major General of volunteers.

Sherman is most famous for his capture of Atlanta during the Georgia campaign and his subsequent march to the sea through Georgia to capture the port city of Savannah. After the war and the election of Grant to the presidency, Sherman became Commanding General of the Army from 1869 to 1883. He died in New York City on February 14, 1891.