Full text of "General W.T. Sherman as college president; a collection of letters, documents, and other material, chiefly from private sources, relating to the life and activities of General William Tecumseh Sherman, to the early years of Louisiana State University, and to the stirring conditions existing in the South on the eve of the Civil War, 1859-1861"

GIFT OF

GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN
AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

WILLIAM TI-CUMSEH SHERMAN, 1860

From a painting by Colonel S. H. Lockett, owned by
Louisiana State University

GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN
AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

A collection of letters, documents, and other
material, chiefly from private sources, relating
to the life and activities of General William
Tecumseh Sherman, to the early years ol
Louisiana State University, and to the stirring
conditions existing in the South on the eve of
the Civil War; 1859-1861

Collected and edited by
WALTER L. FLEMING, PH.D.

Professor of history, Louisiana State University

CLEVELAND, OHIO

THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY

1912

WALTER L. FLEMING

CONTENTS

PREFACE . . . . . . .11

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . 13

I ELECTION OF THE SEMINARY FACULTY. SHERMAN

COMES SOUTH . . . . . 19

II PREPARING FOR THE OPENING OF THE SEMINARY . 47

III THE BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION . . 97

IV STUDENT TROUBLES- SHERMAN PLANS TO GO TO ENG

LAND . . . . . . .137

V THE REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY . . 197

VI THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST SESSION . . . 235

VII THE VACATION OF 1860: OHIO, WASHINGTON, NEW

YORK ....... 253

VIII THE SECOND SESSION. THE COMING OF SECESSION . 295

IX SECESSION - SUPERINTENDENT SHERMAN RESIGNS . 335

X To NEW ORLEANS AND THE NORTH . . . 365
INDEX . ...... 385

* r;

; o r&gt; 4
j t&gt; i 4-

ILLUSTRATIONS

WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, 1860 . . Frontispiece

THE FIRST FACULTY: William Tecumseh Sherman, Powhatan

Clarke, Anthony Vallas, D. F. Boyd, Francis W. Smith . 27
GROUND FLOOR PLAN OF THE LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY
[text cut] . . . . . . .31

Drawn from notes and plan accompanying General Graham s letter to
Sherman.

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY IN 1860 . . . -49

LETTER OF MAJOR P. G. T. BEAUREGARD TO SHERMAN (three
plates) . . . . . . .111-115

SHERMAN S INSTRUCTIONS TO STATE CADETS (two plates) 227-229
SHERMAN S LETTER TO GENERAL G. M. GRAHAM . -355

PREFACE

For assistance in gathering and preparing the ma
terial printed in this book I am indebted to the kindly
services of many friends, especially to Philemon Tecum-
seh Sherman of New York City, who has permitted
the use of all letters and documents in his possession
relating to his father s life in Louisiana; to Leroy S.
Boyd, Esq., of Washington, D.C., who has turned over
to me a mass of manuscript, pamphlet, and newspaper
material relating to the early history of the Seminary;
to President Thomas D. Boyd and Professors Albert
M. Herget and William O. Scroggs, of Louisiana State
University, who have given material assistance in the
collection and preparation of the documentary material.
My wife and her mother, Mrs. David F. Boyd, the
widow of Sherman s most intimate friend in Louisiana,
and Miss Theo Jones, have assisted me greatly in veri
fying names and dates and in deciphering crabbed hand
writing.

WALTER L. FLEMING.

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.
August, 19 1 1

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of the collection. Sherman s plan for such a publication. His
brief account of the organization of the Seminary. Sources of the material
here reprinted. The organization of the Seminary.

The purpose of this work is to bring together upon
the occasion of the semicentennial of the organization
of Louisiana State University the material, chiefly docu
mentary, relating to the beginnings of the Louisiana
State Seminary (now the Louisiana State University)
and to the life in Louisiana of William Tecumseh
Sherman, the first executive of the institution. Late in
life General Sherman planned such a collection and
gathered material for it, but he did not publish it. In
1889 he wrote the following prefatory statement to a
collection of letters and papers which with considerable
additions are here published:

In Sherman s Memoirs, published by the Appletons, volume i,
pages 172-193, will be found a brief statement of the public
events in Louisiana with which I was connected, and which im
mediately preceded the great Civil War. I now propose to
supplement that statement by preparing in advance, not with any
purpose of immediate publication, but rather for preservation in
a convenient form, a series of letters which seem to me may
become of value to posterity.

At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Louisiana
State Seminary of Learning, at Alexandria, Aug. 2, 1859, I was
elected professor of engineering, architecture, and drawing and
superintendent thereof. The action of the board was wholly
the result of the recommendation of Major Don Carlos Buell,
then in Washington, and of Gen. G. Mason Graham, half-
brother to my old chief, Gen. [R. B.] Mason, in California.

i 4 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

This institution was designed to be a military college, and
was located three miles north of Alexandria, a town of some
importance on the south bank, and about a hundred miles up
Red River. The funds for its maintenance were the proceeds
of sales of public lands donated by the national Congress for
this very purpose and held by the state in trust. The main
building was already finished; was in every way suitable and
appropriate and over the main entrance was inscribed : "By
the liberality of the general government, the Union Esto per-
petua."

The general control of this institution was committed to a
Board of Supervisors, citizens of the State, of which the Gov
ernor was ex-officio the president.

Accordingly I first reported to Governor Wickliffe at Baton
Rouge, the state capital, who informed me that the cares of his
office engrossed his whole time, and that he wanted me to go on
to Alexandria to confer with his successor, Governor-elect
Thomas O. Moore, and to co-operate fully with Gen. G. Mason
Graham, a member of the Board of Supervisors, who was in fact
the real creator of the institution, and resided on his cotton plan
tation, "Tyrone," nine miles above Alexandria, on the right or
south bank of Red River (or its overflow channel, Bayou Rap-
ides), whereas the Academy was on the left or north bank in the
pine woods, on high and healthy ground.

I then proceeded to Alexandria by stage, stopping over night
with Gov.-elect Moore on Bayou Robert, and then to Gen.
Graham s plantation, where we soon began the work of prep
aration. The professors had already been chosen at the same
time with myself, and were within call.

Gen. Graham and I soon got to work agreeing perfectly that
we should make a start on the ist day of January, 1860 and
should be ready to provide for and instruct about one hundred
cadets. We had a limited amount of money, and everything
had to be supplied in advance. A Mr. Jarreau was selected as
steward. Tables, benches, blackboards, etc. had to be manu
factured on the spot, and text books, bedding, and room fur
niture bought in New Orleans. Regulations had to be prepared
and printed, circulars had to be prepared and circulated. All
was accomplished and practical instruction was begun on the
1st of January, 1860.

INTRODUCTION 15

The letters herewith will give a far better understanding of
the private thoughts and feelings of the men who afterwards
bore conspicuous parts in the Civil War than any naked narra
tive, and I merely intend this as a preface to them.
New York, Dec. I, 1889. W. T. S.

The collection here printed was gathered from vari
ous sources. It contains the letters collected by Sher
man himself ; other letters written by him or to him, and
furnished to the editor by his son, P. T. Sherman, Esq. ;
a few extracts from Sherman s Personal Memoirs
which serve better than editorial matter to connect the
letters; letters and documents from the archives of
Louisiana State University; and correspondence relat
ing to the Seminary from General G. Mason Graham,
Major P. G. T. Beauregard, Captain George B.
McClellan, Captain Braxton Bragg, Governors Wick-
liffe and Moore, and Dr. S. A. Smith.

These letters and documents will serve not only to
show the beginnings of Louisiana State University, and
Sherman s part therein, as well as his views upon prob
lems then agitating the nation, but they will throw light
upon the social and political conditions of the time, and
upon the feelings and actions of the southern leaders on
the eve of the Civil War.

The Louisiana State Seminary (since 1870 called the
Louisiana State University) , which opened its doors on
January 2, 1860, was the first institution of college grade
in Louisiana to enjoy the undivided support of the
state, and of the numerous colleges and universities,
supported by the state, it alone has survived. It corre
sponds to the state universities of other states which
were established on the foundation of Federal land-
grants, but it was organized much later than the uni
versities of states no older than Louisiana. This delay

16 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

in establishing a state seminary or university was due to
conditions within Louisiana: there was a lack of homo
geneity in the population of French and Anglo-Amer
icans - each with its distinctive ideals and religion; the
educational system was decentralised and each geo
graphic section, each church party, each nationality
claimed its state-subsidized college.

This decentralized system was continued with some
what unsatisfactory results until near the middle of the
nineteenth century, when by the constitutions of 1845
and 1852 a state system of public schools was inaugu
rated and a single state supported "Seminary" author
ized. The Seminary was to receive in addition to state
appropriations the income from the sales of the public
lands donated by the Federal government to the state of
Louisiana in 1806, 1811, and 1827 "for the support of a
seminary of learning." These lands were not placed on
the market until 1844. From 1845 to 1852 the legisla
ture wrangled over the question of the location of the
school. In the latter year it was decided to locate it
near Alexandria in the Parish of Rapides; and in 1853
a site was selected three miles from Alexandria on the
north side of the Red River. In 1859 the buildings
were completed and a faculty selected.

The leader in all matters relating to the Seminary
from 1845 to 1860 was General George Mason Graham,
a Virginian, educated at West Point, and a veteran of
the Mexican War. It was largely through his influence
that William Tecumseh Sherman was elected superin
tendent of the State Seminary. Sherman, who was born
in Ohio in 1820, was graduated from West Point in
1840, and after several years service in southern posts,
was on staff service in California under General Roger

INTRODUCTION 17

B. Mason, a half brother of General G. Mason Graham.
He resigned from the army in 1853 an( * was for several
years a banker in California and New York. At the
time of his election he was practising law in Leaven-
worth, Kansas.

WALTER L. FLEMING.

I. ELECTION OF THE SEMINARY FACULTY
SHERMAN COMES SOUTH

Meeting of the supervisors in May, 1859. The Seminary to be a literary
and scientific institution under a military system of government. Advertise
ments for professors. Description of the building and grounds. D. C. Buell
writes to Sherman about the Seminary. The election of a faculty for the
Seminary. Graham s account of the building and the professors. Sherman s
plans for the Seminary. Advice of Captain George B. McClellan relative
to the organization of the Seminary. Sherman s views on John Brown, slavery,
and secession. Sherman arrives in Baton Rouge.

In May 1859 the Board of Supervisors of the State Seminary
met at Alexandria and by a majority vote decided that the new
college should be "a literary and scientific institution under a
military system of government, on a program and plan similar
to that of the Virginia Military Institute." The several depart
ments of instruction were established, and the salaries fixed. In
order to secure the most competent professors Governor Wick-
lifre was asked to advertise for applications. The following
statement, taken from the National Intelligencer, July 4, l859&gt;
Washington, D.C., was published widely over the South and
the North.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE, BATON ROUGE, LA., May 10, 1859.

At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the State
Seminary of Learning, held at Alexandria, in the Parish
of Rapides, the following resolution was adopted:

RESOLVED, that the President of the Board, in his
official capacity, advertise for applications from persons
competent to fill :

i. A professorship of mathematics, natural and ex
perimental philosophy, with artillery tactics; to which
office shall be attached a salary of twenty-five hundred
dollars per annum - $2,500.

20 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

2. The office of instructor of English and ancient
languages; to which office shall be attached a salary of
two thousand dollars per annum - $2,000.

3. Instructor of engineering, architecture, and draw
ing; to which office shall be attached a salary of twenty-
five hundred dollars - $2,500.

4. The office of instructor of chemistry, geology, and
mineralogy, and of infantry tactics ; to which office shall
be attached a salary of twenty-five hundred dollars per
annum- $2,500.

5. The office of instructor of the modern European
languages ; to which office shall be attached a salary of
two thousand dollars per annum - $2,000.

From the five professors selected a superintendent
will be chosen, who shall receive one thousand dol
lars - $1,000 - extra consideration in virtue thereof.

Furnished rooms to be provided to the professors free
of charge.

In accordance with the foregoing resolution, notice
is hereby given to all such persons as may desire to pre
sent themselves as competent to fill the chairs above
enumerated, to make application, accompanied with
recommendations, etc., to me, at the Executive Office at
Baton Rouge, until the i^th day of July, and after that
time at Alexandria, in the Parish of Rapides, until the
ist day of August, 1859; at which time and place the
selections will be made to fill the several professorships
and a superintendent chosen.

The appointments thus made will take effect on the
first Monday of January next (1860) , at which time the
institution will be opened.

The same issue of the National Intelligencer contained the
following editorial written by General G. Mason Graham, vice-
president of the Board of Supervisors.

In another column will be found the advertisement

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH 21

of Governor R. C. Wickliffe, president, ex-officio, of
the Board of Supervisors of the Seminary of Learning
of the State of Louisiana, inviting applications from
persons competent to do so and desirous of filling the
five chairs and the office of superintendent in that insti
tution. . .

This institution, which is about to be organized as a
scientific and literary institution, under a military sys
tem of government, on a programme and plan similar
to that of the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington,
in Virginia, is founded on a fund arising from the sales
of land given by the general government many years ago
to the Territory of Orleans for the establishment of a
Seminary of Learning. The principal of this fund is,
by the constitution of Louisiana, perpetually invested,
at interest, in the hands of the state; the interest alone
to be used in the establishment and maintenance of the
school.

The really beautiful building for this institution, the
main bodies of which are of three lofty stories, capped
by a heavy cornice-wall finished in crennel work, and
the five towers are of four stories, terminating in circu
lar turrets, built on three sides of a quadrangle, one
hundred and seventy feet front by one hundred and sev
enteen feet deep, with back buildings in reverse, so as
to leave the fourth side of the area entirely open, is lo
cated in the open pine hills, where the trees have a
growth of seventy-five feet and upwards to the branches,
unobstructed by undergrowth, on a tract of four hun
dred acres owned by the institution; about three miles
from the village of Pineville, on the north side of Red
River opposite to the town of Alexandria, with which
it is connected by a steam-ferry.

Alexandria- distant about thirty to thirty-five hours

22 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

by steamboat from New Orleans - is a distributing post
office, with a daily mail from New Orleans, and lines of
four-horse post coaches running north, south, east, and
west from it -contains a Catholic, an Episcopal, and a
Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church having a
chapel in Pineville.

Early in 1859 Sherman was a member of the law firm of
Sherman, Ewing and McCook of Leavenworth, Kansas. Hav
ing decided to look for a more lucrative position, he wrote to
the War Department asking about possible vacancies in the Pay
Department. In reply Major D. C. Buell sent to him the ad
vertisements given above, and the following letter.

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 17, 1859.

DEAR SHERMAN: I received your letter this morning.
It is unnecessary to make declarations when you already
know so well that it would give me sincere pleasure to
serve you. At present I see nothing of the kind you
mention to suggest to you, but I will look about with
hope that I may. There is no certainty of a vacancy in
the Pay Department, though one of its members is now
in serious difficulty about his account. If a vacancy
should occur I know no reason why you should not en
deavor to secure it, and succeed, too, if it were depen
dent on the merits which your case could be made to
present.

You must remember, however, that in these times
everything turns on political or other influence. If you
can bring that kind of influence to bear on the President
let it be done at once to secure a promise of the first
vacancy; for it would be filled before I could even get
the news to you by telegraph after it had occurred, so
ready and pressing are the aspirants. . .

In the meantime, however, I enclose you a paper
which presents an opening that I have been disposed to

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH 23

think well of. The only trouble is that the Academy has
not yet been secured by state laws, though I think it al
together probable that it will be. If you could secure
one of the professorships and the superintendency, as I
think you could, it would give the handsome salary of
$3,500. The paper is sent to me by [George] Mason
Graham, General [R. B.] Mason s half-brother, and ex
plains the whole matter. If you think well of it I have
no doubt I can write him such a letter as will secure you
a valuable advocate at first, and a useful supporter after
wards. You will observe there is not much time to
spare. . .

[Endorsement by Sherman in 1889.] This was the
first suggestion received by me on this subject, and to
Gen. Buell I owe my election as superintendent of the
Louisiana Seminary of Learning. He was seconded by
Gen. G. Mason Graham, half-brother to my old chief in
California, Col. R. B. Mason. Generals Bragg and
Beauregard did not even know I was an applicant.

W. T. S.]

The advertisements attracted much attention and nearly a
hundred applications for professorships were received. General
Graham, vice-president of the Board of Supervisors, who was
determined that a military man should head the school, had
carried on a wide correspondence with a view to the selection of
a suitable person. Having decided upon Sherman as best quali
fied for the superintendency he proceeded to use the press in his
behalf. The following, from the Louisiana Democrat [Alex
andria, La.] of July 20, 1859, is an editorial written by General
Graham.

It is stated that Captain W. T. Sherman is one of the
applicants for a professorship in our new State Semi
nary, and also for the position of the superintendency.
He graduated at West Point in the class of 1840 and
stood No. 6 on the merit roll. He was commissioned in

24 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

the artillery and did his first service in California as
adjutant-general for General R. B. Mason. He was
brevetted for gallant and meritorious services and was
subsequently appointed a captain in the general staff of
the army. He resigned in 53 to take control of the
business of an extensive banking house in California
which he managed with great skill. During his resi
dence there he was made general of militia. Captain
Sherman is spoken of as "standing high in the army as a
scholar, soldier, and a gentleman - a man of great firm
ness and discretion and eminently remarkable for his
executive and administrative qualities.

From what we can hear there seems to be no room to
fear an insufficient number of applicants for professor
ships in the Seminary. The greater the list the better
enabled will the Board of Supervisors be to make a
good selection. It is to be hoped that the reputation,
learning and ability of the corps of professors will be
such as to render our new Seminary one of the fore
most institutions of the South.

The supervisors, on August 2, 1859, proceeded to the elec
tion of the first faculty of the Seminary. The Louisiana Dem
ocrat of August 3 gives this account of the proceedings.

Agreeably to adjournment the Board of Supervisors
of the Louisiana State Seminary met on Monday, Aug.
i st. His Excellency, Governor Wickliffe, president ex
officio of the Board, presided. The members in atten
dance were T. C. Manning, Esq., Gen. G. Mason Gra
ham, Col. Walter O. Winn, S. W. Henarie, Esq., Hon.
M. Ryan, Hon. P. F. Keary, Hon. J. A. Bynum, Hon.
W. W. Whittington, Hon. W. L. Sanford, Col. Fenelon
Cannon.

The principal business before the Board was the se
lection of a superintendent and a corps of professors for
the Seminary. Some idea of the difficulty of their task

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH 25

may be formed from the fact that there were forty ap
plicants for the chair of ancient languages, twenty for
that of mathematics, nine for that of modern languages,
nine for that of chemistry and mineralogy, and three for
that of engineering.

These applicants were from all sections, Maine, New
Hampshire, the northwest, Kentucky, Virginia,
Georgia; and even graduates of European universities
were among the candidates. One enterprising person, a
Mr. Goodwyn, Ichabod Goodwyn, was candid enough
to acknowledge himself a "republican" ("Black Re
publican" in politics, but trusted that the little circum
stance would make no difference!) Mr. G. will have
his name registered in the list of unsuccessful candidates.
The Board would have admired his candor if they had
not been astonished at his impudence. Mr. G. would be
a splendid superintendent of a brass button manufac
tory. Teachers enough for the young men of Louisiana
can be found without employing any of Greeley s braz
en faced disciples. We shall refer to Mr. Goodwyn s
application again hereafter.

After full examinations of certificates, the Board
made choice of the following:

Major W. T. Sherman, superintendent, and professor
of engineering, architecture, and drawing; Anthony
Vallas, PH.D., professor of mathematics and of natural
and experimental philosophy; Francis W. Smith, A.M.,
professor of chemistry and mineralogy; E. Berte St
Ange, professor of modern languages ; D. F. Boyd, A.M.,
professor of ancient languages.

Of Major Sherman s qualifications, we have spoken
in a recent issue. Dr. Vallas, is a graduate of the Uni
versity of Pesth, Hungary, in which institution he has
filled with distinction a professor s chair. He is the
author of several scientific and mathematical works

26 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

held in high estimation. Mr. Smith is a graduate of the
Virginia University, and also of the Military Institute
of that state. Mr. St. Ange, 1 is a native of France, and
has served with distinction as an officer in the French
navy. He has taught in the University of Louisiana,
and for some time also in this Parish. Being known to
most members of this Board as a thorough instructor
his election was unanimous. Mr. Boyd is a graduate of
the University of Virginia, and like the rest highly rec
ommended for proficiency and talent.

The traditional account of Sherman s election was written
down nearly forty years later by D. F. Boyd from whose manu
script the paragraphs given below are taken.

[Sherman s] application for position in the Military
Academy was characteristic of him. When Governor
WicklifTe and the Board of Supervisors met on the hot,
sultry summer day in 1859, to make the faculty appoint
ments, there were many applications ; and after they had
waded through a mass of testimonials - flattering words
of loving, partial friends, genealogies, etc. - such hand
some nothings as only enthusiastic southerners can say
of each other, and of their ancestors for generations
back, when an office is in sight, a half-sheet letter was
opened and read about to this effect:

GOVERNOR WICKLIFFE, president, Board of Supervisors.

Sir: Having been informed that you wish a superintendent
and professor of engineering in the Military Academy of Louis
iana, soon to be opened, I beg leave to offer mj^self for the posi
tion.

I send no testimonials. . . I will only say that I am a
graduate of West Point and ex-army officer ; and if you care to
know further about me, I refer you to the officers of the army
from General Scott down, and in your own state to Col. Braxton
Bragg, Major G. T. Beauregard, and Richard Taylor, Esq.
Yours respectfully, W. T. SHERMAN.

1 A graduate of Charlemagne College, Paris. ED.

THE FIRST FACULTY

(i) William Tecumseh Sherman; (2) Powhatan Clarke;

(3) Anthony Vallas; (4) D. F. Boyd ; (5) Francis W. Smith

Dr. Clarke s portrait is of 1910; the others are of 1860. No portrait of Professor

St. Ange can be found

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH 29

No sooner was this letter read, than Sam. Henarie, a
plain business man and member of the Board, ex
claimed: "By G d, he s my man. He s a man of
sense. I m ready for the vote!" "But," said Governor
WicklifTe, "we have a number more of applications.
We must read them all." "Well, you can read them,"
rejoined Henarie, "but let me out of here, while you are
reading. When you get through, call me, and I ll come
back and vote for Sherman." Sam heard no more "tes
timonials." Sherman was elected. . .

To the successful applicants for positions the governor sent
formal notices of appointment while General Graham entered
into a lengthy correspondence with the newly elected superin
tendent in regard to the work that was still to be done before
opening. Typical letters are here selected.

GOVERNOR ROBERT C. WICKLIFFE TO W. T.
SHERMAN

EXECUTIVE OFFICE, BATON ROUGE, LA., Aug. 5, 1859.

SlR: I have the pleasure to inform you that at a
meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Seminary of
Learning, held at Alexandria on the ist of August, you
were elected to fill the chair of professor of engineering,
architecture, drawing, etc., and as superintendent of the
institution.

You will please inform me at what time, between this
and the first of December, it will be convenient for you
to meet a committee of the Board of Supervisors, to
make necessary arrangements for the organization of
the institution.

G. MASON GRAHAM TO W. T. SHERMAN

STEAMBOAT MINNESOTA, descending Red River, La.,

Augusts, T 8S9-

SIR: I have the gratification to inform you, in ad
vance probably of your official notification by Gov.

30 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Wickliffe, that the Board of Supervisors of the Semi
nary of Learning, State of Louisiana, yesterday elected
you to the chair of engineering, architecture, and draw
ing in that institution, and to the post of superintendent
thereof. . .

I am now en route to join my family at Beer-Sheba
Springs, Tennessee, where I shall remain until the last
days of August and thence to Washington City all the
month of September. My address there will be to
"care Richard Smith, Esq., cashier, Bank of the Me
tropolis." Hope to be at home by first of November,
where from the ist to the loth, shall be glad if you can
join me, making the headquarters of your family at my
house, where we have abundant room, but are nine miles
distant from Alexandria, thirteen from the Seminary.

If entirely convenient and comfortable to your family,
however, to remain behind, it would be wisest for you
to come down alone at first, as there are no residences
yet provided, and you will all have to quarter at first in
the building. Yourself and .Dr. Vallas are the only two
married men on the Academic Board, and the Board of
Supervisors has taken the initiatory for the creation of
two dwellings, but it requires the authorization of the
legislature, which assembles on the 3rd Monday in
January.

It will be necessary for you to be here as soon as pos
sible after my own return, as the preparation for, and
the starting of, the whole machinery has been devolved
mostly on you and myself, including the furnishments
of the building, as you will see from the published ac
counts of our proceedings which will be forwarded to
you (apropos : the statement in the governor s advertise
ment that "furnished apartments will be provided the
professors in the building" was an error of our secre-

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH

tary s. It should have read "Apartments will be fur
nished the professors in the building free of charge
therefor " le meublant of them however to be left to
themselves).

I enclose to your address at Leavenworth, to be
mailed with this in New Orleans, a packet containing
four publications from the Virginia Military Institute,
one of them a copy of its "Rules and Regulations," so
that in devoting in advance, what leisure moments you
may have to the preparation of your plans, you may
have the experience of our model before you.

If an article in the Daily National Intelligencer of
Monday, July 4th, headed "Louisiana Seminary" met
your eye, you will have gathered from it a pretty exact
idea of its locale. A little ground plan which I have
endeavored to make amidst the tremulous motion of the
boat, and enclose here, will enable you to form some
idea of the capacity of the Building.

ii StfJ pS Ji*

r=, Jl . B P ll- =

27*. 68

FLA/NT -riR5T

32 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Doctor Vallas is an Episcopal clergyman (which
quality he sinks entirely, that is, in the exercise of it, so
far as the institution is concerned), an Hungarian, an
accomplished gentleman, an erudite scholar, a profound
and practised mathematician and doctor of philosophy.
Has occupied various chairs in the colleges of Vienna
and at the time of the establishment of the Revolution
ary Government in Hungary, was professor of mathe
matics in the University at Pesth, in which capacity he
was ordered by that Government to organize a military
department to the University in which he superintended
the instruction of about five hundred young men for two
years, when the Austrians recovering possession of
Pesth he was dismissed from the Military school and
was himself court-martialed. Saving his head, they only
removed his body from the office of professor of the
university, and altho there is satisfactory evidence that
he might have been restored to that position, he pre
ferred a voluntary expatriation. He resides in New
Orleans, readily at hand.

Monsieur St. Ange seems to be a gentleman and well
educated scholar - has served in the Marine Corps of
France. Is in Alexandria.

David F. Boyd, an eleve of the University of Vir
ginia and native of that state, is now teacher in a school
in the northerly part of Louisiana. He, too, is there
fore readily at hand.

Francis W. Smith, native of Virginia and eleve of its
military institute, is a very young man, a nephew of both
Col. Smith, the superintendent, and of Major William
son, one of the professors in the V.M.I. He comes
strenuously recommended as eminently qualified to fill
any chair in our school, except that of modern lan
guages, being only a French scholar. Is now at Lexing
ton, Virginia or Norfolk, where his family reside.

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH 33

In concluding this long, and to me wearying paper, I
beg to say to you that much is expected of you - that a
great deal will devolve upon you, and to add that at our
Board dinner yesterday, Governor Wickliffe with great
cordiality and kind feeling proposed your health and
success, and that it was responded to by the other mem
bers in brimming glasses.

P.S. If you know Mr. and Mrs. A. I. Isaacs, now I
think residing in Leavenworth, they can tell you all
about our country here.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LANCASTER, O., Aug. 20, 1859.

DEAR SIR: I wrote you a few days ago, in part an
swer to your very kind note addressed me at Lancaster.
I am now in possession of your more full letter sent
by way of Leavenworth, and shall receive to-day the
printed reports to which you referred.

These will in great measure answer the manifold
questions propounded by me. When in full possession
of these I will again write you, and when I know you are
at Washington, I may come there to meet you, and to
make those preliminary arrangements as to furnishing
the building, selecting text books, etc., all of which will
no doubt have to be approved by the Board of Educa
tion in Louisiana.

I can easily secure from West Point the most complete
information on all the details of the management and
economy of that institution. Then, being in possession
of similar data from the Virginia Institution, we can
easily lay a simple foundation, on which to erect, as
time progresses, a practical system of physical and men
tal education, adapted to the circumstances of Louis
iana. I shall not take my family south this winter, and
shall hold myself prepared to meet you at Alexandria,

34 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

or elsewhere, at the earliest date you think best. I feel
deeply moved by your friendly interest in me, and both
socially and in the new field hereby opened to me I will
endeavor to reciprocate your personal interest and justi
fy your choice of a superintendent.

I have seen a good deal of the practical world, and
have acquired considerable knowledge, but it may be
desultory, and may require some time to reduce it to
system, and therefore I feel inclined to see the Board
of Education 5 select a good series of practical books as
textbooks.

If this has already been done, I will be the better
pleased; if this devolve on the professors it will require
some judgment to adjust them, lest each professor
should attempt too much, and give preference to text
books not intimately connected with the other classes.
The adjustment of the course of studies, the selection of
the kind and distribution of physical, muscular educa
tion, and how far instruction in infantry, sword and even
artillery practice shall be introduced are all important
points, but fortunately we have a wide field of choice,
and the benefit of the experience of others. As soon as I
learn you are in Washington, and as soon as I know all
that has been done, I will give my thoughts and action
to provide in advance the knowledge out of which the
Board of Education may choose the remainder.

G. MASON GRAHAM TO W. T. SHERMAN

WILLARD S HOTEL, WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 1859.
DEAR SIR: On arriving here night before last I had
the pleasure to receive from Mr. Richard Smith your
two favors of the i^th and 2Oth of August, and Major
Buell, with whom I have not been able to meet until this
morning at breakfast, has shown me yours to him of the

5 Board of Supervisors of the Seminary. ED.

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH 35

4th inst. which he was in the act of opening when I
joined him, and from which he has allowed me to take a
memorandum of the dates of your proposed movements.
The information contained in your letter to Buell has
been of considerable relief to me, for whilst it would be
very gratifying to me to meet with you I did not see any
good commensurate with the expense, time, risk, and
trouble to yourself, to result from your coming all the
way here merely to confer with me when it was not in
my power to specify any particular day when I would
be in the city, as the business which brings me here lies
down in Virginia, whither I go tomorrow morning, if
the violent cold under which I am now suffering shall
permit, and the consummation of it is contingent on the
action of a half dozen others than myself.

I had desired very much, if it suited your conven
ience, that you could visit and see into the interior life
of the school at Lexington, Virginia, where everything
would be shown to you with the most cordial frankness
by Col. Smith, who has taken the warmest and most
earnest interest in our effort, and who writes to me of
you, sir, in very high terms of congratulatory apprecia
tion, and where one of your classmates, Major Gilham,
is a member of the Academic Board.

In the event that this will not be practicable to you, as
I infer from the programme laid down in your note to
Major Buell it will not be, I shall write to Col. Smith
asking him to give us all necessary information of de
tails not contained in the "Rules and Regulations" the
preparation of the code of which for our school is con
fined to the joint action of "the faculty" and "A Com
mittee consisting of Messrs. Manning, Graham, and
Whittington." I would rather have had the Board
adopt for the present the code of the Virginia school,
because under the Governor s resolution, about which

36 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

he did not confer with me beforehand, it cannot well be
done until on or about the ist of January, when it ought
to be done in advance. I do not see therefore that we
can do otherwise than adopt, at first, the code of that
school. I have no apprehension but that whatever you,
Mr. Manning and myself may agree upon, will be ac
ceptable to all the rest.

In regard to "furnishing" the building there will not
be much trouble. My idea will be for each cadet to
furnish his own requisites in the way of room furni
ture, as at West Point. There will then be nothing to
furnish but the class-rooms, the kitchen and mess hall -
as I believe I mentioned to you before, the statement in
the Governor s advertisement that "furnished apart
ments would be provided in the building for the pro
fessors," was an error of our not very clear-headed
secretary. The intention of the Board was simply to
apprize all interested that there were no separate dwell
ings for the professors. . .

I met with Mr. F. W. Smith 6 in Richmond and
travelled with him to this place. He is about sailing
for Europe to be back the ist of December. All my
anticipations of him fully realized. I cannot close
without mentioning that in a visit to the convent in
Georgetown yesterday my sister (Mary Bernard)
poured out her joy on learning (to do which she en
quired with great eagerness) that the superintendent of
our school was the husband of that "one of all the girls
who have passed through our hands here that I believed
I loved best and was the most deeply interested in." 7

In regard to "authority and control," although it is

6 The newly elected commandant of cadets and professor of chemistry. ED.

7 Mrs. Sherman was educated in a Georgetown, D.C., convent in which
General Graham s sister was a teacher and later Mother Superior. ED.

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH 37

not yet exactly so, I hope the next session of the legis
lature will place our school on precisely the same foot
ing as the Virginia school, making the superintendent
the commanding officer of the corps of cadets, giving
to him and the other members of the Academic Board,
rank in the State s military organization.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LANCASTER, OHIO, SEPT. 7, 1859.

DEAR SIR: I am now in full possession of all docu
ments sent to my address at Leavenworth including the
papers containing the printed proceedings of the Board
of Supervisors of August 2. I have written to you
twice at Washington, but suppose you are not well ar
rived, and as I find it best somewhat to qualify my offer
to come East, and visit with you the Virginia Institute,
I write you again.

I have written Governor Wickliffe that I will be at
Saint Louis, Oct. 20 and at Baton Rouge Nov. 5, pre
pared to meet the committee of supervisors, or the
academic faculty at any time thereafter he may appoint.
But it may be more convenient for that committee to
meet at once in Alexandria or at the institute [Semi
nary] itself, so that I can be there at any date after Nov.
5, which may prove agreeable to all parties.

To-morrow I will go to Frankfort, Kentucky, to be
present at the opening of the session of the Kentucky
Military Institute and I will remain long enough to
see for myself as much of the practical workings of that
institute as possible. Colonel Morgan in charge will,
I know, take pleasure in making me acquainted with
all details that I may desire to learn.

From Kentucky I shall return to this place, and
about the 25th inst. I will go to Chicago, where I expect
to meet Captain McClellan of the Illinois Central

38 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Railroad, who a few years since visited many of the
European establishments, and who can therefore give
me much information. I will then go to Leavenport
and afterward St. Louis delaying at each point a short
while, but you may rest perfectly certain that I will be
on hand, when the committee meets and that I will ac
quire as much practical knowledge of organization as
possible in the meantime.

I hope you will find it both pleasant and convenient
to visit the Virginia Military Institute and that you will
make inquiries that will be of service -thus ascertain
the exact price of each article of dress, and furniture
furnished the cadets, price of each text-book - how sup
plied, cost of black-board, drawing-board, mathemati
cal instruments, drawing-paper, paints, pencils, etc.
The name of the merchant who supplied them. Have
they a single store, like an army suttler who keeps sup
plies on hand, and whose prices are fixed by the Aca
demic Board, or does their quartermaster provide by
wholesale and distribute to cadets charging them? Are
all cadets marched to mess hall? Do they have regular
reveille, tattoo and taps?

Can we not select a dress more becoming, quite as
economical, and better adapted to climate than the grey
cloth of West Point and Virginia?

It occurs to me that climate will make it almost nec
essary to make modifications of dress, period of study,
drill, and even dates of examinations. This may all
be done without in the least impairing that systematic
discipline which I suppose it is the purpose to engraft
on the usual course of scientific education.

Ascertain if possible, the average annual expense of
each cadet - clothing, mess hall, books, paper, etc., lights
fire, and washing and tuition.

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH 39

I will try and ascertain similar elements in Kentucky
and elsewhere, so that we may begin with full knowl
edge of the experience of all others. Should you write
me here the letters will be so forwarded as to meet me
with as little delay as possible.

Sherman s views on slavery, politics, etc., were moderate.
Had he taken an active part in public affairs he would probably
have been an Old Line Whig. His brother John was already
noted as an anti-slavery Republican. Just before leaving for
Louisiana Major Sherman wrote to his brother urging him to
take a moderate position on sectional questions.

W. T. SHERMAN TO JOHN SHERMAN

LANCASTER, OHIO, Sept., 1859.
I will come up about the 2Oth or 25th, and if you
have an appointment to speak about that time, I should
like to hear you, and will so arrange. As you are be
coming a man of note and are a Republican, and as I
go south among gentlemen who have always owned
slaves, and probably always will and must, and whose
feelings may pervert every public expression of yours,
putting me in a false position to them as my patrons,
friends, and associates, and you as my brother, I would
like to see you take the highest ground consistent with

your party creed. . .

October, 1859.

Each State has a perfect right to have its own local
policy, and a majority in Congress has an absolute right
to govern the whole country; but the North, being so
strong in every sense of the term, can well afford to be
generous, even to making reasonable concessions to the
weakness and prejudices of the South. If southern rep
resentatives will thrust slavery into every local ques
tion, they must expect the consequences and be out
voted; but the union of states and general union of sen-

40 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

timent throughout all our nation are so important to
the honor and glory of the confederacy that I would
like to see your position yet more moderate.

During the summer while at Lancaster, Sherman wrote to
several officers of the army with whom he had been associated,
asking for their views on certain problems of military school
organization. The following letter from Captain George B.
McClellan is the only one that has been preserved. It w r as taken
from the Seminary in 1864 by an officer of Gen. Banks s army
and was returned to Louisiana State University in 1909. It
bears the following endorsement by Sherman: "Capt. McC.
went to Sebastopol and reported to our government. He spent
more than a year in Austrian, Russian, and English camps and is
a gentleman of singular intelligence."

GEORGE B. McCLELLAN TO W. T. SHERMAN

ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY, Vice Presi
dent s Office, Chicago, Oct. 23, 1859.

MY DEAR SIR: I regret exceedingly that I have so
long delayed replying to yours of the 3Oth, ult. I hope
this will reach you at Baton Rouge in time to serve your
purposes, and must beg you to consider my rather multi
farious duties as my excuse for the delay; in truth I was
desirous of taking some little pains with my reply, and
it has been difficult for me to find the time.

I think with you that the blue frock coat, and felt hat
with a feather, with perhaps the Austrian undress cap,
will be the most appropriate uniform, the grey coatee
is rather behind the age.

If the academy is in the Pine Barrens, it would seem
that the period from September i to June 20, with the
two examinations you speak of, would answer every
purpose. It would be almost impossible to have an
encampment, I should suppose, yet you might in a very
few days teach them how to pitch tents, and the more

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH 41

important parts of camp duty, such as guard duty, con
struction of field kitchens and ovens, huts for pioneers,
etc.

You will find in Captain Marcy s new book The
Prairie Traveller a great deal of invaluable information
in reference to camps, taking care of animals, etc., on
the prairies. I think you would find it worth while, if
not to make it a text book, to require or advise to students
to procure copies. It is a book they will read with
great interest and profit -it fills a vacuum of no little
importance.

I think I have at home the plates belonging to the
French "Instruction pour 1 enseignement de la Gymnas-
tique." This will give you all the information you need
as to the appliances required for a gymnasium. The
title is Instruction pour I enseignement de la Gymnas-
tique dans les corps de troupes et les etablissements mil-
itaire (Paris, I. Dumaine).

If my copy is lost I would advise you to import it.
There is also a very good little work published by Du
maine, called Extrait de [ Instruction pour l f enseigne
ment de la Gymnastique, etc., par le Capitaine C.
d Argy.

In addition to the regular instruction in the infantry
and artillery manuals, I would by all means have daily
practice in the gymnasium, or fencing with the foil and
bayonet, and the same exercise at least half an hour a
day ought to be devoted to this.

With regard to the course of instruction necessary to
lay the foundation for a thorough knowledge of engi
neering, I do not think that the general course at West
Point can be materially improved upon. We have all
felt the want of practical instruction on certain points
when we left West Point -e.g. in the actual use of in
struments, both surveying and astronomical, topography

42 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

and field sketches, railway engineering, etc. - but it is
impossible to do everything in a limited time, and I
would suggest that you follow in the main the West
Point course, retrenching a little from some of the high
er branches and adding a little to the practical instruc
tion.

I know of no complete work on the construction of
railways, it is thus far essentially a practical business.
Collum and Holley s work on European Railways con
tains some valuable information. Lardner on the Steam
Engine, Parbour on the Locomotive and Steam Engine,
Collum on the Locomotive are all useful. Borden s
Formula for the Location and Construction of Rail
roads, Haupt on Bridge construction, Moseley s Me
chanical Engineering, Edwin Clarke on the Brittania
and Conivay Tubular Bridges, Arolis series of Rudi
mentary treatise on Engineering, etc., are all of value.

I regret that I am rather pushed for time tonight, as
I would have liked to write more fully, but I start for
St. Paul in the morning and must do the best I can in a
limited time. If I can give you any further informa
tion it will afford me great pleasure to do so at any time.
With my best wishes for your success in Louisiana, I am
very truly yours, GEO. B. McCLELLAN.

In October, 1859, Sherman started for Louisiana but stopped
at St. Louis to attend to business affairs and to visit friends.
From here he wrote to General Graham and from Cairo and
Baton Rouge he wrote to Mrs. Sherman who, it was decided,
could not go to Louisiana until the superintendent s house should
be built.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

ST. LOUIS, Mo., Sunday, Oct. 23, 1859.

DEAR SIR: ... It is absolutely impossible for

me to leave here before Thursday of this week, the 27th,

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH 43

as I have some old matters of business here which I have
put oft until now. I was delayed two or three days by
the low water of the Missouri. Therefore, however
much I would like to be with you on the "Lizzie Sim
mons," I must not attempt it.

I will, if there be any faith in steamboats, be at Baton
Rouge, Nov. 5 and I suppose I have made a mistake in
promising to see the governor at all, instead of the com
mittee of trustees, to whom is left the preparation of
things ; still, as I have written the governor to that effect,
I must do so, but will not delay an unnecessary moment,
but hurry on to Alexandria and there meet the com
mittee.

Knowing, as you do, the rates of travel, you can better
form a judgment when I can reach your Alexandria;
and if your committee will have progressed in their work
they may go on, with a certainty that I will zealously
enter on any task they may assign me. It seems to me
no time is to be lost in preparing regulations and cir
culars for very wide circulation among the planters
whose sons are to be cadets.

But we will soon meet and go to work, and I begin
to feel now that we have a noble task and are bound to
succeed.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

STEAMER L. M. KENNETT [at Cairo], Saturday, Oct.
29, 1859.

. . . Should my health utterly fail me or abolition
drive me and all moderate men from the South, then we
can retreat down the Hocking and exist until time puts
us away under ground. This is not poetically expressed
but is the basis of my present plans.

I find southern men, even as well informed as -
as big fools as the abolitionists. Though Brown s whole

44 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

expedition proves clearly that [while] the northern peo
ple oppose slavery in the abstract, yet very few [will]
go so far as to act. Yet the extreme southrons pretend
to think that the northern people have nothing to do
but to steal niggers and to preach sedition.

John s 8 position and Tom s 9 may force me at times
to appear opposed to extreme southern views, or they
may attempt to extract from me promises I will not
give, and it may be that this position as the head of a
military college, south may be inconsistent with decent
independence. I don t much apprehend such a state of
case, still feeling runs so high, where a nigger is con
cerned, that like religious questions, common sense is
disregarded, and knowledge of the character of man
kind in such cases leads me to point out a combination
of events that may yet operate on our future.

I have heard men of good sense say that the union
of the states any longer was impossible, and that the
South was preparing for a change. If such a change
be contemplated and overt acts be attempted of course
I will not go with the South, because with slavery and
the whole civilized world opposed to it, they in case
of leaving the union will have worse wars and tumults
than now distinguish Mexico. If I have to fight here
after I prefer an open country and white enemies. I
merely allude to these things now because I have heard
a good deal lately about such things, and generally that
the Southern States by military colleges and organiza
tions were looking to a dissolution of the Union. If
they design to protect themselves against negroes and
abolitionists I will help; if they propose to leave the
Union on account of a supposed fact that the northern

8 John Sherman. ED.

9 Thomas Evving Jr., brother of Mrs. Sherman. ED.

SHERMAN COMES SOUTH 45

people are all abolitionists like Giddings and Brown
then I will stand by Ohio and the northwest.

I am on a common kind of boat. River low. Fare
eighteen dollars. A hard set aboard; but at Cairo I
suppose we take aboard the railroad passengers, a better
class. I have all my traps safe aboard, will land my
bed and boxes at Red River, will go on to Baton Rouge,
and then be governed by circumstances.

The weather is clear and cold and I have a bad cough,
asthma of course, but hope to be better tomorrow. I
have a stateroom to myself, but at Cairo suppose we will
have a crowd ; if possible I will keep a room to myself
in case I want to burn the paper 10 of which I will have
some left, but in case of a second person being put in I
can sleep by day and sit up at night, all pretty much the
same in the long run. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

BATON ROUGE, Sunday, November 6, 1859.

I wrote you from the Kennett at Cairo - but not from
Memphis. I got here last night about dark, the very
day I had appointed, but so late in the day that when I
called at the governor s residence I found he had gone
to a wedding. I have not yet seen him, and as tomor
row is the great election day of this state I hear that he
is going down to New Orleans to-day. So I got up
early, and as soon as I finish this letter, I will go again.

I have been to the post-office and learn that several
letters have come for me, all of which were sent to the
governor. Captain Ricketts of the army, commanding
officer at the barracks, 11 found me last night, and has
told me all the news, says that they were much pleased

10 Nitre paper burned to relieve asthma. - ED.

II The United States military post at Baton Rouge. - ED.

4 6 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

at my accepting the place, and that all place great re
liance on me, that the place at Alexandria selected for
the school is famous for salubrity, never has been visited
by yellow fever and therefore is better adapted for the
purpose than this place. He thinks that I will have one
of the best places in the country, and that I will be
treated with great consideration by the legislature and
authorities of the state. I will have plenty to do be
tween this and the time for opening of school. I have
yet seen nobody connected with the school and suppose
all are waiting for me at Alexandria, where I will go
tomorrow.

II. PREPARING FOR THE OPENING OF THE
SEMINARY

First impressions of the Red River Valley. General Graham. The Sem
inary Building. Preparations to be made. Finances of the school Servants
and laborers. Welcome from Braxton Bragg. Sherman s account of his first
weeks- in Louisiana. He goes to the Seminary to live. Making rules for the
Seminary. The work at the Seminary. The Seminary location. Sherman at
work on the regulations. The difficulty of procuring text-books. Governor
Moore on educational conditions in Louisiana. Meeting of the supervisors.
Opposition to the military system. Professors notified to come to the Seminary.
Two factions in the Board of Supervisors. Purchase of supplies in New Or
leans. Danger that John Sherman s political course may embarrass W. T.
Sherman in Louisiana. Helper s Impending Crisis. Sherman s views on slav
ery "are good enough for this country." Appointment of cadets. Braxton
Bragg on Seminary affairs. Ready for the opening of the Seminary. Lack
of dwelling houses near the Seminary. Slavery and politics. Final prepara
tions for opening. Sherman and the negro servants.

After a short stay in Baton Rouge for the purpose of consult
ing Governor Wickliffe, Sherman went to Alexandria. The
newspapers that mentioned his coming were crowded with news
of the John Brown raid and the trial of Brown and his fol
lowers. If Sherman had a sense of humor he probably sent
copies of the Louisiana Democrat to his brother John. To Mrs.
Sherman he wrote on November 12 giving his first impressions
of Louisiana.

ALEXANDRIA, LA., Sunday, Nov. 12 [1859].
I wrote you a hasty letter yesterday whilst the stage
was waiting. General Graham and others have been
with me every moment so that I was unable to steal a
moment s time to write you. I left the wharf boat at
the mouth of Red River, a dirty, poor concern where I
laid over one day, the stage only coming up tri-weekly,
and at nine o clock at night started with an overcrowded
stage, nine in and two out with driver, four good horses.

48 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Troy coach, road dead level and very dusty, lying along
the banks of bayous which cut up the country like a net
work. Along these bayous lie the plantations rich in
sugar and cotton such as you remember along the Mis
sissippi at Baton Rouge.

We rode all night, a fine moonlight, and before break
fast at a plantation we were hailed by Judge Boyce who
rode with us the rest of the journey. His plantation is
twenty-five miles further up, but he has lived here since
1 826 and knows everybody. He insisted on my stopping
with him at the plantation of Mr. Moore, who is just
elected governor of Louisiana for the coming four years,
and who in that capacity will be President of the Board
of Supervisors, who control the Seminary of Learning,
and whose friendship and confidence it is important I
should secure. He sent us into town in his own car
riage. Alexandria isn t much of a town, and the tavern
where I am, Mrs. Fellow s, a common rate concern, as
all southern taverns out of large cities are. Still I have
a good room opening into the parlor.

General Graham came in from his plantation nine
miles west of this, and has been with me ever since. At
this moment he is at church, the Episcopal. He will
go out home tonight and to-morrow I go likewise, when
we are to have a formal meeting to arrange some rules
and regulations, also agree on the system of study. He
is the person who has from the start carried on the bus
iness. He was at West Point, but did not graduate, but
he has an unlimited admiration of the system of disci
pline and study. He is about fifty-five years, rather
small, exceedingly particular and methodical, and alto
gether different from his brother, the general. 12

The building is a gorgeous palace, altogether too good

12 General R. B. Mason, Sherman s commanding officer in California. ED.

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 51

for its purpose, stands on a high hill three miles north
of this. It has four hundred acres of poor soil, but fine
pine and oak trees, a single large building. Like most
bodies they have spent all their money on the naked
building, trusting to the legislature for further means
to provide furniture, etc. All this is to be done, and
they agree to put me in charge at once, and enable me
to provide before January i the tables, desks, chairs,
blackboards, etc., the best I can in time for January i,
and as this is a mere village I must procure all things
from New Orleans, and may have to go down early next
month. But for the present I shall go to General Gra
ham s tomorrow, be there some days, return here and
then remove to the college, where I will establish myself
and direct in person the construction of such things as
may be made there.

There is no family near enough for me to board, so I
will get the cook who provides for the carpenters to give
me my meals.

It is the design to erect two buildings for the profess
ors, but I doubt whether the legislature will give any
more, $135,000 having already been expended. The
institution, styled by law the Seminary of Learning, has
an annual endowment of $8,100, but it is necessary for
the legislature to appropriate this annually, and as they
do not meet till the third Monday in January, I don t
see how we can get any money before hand. I think
when the appropriation is made, however, my salary
will be allowed from November i.

When I first got here it was hot, but yesterday it
changed, and it is now very cold. I have a fire here,
but several windows are broken, and the room is as cold
as a barn, and the lazy negroes have to be driven to
bring in wood.

52 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I expect plenty of trouble from this source, the high
wages of servants and the necessity to push them all
the time to do anything. I would hire whites, but sup
pose it would be advisable and good policy to submit to
the blacks for the present.

On arrival here I found your and Minnie s 13 letters,
seven days in coming, which is better time than I ex
pected. Mails come here tri-weekly by stage by the
route I came. . .

Braxton Bragg, formerly captain of the artillery company in
which Sherman was a lieutenant during the forties, wrote from
his plantation welcoming his old comrade to Louisiana.

NEAR THIBODAUX, LA., November 13, 1859.

MY DEAR SHERMAN: It was a great pleasure to re
ceive your note from Baton Rouge, and I sincerely hope
that we may soon meet. I should have written to you
at once on seeing your election to the important position
you are to fill, but did not know where to find you. The
announcement gave me very great pleasure, though my
influence to some extent was given against you, never
dreaming you could be an aspirant. I had united with
many gentlemen in New Orleans to recommend Profess
or Sears, with whom I have no acquaintance, but sim
ply on the ground of his being a graduate of West Point.
Indeed, my letter was general, and might have applied
to any graduate. Had I known your application I
should have attended personally to forward your wishes.
But as it is all is well.

Since seeing your appointment I have taken pains to
try and advance the institution, and several friends speak
of sending their sons. Whatever is in my power will be
most cheerfully done for your personal interest, and for
the institution generally. We must meet, but it is im-

13 Sherman s eldest daughter. ED.

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 53

possible for me to leave home now. Until nearly Christ
mas I shall be overrun with business, or rather confined
by it. We are in the midst of [sugar] manufacturing,
and a cold spell is now on us which inflicts a heavy loss
every day lost. I even work on Sunday from this time
to the end.

At home I have leisure, and am most happy to see
friends. Kilburn, 14 who is stationed in the city, [is] com
ing tomorrow to spend a few days. Why can t you do
so? You can take dinner with me after breakfast in the
city. Kilburn can put you in the way, should you have
time to come down. I heard something of your mis
fortunes, 15 and sympathised most deeply with you, but
it is not too late for a man of your energy and ability to
repair such a disaster.

Your institution I hope will prove a success. It is
fairly endowed and has strong and enthusiastic friends.
Among them you will find the master spirit my friend,
General G. Mason Graham. My acquaintance with
him was very short, but very agreeable. Friendships
formed under the enemy s guns ought to last. 18 I knew
he liked me, and I admired his gallantry and devotion.
Present my regards to him. You may safely trust to his
friendship. Our new governor 17 will be your friend,
too. He is a plain man, but of excellent character, bus
iness habits and very large fortune, placing him above
temptation and demagogery. Your professor of mathe
matics, a foreigner, 18 is very highly spoken of ; the others
I do not know.

Mrs. Sherman and the little ones are not with you I

14 An officer in the commissary department, United States Army. ED.

15 The failure of the banking firms with which Sherman had been connected.

-En.

16 Bragg and Graham had served together in the Mexican War. ED.

17 Thomas O. Moore who was to take office in January, 1860. ED.

18 Dr. Anthony Vallas, an Hungarian. ED.

54 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

suppose from your not mentioning them. We should
be most happy to see them when they come to join you.
In the meantime, when you can see enough to form any
plan, let me hear from you again, and when and where
we may meet. About January i, I expect to be in Baton
Rouge.

Accept my cordial wishes for your success, and hap
piness.

About the time of the arrival of the new superintendent the
Louisiana Democrat [Nov. 10, 1859] na d the following edi
torial notices of the Seminary and its officers.

We would respectfully ask it as a special favor from
our contemporaries in other parishes and in the city
that they would notice the fact that the Louisiana State
Seminary will go into operation on the first day of the
incoming new year. The magnificent building, large
enough to accommodate a fine company of cadets, is
now nearly ready for their reception. One of the pro
fessors, Dr. Anthony Vallas, the distinguished author of
valuable mathematical works, arrived some days ago.
Major Sherman, the superintendent, is on his way hither
and all the accomplished corps will be on the ground in
ample season to aid in organizing this new institu
tion. . . The institution will in all probability be
completely organized before the day fixed for the initia
tion of its active career of usefulness.

Applications for cadetships or admission as pupils
must be addressed to the Board of Supervisors through
its president and directed to this place, and not to indi
vidual members of the Board. Applicants must be fif
teen years of age, and residents of Louisiana. Cadets
are to be appointed by the Board in equal numbers from
the several senatorial districts. There being thirty-two
senatorial districts and the Seminary building being ca-

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 55

pable of accommodating one hundred and sixty cadets
the proportion will be about five appointments from each
District. . .

The unrivalled salubrity of its location, the conven
ience and elegance of its chief building, the munificent
donation from the federal government which secures its
independent support, and a full corps of teachers of
eminent attainments and superior capacity for instruc
tion, will combine to place the Military Seminary of
Louisiana among the first seats of learning in the South.

We note with pleasure that a distinguished officer of
the U.S. Army, a graduate of West Point and a Creole
of Louisiana, Major Beauregard, of New Orleans, has
already made application to the Board for the appoint
ment of two sons as cadets. This appreciation of our
new state institution on the part of this worthy officer is
significant. . .

Sherman in his Memoirs [vol. i, 172] gives a more connected
account of the first weeks of his work in Louisiana, from his
arrival in Baton Rouge on November 5 to November 1 8 when
he moved to the Seminary building in order to supervise the
completion of the carpenter s work and the equipment of the
building.

In the autumn of 1859, having made arrangements for
my family to remain in Lancaster, I proceeded, via
Columbus, Cincinnati, and Louisville, to Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, where I reported for duty to Governor Wick-
lifTe, who, by virtue of his office, was the president of
the Board of Supervisors of the institution over which
I was called to preside. He explained to me the act of
the legislature under which the institution was founded ;
told me that the building was situated near Alexandria,
in the Parish of Rapides, and was substantially finished ;
that the future management would rest with a Board of

56 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Supervisors, mostly citizens of Rapides Parish, where
also resided the governor-elect, T. O. Moore, who would
soon succeed him in his office as governor and president
ex officio; and advised me to go at once to Alexandria,
and put myself in communication with Moore and the
supervisors.

Accordingly I took a boat at Baton Rouge, for the
mouth of Red River. The river being low, and its nav
igation precarious, I there took the regular mail-coach,
as the more certain conveyance, and continued on toward
Alexandria. I found, as a fellow-passenger in the coach,
Judge Henry Boyce, of the United States District Court,
with whom I had made acquaintance years before, at
St. Louis, and, as we neared Alexandria, he proposed
that we should stop at Governor Moore s and spend the
night. Moore s house and plantation were on Bayou
Robert, about eight miles from Alexandria. We found
him at home, with his wife and a married daughter, and
spent the night there. He sent us forward to Alexandria
the next morning, in his own carriage.

On arriving at Alexandria, I put up at an inn, or
boarding-house, and almost immediately thereafter went
about ten miles farther up Bayou Rapides, to the plan
tation and house of General G. Mason Graham, to
whom I looked as the principal man with whom I had
to deal. He was a high-toned gentleman, and his whole
heart was in the enterprise. He at once put me at ease.
We acted together most cordially from that time forth,
and it was at his house that all the details of the Semi
nary were arranged.

We first visited the college-building together. It
was located on an old country place of four hundred
acres of pine-land, with numerous springs, and the
building was very large and handsome. A carpenter,
named James, resided there, and had the general charge

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 57

of the property; but, as there was not a table, chair,
black-board, or anything on hand, necessary for a be
ginning, I concluded to quarter myself in one of the
rooms of the Seminary, and board with an old black
woman who cooked for James, so that I might person
ally push forward the necessary preparations. There
was an old rail-fence about the place, and a large pile
of boards in front. I immediately engaged four car
penters, and set them at work to make out of these boards
mess-tables, benches, black-boards, etc. I also opened
a correspondence with the professors-elect, and with all
parties of influence in the state, who were interested in
our work.

In November a committee of the Board of Supervisors met
with Sherman, Vallas, and St. Ange to make regulations for the
government of the school and to arrange a course of study. The
name "Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military
Academy" was adopted. Several expressions in Sherman s cor
respondence indicate that he considered the name a monstrosity.
A circular dated November 17, prepared by Sherman, was sent
out by Governor Wickliffe announcing the approaching opening
of the school.

During November Sherman was busied at the Seminary ur
ging the construction work to completion, clearing the building of
rubbish and getting it ready for equipment. In his correspondence
with Mrs. Sherman and General Graham he describes his daily
occupations.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Seminary of Learning, Nov. 19, 1859.

Since my last I have been out to General Graham s

who has a large plantation on Bayou Rapides, nine miles

from Alexandria. There met Graham and Whitting-

ton, 19 and Sherman, Vallas, and St. Ange, professors,

19 Graham and Whittington were delegated by the supervisors to assist
the committee of the faculty in drawing up rules. ED.

5 8 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

to make rules for the new institution after the model of
the Virginia Military Institute. We took their regula
tions, omitted part, altered other and innovated to suit
this case, and as a result I have it all to write over and
prepare for the printer.

Yesterday I moved my things out and am now in the
college building, have taken two rooms in the southwest
tower and shall make the large adjoining room the
office, so as to be convenient. There are five carpenters
employed here and I take my meals with them.

It is only three miles to Alexandria. I walked out
yesterday, and in this morning; but Captain Jarreau,
who is appointed steward, lent me a horse for the keep
ing, so that hereafter I will have a horse to ride about
the country; but for some days I will have writing
enough to do, and afterwards may have to go down to
New Orleans to buy furniture, of which the building is
absolutely without, being brand new. The weather has
been excessively dry here, but yesterday it rained hard
and last night it thundered hard. Today was fine clear
and bright like Charleston. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 21, 1859.
DEAR GENERAL: . . . The entire article you call
Mr. Boyce s 20 was written by me rather hastily, and has
some typographical errors which I will take the liberty
to correct, though I wrote it rather to give Mr. B. the
substance of an article from himself, but he inserted it
without change, making it rather meagre and curt. Still
what we need is publicity as soon as possible. I think
all the appointments should be made absolutely and fi
nally by say December 10, that we may know the num
ber of books and articles absolutely requisite by that

20 Boyce was editor of the Red River American. "Eft.

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 59

date. By that time we can know exactly what may be
procured here and what of necessity must come from
New Orleans.

I will keep a note of my ferriages, which I prefer, as
it is unsafe to trust the account of the ferryman. If the
Board think I am entitled to my salary from November
i then I would not ask renumeration, but if all salaries
are by law, or propriety, fixed for January i, then I
would ask simply reimbursement of actual outlays, to
which end I will keep a note of my expenses.

I have been to see Mr. Manning, Dr. Smith, Mr.
Ryan, and Henarie 21 several times and will renew my
visits and on all proper occasions will touch on the points
suggested. If we have, say one hundred at the start it
might be well to open with a speech say from Mr. Man
ning himself, and if Governor Moore could also be
present, it would have a good effect and convince these
gentlemen that we want the development of as much
literary talent as possible.

For my part I am willing that as much time may be
given to literary pursuits as the Board of Supervisors
may prefer. It will in no wise interfere with the mili
tary rule. Only what mathematical studies we do un
dertake let us make them thorough and not superficial.
I have a couple of letters, one from Major Barnard, a
very distinguished scholar and major of engineers, writ
ten in a very bad hand, which I send with this, for you
to decipher if possible. I enclose also for your perusal
one from Gilmore and Bragg.

I have had such absolute control of business for some
years, that I find myself running off with the bit in my
teeth. I ask you as a friend to check me if you see me
usurping the province of the directory.

21 Members of the Board of Supervisors. - ED.

60 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 25, 1859.

I am still out here at the Seminary, pushing on the
work as fast as possible, but people don t work hard
down here. The weather has been warm and spring
like, but tonight the wind is piping and betokens rain.
This is Friday. I have been writing all week, the regu
lations, and have been sending off circulars - indeed ev
erything is backward, and it will keep us moving to be
ready for cadets January i. The Board of Supervisors
are to meet on Monday, and I will submit to them the
regulations and lists of articles indispensably necessary,
and I suppose I will be sent to New Orleans to make the
purchases.

The planters about Alexandria are rich but the town
is a poor concern. Nothing like furniture can be had.
Everybody orders from New Orleans. General Graham
is at his plantation nine miles from Alexandria and
twelve from here. I get a note from him every day
urging me to assume all responsibility as he and all the
supervisors are busy at their cotton or sugar.

I believe I have fully described the locality and the
fact that although the building for the Seminary is in
itself very fine, yet it is solitary and alone in the country
and in no wise suited for families. Of course I will
permit no family to live in the building. There hap
pens to be one house about one-fourth mile to the rear,
belonging to one McCoy in New Orleans, but that is
rented by Mr. Vallas, the professor of mathematics,
who now occupies it with his family, wife and seven
children. They are Hungarians and he is an Episcopal
Clergyman, but his religion don t hurt him much. He
seems a pleasant enough man, fifty years old, fat, easy
and comfortable. . . They have an Irishman and

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 61

wife as servants and have plenty of complaints. The
house is leaky and full of holes, so that they can hardly
keep a candle burning when the wind is boisterous. In
deed the house was built for summer use and calculated
to catch as much wind as possible. The design is to ask
the legislature to appropriate for two professors houses
for Vallas and ourselves.

If they appropriate I will have the building and will
of course see to their comfort, but I will make no calcu
lations until the amount is settled on. I fear the cost
of the building will deter the legislature from appro
priating until the institution begins to make friends.

The new governor, Moore, lives near Alexandria and
will be highly favorable to liberal appropriation. We
have fine springs of pure water all round, and I doubt
not the place is very healthy. Indeed there is nothing
to make it otherwise unless the long hot summers create
disease. I am now comparatively free of my cough
and am in about usual condition - have to burn nitre
paper occasionally. It is very lonely here indeed. No
body to talk to but the carpenters and sitting here alone
in this great big house away out in the pine wood is not
cheerful. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Nov. 25, 1859.

DEAR GENERAL: Young Mr. Jarreau is now here
and says his wagon is near at hand, with a quarter of
mutton for Mr. Vallas and myself. As I am staying
with "carpenters mess," I thank you for the favor and
will see that Mr. Vallas gets the whole with your com
pliments. Work progresses slow, but sure. I have the
regulations done and several other papers ready for the
meeting Monday. As time passes, and Mr. Vallas is
not certain that he can get one hundred copies of Alge-

62 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

bra at New Orleans I have ordered them of the pub
lisher in New York. . .

Please let Mr. St. Ange give you the title of his text
books, grammar and dictionary. All other text books,
ought to be approved by the Academic Board, but as
that can t assemble in time, we must take for granted
that these preliminary books are absolutely required in
advance. I take it for granted the particular grammar
and dictionary can be had in New Orleans. . .

To Thomas Ewing, his father-in-law, Sherman wrote on
November 27, in regard to the Seminary and about educational
conditions in Louisiana.

A minority of the Board of Supervisors was opposed to the
military system of government which was championed by General
Graham. This opposition which gave trouble to Graham and
Sherman is hinted at in the letter from Graham to Governor
WicklifTe given below. Public opinion supported Graham s
policy. This is indicated by the two newspaper editorials from
the Madison Democrat and the Louisiana Democrat, which are
typical press notices.

W. T. SHERMAN TO THOMAS EWING

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, near Alexandria, La., Nov.

27, 1859.

DEAR SIR: . . . Congress granted to Louisiana
long ago, some thirty years, certain lands for a Seminary
of Learning. These lands have been from time to time
sold and the state now holds the money in trust, giving
annually the interest sum $8100.

The accrued interest and more too has been expended
in an elegant structure, only too good and costly for its
purpose and location. The management has after a
series of changes devolved on a Board of Supervisors,
composed of fourteen gentlemen of whom the governor
is ex-officio president and the superintendent of public
education a member. These have selected five profes-

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 63

sors to whom is entrusted the management of the Semi
nary. The state has imposed the condition of educating
sixteen free of charge for rent, tuition, and board. . .

This building is three miles from Alexandria in a
neighborhood not at all settled, as the land here is poor
and unfit for cultivation, all the alluvial land being on
the south side of the Red River. There are therefore
no houses here or near for families, and to remedy this
an appropriation will also be asked to build two suitable
houses for the married professors, Vallas and myself.

Governor Moore, just elected for four years, says that
all educational attempts in Louisiana hitherto failed,
mostly because religion has crept in and made the
schools and colleges sectarian, which does not suit the
promiscuous class who live here. He doubts whether
at the start the legislature will feel disposed to depart
from recent custom of refusing all such applications,
but doubts not if we can for a year or two make good
showing, and avoid the breakers that have destroyed
hitherto endowed colleges, that this will be fostered and
patronized to a high degree.

I shall therefore devote my attention to success, be
fore I give my thoughts to personal advantage; and I
find too much reliance is placed on me. I have no doubt
I can discipline it and maybe control the system of
studies to make it a more practical school than any here
abouts. And as parents are wealthy and willing to pay
freely it may be we can get along for a time with little
legislative aid further than we can claim as a right.

A small balance of the last appropriation still remains
which I am now expending on the necessary furniture,
and the Board of Supervisors being now in session at
Alexandria I expect they will send me to New Orleans
to procure the necessary outfit, in which case I will go

64 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

down the latter part of this week, being absent about
ten days. Red River is now low, still boats go and come
with considerable regularity.

I met to-day among the Board of Supervisors a rem
nant of the old congressional times, Jesse A. Bynum, a
little dried up old man, who moved to Louisiana from
North Carolina, and who has a horror of an abolition
ist. I was told he was angry at my election, because he
thought all from Ohio were real abolitionists, but to-day
he was unusually polite to me, and told me much of his
congressional experience. . . Yours affectionately,

W. T. SHERMAN.

G. MASON GRAHAM TO GOVERNOR WICKLIFFE

ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 30, 1859.

DEAR SIR: . . . Only six members of the Board
of Supervisors convened on Monday 28th and the same
number again on yesterday. Dr. [S. A.] Smith was
sick, but his presence would not have made a quorum.
So we did nothing- only talked. There was this done
however; that as the only means of getting the money
from Doctor Smith with which to prepare the building
for the reception and accommodation of cadets, I gave
him my individual obligation to hold him harmless,
which we all thought a rather unnecessary piece of fas
tidiousness on the part of the Doctor. . .

Major Sherman will now go to New Orleans on Sat
urday to make the requisite purchases. . .

I was also requested in the same capacity, to call an
other meeting of the Board for Saturday, Dec. loth,
which I have done, but do not anticipate any different
result, as Mr. Sanford is in Virginia.

As it is manifest that Mr. Henry Gray will never at
tend any of our meetings, I wish very much that you
would oblige us by at once appointing Doctor Lewis

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 65

Magruder in his stead. He is a gentleman of education
and intelligence, a son-in-law of Mr. R. C. Hynson,
stirring, active man, with a growing family, and will
make a good and attentive member, is a warm advocate
for the military feature of the school, to injure which in
indirect modes the two or three opponents of it in the
Board are now making efforts. If you can at once dis
patch an appointment to Doctor Magruder, it will reach
him in time for the next meeting, and greatly relieve me,
for I cannot make head against Manning and Smith,
with Ryan 22 playing "f ast and loose" between us all the
time.

FROM THE MADISON DEMOCRAT, NOVEMBER, 1859

[The State Seminary] is to be conducted upon a plan
similar to that of the Virginia Institute at Lexing
ton. . . This is a move in the right direction. Our
legislators have, for once, at least, acted with a view of
promoting the moral as well as the intellectual advance
ment of the people of the state.

Every father in the Parish of Madison, who has a
son over fifteen years of age, that can read and write
well, and can perform with facility and accuracy the
various operations of the four general rules of arithme
tic ... should at once send him to the Louisiana
Seminary of Learning, even if he should be compelled
to mortgage his plantation to pay the annual expense of
four hundred dollars. . .

We heartily rejoice that a military school of a high
grade has been established in our state, because we know
that military discipline only can make a school effective
for good in this, our perverted age, when almost every

22 Judge T. C. Manning, Dr. S. A. Smith, and Michael Ryan, all members
of the Board. Manning and Smith were the chief opponents of the military
system. ED.

66 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

youth scarcely out of his teens considers himself inde
pendent of all moral restraint, and at liberty to do as he
pleases.

Military schools make the pupil not only a soldier,
ready to defend our rights and our institutions, but they
impart, by the principle of subordination upon which
they are conducted, a moral training, which will im
press him with the conviction that in order to be able,
at some future day, to command, it is indispensably
necessary to learn first how to obey.

FROM THE LOUISIANA DEMOCRAT, NOVEMBER, 1859

Over fifty applicants for cadetships have been re
ceived and warrants issued for them. This, with other
appointments, will insure an opening number of about
seventy-five, and we feel confident that ere this session
shall have closed the buildings will be filled. There
were some misgivings, early in the fall, that the State
Seminary would not be ready to commence operation
on the first of January, but it is now settled, and every
thing is prepared that the institution will open on the
day mentioned.

[The faculty] have been selected from over eighty ap
plicants marked for distinguished merit and ability,
and, as far as we are competent to judge from a short
personal acquaintance, we honestly assure all parents,
guardians, or others who may have charge of the edu
cation of youth, that if their sons or wards are placed in
the State Seminary, if they are capable, they will be re
turned to them thorough scholars.

We would also, in this connection, disabuse the pub
lic, or at least a portion of it, of the idea that a school
organized upon a military basis must needs make only
soldiers. It is a false notion that because a youth is com
pelled to be methodical, to learn to obey, and at the

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 67

same time, keep his self-respect, that all this is to be
done at the sacrifice of time which should be devoted to
study. A military school differs from other colleges, in
a single, but very material particular, only: the time
which is generally given up to the student to be used in
any manner his natural proclivities may suggest is, in
the State Seminary, economized in the shape of military
duty, and though it may at first work a little harsh, yet
after a time, with a proper thinking youth, it becomes a
pleasure, and as it does not in any measure interfere
with his scholastic duties, we do not see why any ob
jection could or should be made against it -certainly it
does not detract from the merits of any gentleman to be
considered to have a savoir faire in the matter of hand
ling arms.

The late events 23 w r hich have, in some degree, agitated
the public mind certainly indicate the necessity of each
slave-holding state encouraging and supporting at least
one military school within its ow r n limits. We know
that others of the Southern States have made it a matter
of such consideration that these institutions are looked
upon as a chief feature in their defensive material. Vir
ginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia,
Mississippi, Texas, and of late Missouri have all appro
priated certain sums for the establishment of like insti
tutions and in Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee these
schools have for a period of years been working with
complete success.

If we admit the facts, and certainly we can consistent
ly do so, where they are self-evident, that such establish
ments are necessary and that the terms of scholar and
soldier are not incompatible, then the success of our
State Seminary is no problem. . .

The plan upon which the State Seminary is to be

23 The John Brown raid into Virginia. ED.

68 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

worked is so methodical that it will be found to be the
cheapest school in the country. We don t mean cheapest
in an immediate dollar and cent signification, but cheap
est because of the paramount advantages it offers. A
youth s time is so regulated that dissolute and expensive
habits cannot be contracted. Expensive dress, dogs,
horses, billiards, etc., will certainly be myths with a
cadet at the State Seminary, and parents will find that
in the end they will have saved a considerable item in
this particular. In most colleges, the modern languages,
drawing, book-keeping, etc., are charged as extras . . .
which when paid for as such at the termination of a
four years course, will be found to amount to quite one-
third of the regular tuition. . . The particular loca
tion of the school, three miles from this place, is a matter
of some moment. The cadets cannot be subjected to the
malarious influences of the low lands of the river, as the
buildings are situated on an elevated stretch of table
land, surrounded by a healthy growth of pine forest, to
gether with the best of water. There cannot be any pos
sible chance of an epidemic reaching any of its inmates;
though we may be visited, as any part of the state is more
or less liable, by an epidemic disease, still we confidently
believe that with anything like consistent precaution the
State Seminary will always escape. . .

About a month before the opening, Sherman notified the pro
fessors elect to be on hand before the appointed time. The fol
lowing letter was sent to Professor Boyd, who was then ill at
Mt. Lebanon, Louisiana.

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, near Alexandria, Nov. 27,

DEAR SIR: Mr. Manning tells me that he has written
you that your presence here is not required till after

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 69

Christmas. That may be, but it would seem to me better
that we should all have been here at least a month
earlier to confer, agree upon our textbooks, and pro
vide such of them in advance as will be necessary on the
start. I have sent to New York for the mathematical
textbooks, and will send to New Orleans for the French
grammar at least; and I think you had better order at
once from New Orleans the grammar you design to
teach. I think much of our future success [depends] on
the appearance of our start, and therefore any want of
preparation at the outset would be embarrassing. With
arithmetic, algebra, French and Latin grammar, we can
at least begin at once, and then the Academic Board or
faculty must as early as we can all come together, agree
upon the entire course and textbooks, when by a system
I can see that these textbooks are provided in advance.

Little or nothing can be had in Alexandria, and I
judge we will receive no part of our salaries till after
the legislature meets and appropriates. Therefore I ad
vise you to prepare accordingly, and to bring with you
such room furniture as you have that admits of transpor
tation.

I am a stranger in these parts and confess my ignor
ance of your locality and station, and make the above
points for your benefit. Applications for admission
come in pretty freely, and I think early in January we
will have from sixty to one hundred.

Mr. Vallas and Mr. St. Ange are here, both foreign
ers. I shall, therefore, count much on your capacity of
teaching and social qualities. Think well over the
branches assigned to you, and on arrival give us the best
course and textbooks you can select. I may have to go to
New Orleans to provide for the tables, room furniture,
etc., needed by the first of January.

70 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

The controversy in the Board over the question of military
government gave some concern to Sherman who, however, was
not in favor of so severe a regime as was General Graham. He
refers to the matter in the following letters to General Graham
and to his wife.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Friday, Dec. 2 [1859].

DEAR GENERAL: I was in town [Alexandria] yester
day at 8 a.m. and waited till ten to prove the paper which
we left with Mr. Boyce. I then got the first page and
corrected it. He had not prepared the paper and would
have to strike off the whole number of sheets of the first
matter before trying the second page. I therefore as
sured myself that it was in proper order, and left Boyce
to correct the second page and came out with Captain
Jarreau.

I think we have made fair progress now, and I have
given Mr. James 24 written instructions with drawings of
what remains to be done, and by my return from New
Orleans I hope to see all the necessary tables, benches,
desks, blackboards, stands, shelves, and hooks all done.
I have one man cutting wood, and Jarreau promises
another next Tuesday, so that I feel confident that we
shall be more than ready by Christmas.

I think also that in New Orleans I will be satisfied to
depend on Alexandria for blankets of which both Rob
ertson and Henarie have a good supply at fair prices
from $3.25 to $4.50 a pair. Same of brooms, glass tum
blers, assorted hand soap and castile soap. I think also
we may depend on the Trechur for wash-basins and
dippers. All else on my list I will try and bring up. I
feel a little embarrassed by Mr. Ford s offer to make
twenty-five or thirty mattresses without naming price.
It would be better to have mattresses made uniformly by

24 The contractor.- ED.

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 71

one responsible person, but as in case of accident to Mr.
Ford and there being no other mattresses to be had in
Alexandria I may purchase more than otherwise might
seem prudent.

In New Orleans, I will ascertain the price of every
thing needed by us in future, and then if persons in our
neighborhood apply we can encourage the manufacture
of about the quantity needed at standard prices. . .

I generally have strong opinions on a subject of im
portance, but experience has taught me the wisdom of
forbearance, and as the Board will again attempt to meet
on the tenth during my absence, I will only say now
that I listened to your argument and that of the other
members with great interest.

I have always believed that a Military Academy was
only possible, when the state made present compensation,
or held out future inducements, to compensate the cadet
for the usual drills, guards, and restraints customary in
such colleges, here and abroad. I doubt whether we
could when cadets pay all expenses enforce that rigid
obedience without which the system would become
ridiculous. I am satisfied that we can make certain
drills, guards, and military parades and exercise so
manifestly advantageous to the cadets, that their own
sense, judgment, and fancy will take the place of com
pulsion, and the course of studies being more practical,
and useful, will be preferred by cadet and parent to the
old routine of grammar and everlasting lexicon.

As to the encampment, I think in the regulations there
is no mention made of an encampment, nor do I recall
any expression that would lead to it. Therefore they
will need no amendment on that point. The Board can
pass over the point in silence. If you are not fortified
in the legislature it might also be wise to allow a few
years to slide along till we have four classes of well

72 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

drilled cadets. Let them at first have the vacation al
lowed in Kentucky, elsewhere, and at all literary col
leges. If our system of instruction be good, and if we
take good pains to impress the cadets with our kindness,
justness, fairness, and give them a manly bearing, good
ideas of truth, honor, and courtesy, and withall teach
them practical wisdom, by going home they will spread
the good seed, and actually serve the cause of the insti
tution in its infancy, better than they could in the mere
routine duties of a camp. I do not think an encampment
necessary to our course of instruction, nor does it seem to
me prudent to prevent cadets from going home; if such
be the custom, and if their parents desire it. I don t
think Captain Jarreau 25 will object as his contract runs
for only six months, and longer if we are all satisfied.
My idea is to make all things conspire to the economy,
cleanliness, good order, and proper instruction of those
cadets, till we naturally pass into the system which is to
last, for some system "must endure."

Should the legislature of this state determine to put an
arsenal here, the necessity of a guard is then patent and
she would naturally offer to pay us, and make it to our
interest to guard her property, afford a safe place for
arms, rendezvous, and safety for this at present remote
district of valuable country. We would then have a
good necessity, a good reason for an encampment, which
now would be a mere naked ceremony. Nevertheless
my theory is that the Board must legislate, and I will
try to execute their resolves and policy. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, ALEXANDRIA, LA., Dec. 2,

1859.
. . . Last Monday there was a meeting of the

25 The Seminary steward. - ED.

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 73

Board of Supervisors called but the governor could not
come, and consequently there was no quorum and the
Board had to work informally. They could not adopt
the regulations, but called another meeting for Decem
ber 10. I attended the meeting and found they were
willing to vest me with ample powers but they will be
embarrassed in their finances unless the legislature help
or unless we have more students than we now expect.
We shall prepare for one hundred, but sixty are as many
as I expect. I will have no teaching to do this year un
less I choose, but will have all the details of discipline
and management.

I found that there are two distinct parties in the
Board - one in favor of a real out and out military col
lege and another who prefer a literary seminary, only
consenting to the military form of government. The
former party led by General Graham, want a continuous
course, without vacations, as at West Point, the summer
vacations to be taken up with a regular encampment.
This would keep me here all the time until everything
had settled down into such a fixed system that I could go
away. I can hardly forsee how it will turn out but for
the present believe we will have a summer vacation of
two months, during which I can come to Ohio.

The legislature meets the third Monday in January,
soon after which we will discover their temper and
whether they will be willing to build any buildings for
the professors, but I believe they will not, as I notice a
hesitation to ask it and unless it be asked and urged very
strongly of course they will not appropriate. All kinds
of labor, building especially, costs so much that though
the state as such is liberal, yet they cannot answer half
the calls made on them for such purposes.

I am lonely enough out here alone in this big house,

74 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

but will have plenty to divert me the next two weeks, and
afterwards, the session will be so near at hand with new
duties and new things. I suppose my patience will be
tested to its utmost by a parcel of wayward boys.

After seeing the Seminary building put in order, Sherman
went to New Orleans to purchase supplies. The remote situa
tion of the school was a source of constant irritation to the fac
ulty and students. The following letter to General Graham
shows how difficult it was to get the necessary equipment for a
school in the back woods of Louisiana.

NEW ORLEANS, LA., Sunday, Dec. 12 [1859].

DEAR GENERAL: . . . Late last night I got the
dispatch that the books have been shipped; so I think
we may safely count on them in time. I could only
after long search find four of the French grammars
required by Monsieur St. Ange. So of necessity had to
telegraph for one hundred. The steamer leaves New
York to-day and ought to be here the 22nd and at Alex
andria by the ist- rather close cutting for us.

All other things I have purchased here. Many things
went on Friday by the "Rapides." I will bring some
tomorrow in the "Telegram" and balance will follow
next week in the "Rapides." I have paid in full all bills
but furniture and have paid $1,000 toward furniture
out of about $ i ,500. I have drawn only $ i ,920, but will
buy about $50 more of little odds and ends, and bring
with me in cash to make up the $2,500. The balance
will remain to your credit, and I think you had better
meet me at the Seminary about Friday to examine the
bills and receipts, to receive the cash I bring up, and to
see the kind and quality of furniture. I hear your let
ter-press, book, brush, etc., cost about $13. You had
better come with your buggy and receive it. It had, for
convenience, to go with our packages. I have sent up a
cooking range, cost $175, and want Jarreau forthwith

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 75

to move one or more servants out to clean up and get
ready.

Many of these items of purchase were hard to find,
and my time has been too much taken up to enable me
to attempt to make acquaintances. I dined yesterday
with your friends, the Frerets, who had many kind in
quiries for you.

I have a drum and drummer, also a fife, but thus far
have failed to get a tailor or shoemaker. I have exam
ined shoes, boots, clothing, cloth, etc., and know exactly
how to order when the time comes.

I have a letter from Bragg which I will show you ; he
coincides with you in the necessity of making a military
academy by law, and wants you to meet him in January
at Baton Rouge. Our first paramount duty is to start
on present economical basis and enlarge as means are
provided. It is easy to increase, but hard to curtail.
Unless it be convenient for you to come over, write me at
the Seminary, to bring in your press, money, and ac
counts, and appoint a day and hour, for I must work
smart as you know.

The inflamed state of public sentiment in regard to the issues
arising out of slavery caused Sherman much uneasiness. His
brother John, then a candidate for the speakership of the House
of Representatives, was bitterly opposed by the southern mem
bers of Congress because of his endorsement of Hinton Rowan
Helper s Impending Crisis, an intemperate arraignment of the
slaveholders. The following letters to Mrs. Sherman and to
John Sherman refer to these matters.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

NEW ORLEANS, Sunday, Dec. 12.

. . . I am stopping at the City Hotel which is

crowded and have therefore come to this my old office,

now Captain Kilburn s, to do my writing. I wish I were

here legitimately, but that is now past, and I must do the

76 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

best in the sphere in which events have cast me. All
things here look familiar, the streets, houses, levees,
drays, etc., and many of the old servants are still about
the office, who remember me well, and fly round at my
bidding as of old.

I have watched with interest the balloting for speaker,
with John as the Republican candidate. I regret he ever
signed that Helper book, of which I know nothing but
from the extracts bandied about in the southern papers.
Had it not been for that, I think he might be elected, but
as it is I do not see how he can expect any southern
votes, and without them it seems that his election is im
possible. His extreme position on that question will
prejudice me, not among the supervisors, but in the legis
lature where the friends of the Seminary must look for
help. Several of the papers have alluded to the impro
priety of importing from the north their school teachers,
and if in the progress of debate John should take ex
treme grounds, it will of course get out that I am his
brother from Ohio, universally esteemed an abolition
state, and they may attempt to catechize me, to which I
shall not submit.

I will go on however in organizing the Seminary and
trust to the future; but hitherto I have had such bad
luck, in California and New York, that I fear I shall be
overtaken here by a similar catastrophe. Of course there
are many here such as Bragg, Hebert, Graham, and
others that know that I am not an abolitionist. Still if
the simple fact be that my nativity and relationship with
Republicans should prejudice the institution, I would
feel disposed to sacrifice myself to that fact, though the
results would be very hard, for I know not what else
to do.

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 77

If the Southern States should organize for the purpose
of leaving the Union I could not go with them. If that
event be brought about by the insane politicians I will
ally my fate with the north, for the reason that the slave
question will ever be a source of discord even in the
South. As long as the abolitionists and the Republicans
seem to threaten the safety of slave property so long will
this excitement last, and no one can foresee its result ; but
all here talk as if a dissolution of the Union were not
only a possibility but a probability of easy execution. If
attempted we will have Civil War of the most horrible
kind, and this country will become worse than Mexico.

What I apprehend is that because John has taken such
strong grounds on the institution of slavery that I will
first be watched and suspected, then maybe addressed
officially to know my opinion, and lastly some fool in the
legislature will denounce me as an abolitionist spy be
cause there is one or more southern men applying for
my place.

I am therefore very glad you are not here, and if
events take this turn I will act as I think best. As long
as the United States Government can be maintained in
its present form I will stand by it; if it is to break up in
discord, strife and Civil War, I must either return to
California, Kansas or Ohio. My opinions on slavery are
good enough for this country, but the fact of John being
so marked a Republican may make my name so sus
pected that it may damage the prospects of the Semin
ary, or be thought to do so, which would make me very
uncomfortable. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO JOHN SHERMAN

NEW ORLEANS, Sunday, Dec. 12.
DEAR BROTHER: ... I have watched the des
patches, which are up to Dec. 10, and hoped your elec-

78 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

tion would occur without the usual excitement, and be
lieve such would have been the case had it not been for
your signing for that Helper s book. Of it I know noth
ing, but extracts made copiously in southern papers show
it to be not only abolition but assailing. Now I hoped
you would be theoretical and not practical, for practical
abolition is disunion, Civil War, and anarchy universal
on this continent, and I do not believe you want that. . .
I do hope the discussion in Congress will not be pro
tracted, and that your election, if possible, will occur
soon. Write me how you came to sign for that book.
Now that you are in, I hope you will conduct yourself
manfully. Bear with taunts as far as possible, biding
your time to retaliate. An opportunity always occurs.

To Professor Boyd whose illness had prevented him from com
ing to the Seminary, Sherman wrote from the school on De
cember 15, 1859, giving information in regard to the opening of
the school, and the appointment of cadets.

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, ALEXANDRIA, Dec. 15, 1859.

MY DEAR SIR : . . . I wrote you some time ago,
addressed to Mount Lebanon, advising you to come on
at once, to get in position before, we will be all in con
fusion by the arrival of the cadets. All the professors
are now here at hand but yourself, and I think you
should come on at once. I have just returned from New
Orleans where I purchased all the room furniture for
cadets, but I bought nothing for professors, and advise
you to bring your bedding, indeed any furniture you
may have, as Alexandria is a poor place to supply. I
think you will be as comfortable here, and your health
be restored as fast as anywhere in the state. All books
must be ordered from New York. I found the supply
in New Orleans very poor, and we want a list of your
first text books, grammar, and dictionary as soon as pos-

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 79

sible, that they may be ordered, but, as I suppose we can
fully employ the students the first few months in French
and Algebra, I will now await your coming.

The want of certainty has caused many to doubt
whether we could commence January 2, but you may
announce that it is as certain as that the day will come.
About thirty-four appointments have been made by the
Board of Supervisors. I suppose sixteen will have been
made by the governor. So you see thus far we have not
an adequate supply of cadets. The right to appoint rests
in the Board of Supervisors, but I know their views so
well, and there being no time for formalities you may
notify Mr. Gladney, and indeed any young men between
fifteen and twenty-one, who can read and write, and who
have some notion of arithmetic (addition, etc., as far as
decimal fractions) to come on by January second and
we will procure for them the appointment and receive
them.

Each young man should be of good character with a
trunk and fair supply of clothing, and must deposit two
hundred dollars for six months expenses in advance. We
think we can make the aggregate year s expenses fall
within four hundred dollars.

I wrote and sent you circulars to Mount Lebanon
which I infer you did not receive. No cadet can be re
ceived except from Louisiana.

Please state these leading facts to some prominent
gentleman of your neighborhood, assure them that its
success is determined on, and that as soon as the Academ
ic Board can meet, deliberate, and refer their work to a
Board of Supervisors, full rules and regulations will be
adopted, published and adhered to. Until that time we
can hardly assert exactly what are our text books, or
what the order of exercises.

80 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

It is however determined that the Seminary shall be
governed by the military system, which far from being
tyrannical or harsh is of the simplest character, easiest
of enforcement and admits of the most perfect control
by the legislature.

One of Sherman s strongest supporters in Louisiana was
Braxton Bragg. He was greatly interested in the Seminary, was
a strong advocate of the military system of discipline, and sympa
thized with Sherman s embarrassments due to the fact that he
was a northern man and that his brother John was an anti-slavery
leader. The following letter from Bragg to Sherman refers to
these matters.

THIBODEAUX, LA., December 16, 1859.

MY DEAR SHERMAN : I received your letter from the
city. Had your visit only been a week later I could have
met you, as my confinement is over for the present. My
crop was finished on the i2th, and is by far the most
profitable one I have made- giving me a net profit of
$30,000 on an investment of $145,000.

On the first Monday, January second, I intend in
Baton Rouge to enter on the duties of an office to which
I am just elected, "Commissioner of the Board of Pub
lic Works," a new office in this state, but the duties are
old, have been discharged heretofore by swamp land
commissioner, engineers, etc. The new board is to form
a bureau for the general supervision and control of all
state work, to appoint all officers and agents, etc. The
duties are heavy, expenditures large (over $1,000,000 a
year) and the patronage extensive.

Peculations, frauds, swindling and ignorance all com
bined to render the previous system obnoxious, and I am
told the new law was intended to clear off the whole
debris, that a new state of affairs might be inaugurated.
I did not and do not wish the office, as it gives no promi
nence and little compensation, but friends, principally

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 81

Richard Taylor, son of the old general, pressed me to
accept a nomination, as they could find no other man
whose name could defeat the rogues. Under this pres
sure I gave up my privacy, and shall strive to inaugu
rate an honest administration of affairs.

If I do no more I shall at least deserve the thanks and
probably receive the maledictions of many who do not
or will not understand the merits of my conduct. How
long the duties will retain me in Baton Rouge on my
first visit I can not foresee; but long enough I hope, to
see many members of the legislature. I believe I have
some influence with R. Taylor, 26 the senator from this
district, and I will try to intrest him in the Seminary.
He is a very plain, straightforward man, of great inde
pendence, candid, honest and clearheaded. Whatever
he promises we may rely on, as he has great influence. I
have but few others to look to as acquaintances now, ex
cept the senator from Terrebonne, F. S. Goode, who is
like Taylor, and with whom I shall intercede. The
representatives from this parish are very poor sticks and
unreliable.

We must try and secure an additional allowance or
an appropriation to pay for the sixteen state cadets. I
clearly see that you will need funds very soon, unless this
can be done, for the people of the country are not yet
sufficiently aware of the institution and its plan, etc., to
patronize it beyond your suggestion. In time I have no
doubt, if we can sustain it in its infancy, it will become
popular and self-supporting. In the meantime, we
must try to harmonize conflicting interests and opinions.

We all aim at the same great end - to furnish the most
suitable and most useful education to the rising young
men of our state. High literary institutions are grow-

28 Richard Taylor, son of President Taylor, later a confederate general. ED.

82 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

ing up around us in every direction, but in the scientific
and military we are sadly deficient. No class of people
on the face of the earth are more dependent on science
and discipline for success than the southern planters.
Scan the whole area of our state and see what proportion
of its capital and labor is devoted to science. See our
levees, canals, for navigation and drainage; our steam
ers, our foundries, and last, our plantation machinery.
Then apply this science to our soils, and see our woful
deficiency and waste in our want of system in cultiva
tion. The very plantation is a small military establish
ment, or it ought to be. By military I don t mean the
old fogy notion of white belts, stiff leather stocks and
"palms of the hands to the front," but discipline, by
which we secure system, regularity, method, economy of
time, labor and material.

This all tends to secure better health, more labor and
less exertion, and with infinitely less punishment, more
comfort and happiness to the laborer, and more profit
and pleasure to the master. The other consideration
weighs no little with me. We have a large class of our
population in subordination, just and necessary. Where
do we find the fewest mutinies, revolts and rebellions?
In the best disciplined commands. Human nature is
the same throughout the world. Give us all disciplined
masters, managers, and assistants, and we shall never
hear of insurrection - unless as an exception - to be sup
pressed instanter without appeal to foreign aid.

As I shall not have time now to write General Gra
ham, you can show him the foregoing. No considera
tion can overcome my preference for a military school,
but I am open to policy in the course necessary to obtain
it. For the present your course is plain, it seems to me.
You are an agent selected to carry out the views of

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 83

others. Your opinion might be expressed as a candid
man, but your action should be confined to carrying out
the system laid down for your government. When
called upon for your views, give them freely. At all
other times execute faithfully what is laid down for you.
But this is advice I need not give you as from your let
ters it is the sensible view you have taken of the subject.

The other question, personal to yourself, I can readily
see is calculated to make you sensitive and uncomforta
ble. I hope no one will be so unjust and indelicate as to
refer to such a matter, but should it be done, keep silent
and refer the matter to your friends. I will answer any
such insinuations and vouch for your soundness in any
and all ways. I have known you too long and too well to
permit a doubt to cross my mind as to the soundness of
your views. What sentiments your brother may enter
tain will be a subject for our representatives at Wash
ington. It is all right and proper that you should wish
him success. I do not, of course, know his opinions, but
I believe that if he had your experience with us we
should have no cause to fear him. His recommendation
of that fellow s incendiary work was unfortunate, but I
have no doubt was done without reflection or a knowl
edge of what he was doing, and that he heartily repents
of an inconsiderate act. I have not the same charity for
a good many of our northern representatives. They go
too far, as do some of our own, but they being the aggres
sors there is some palliation on our side.

Mrs. B. joins me in regards and wishing you every
success.

In letters written to his wife and to his brother-in-law after
his return from New Orleans, Sherman refers to political mat
ters, to his fear that his position might become difficult and
outlines the views that he held on slavery and secession, views
which he did not modify or conceal while in Louisiana.

84 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, ALEXANDRIA, LA., Dec. 16, 1859.

. . . I wrote you and Minnie from New Orleans
as I told you I would. I did start back in the "Tele
gram" Monday evening, and Red River being up, we
came along without delay, reaching here Wednesday
morning. I had despatched by a former boat a good
deal of freight, brought some in the same boat, and all
the balance will be here in a day or so. I walked out
from Pineville, which is the name of a small group of
houses on this side of Red River, and sent the cart in for
my trunk and for the drummer I had picked up in New
Orleans. I wanted also a tailor and shoemaker, but
failed to get them. On getting out I was much disap
pointed at receiving no letters, but was assured that all
the mails had failed for a week; and last night being
mail night I sent in my new drummer who brought out
a good budget, among them your letters. . . So, as
you seem to know, this is an out of the way place without
telegraphs, railroads, and almost without mails.

It so happened that General Graham came out the
very day of my return, not knowing that I was here, and
he brought with him Mr. Smith, the professor of chem
istry, who is one of the real Virginia F. F. V. s, a very
handsome young man of twenty-two, who will doubtless
be good company. He is staying with General Gra
ham, but will move here in a few days. General Gra
ham seemed delighted with the progress I had made,
and for the first time seemed well satisfied that we would
in fact be ready by January i.

I have not yet been to Alexandria, as I landed on this
side the river and came out at once, but I shall go in on
Monday and see all the supervisors, who are again to
meet. I know the sentiments of some about abolition
ism, and am prepared if they say a word about John. I

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 85

am not an abolitionist, still I do not intend to let any of
them reflect on John in my presence, as the newspapers
are full of angry and bitter expressions against him. All
I have met have been so courteous that I have no reason
to fear such a thing, unless some one of those who came,
applicants to the post I fill, with hundreds of letters,
should endeavor to undermine me by assertions on the
infernal question of slavery, which seems to blind men
to all ideas of common sense.

Your letters convey to me the first intimation I have
received that the project of - - had not long since been
abandoned. . . You remember I waited as long as
I decently could before answering Governor Wickliffe s
letter of appointment, in hopes of receiving a word
from - who promised Hugh to write from London.
Not hearing from him and having little faith in the
scheme, I finally accepted this place as the best thing
offering. Even yet I think this is my best chance unless
the question of slavery and my northern birth and asso
ciations should prejudice me, and should - - make his
appearance here I should have to be very strongly as
sured on the subject of pay and permanency before I
would even hint at leaving. Of course if I could do
better, there is no impropriety in my quitting as there
are many strong applicants for the post, many of whom
possess qualifications equal if not superior to me. I
still do not believe that - - is to be relied on and I
don t expect he has the most remote intention of com
ing here. . .

These southern politicians have so long cried out wolf
that many believe the wolf has come and therefore they
might in some moment of anger commit an act resulting
in Civil War. As long as the Union is kept I will stand
by it, but if we are going to split up into sections I
would prefer our children should be raised in Ohio or

86 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

some northern state to the alternative of a slave state,
where we never can have slave property.

I have already described this place to you - the build
ing being of course not at all designed for families -
and I shall not, as long as I control, permit a woman or
child to live in it. The nearest house is an open, cold
house a quarter of a mile distant occupied at present by
Professor Vallas, wife and five children. During my
absence at New Orleans they had here bitter cold
weather, the same that killed all the orange trees at New
Orleans, and Mr. Vallas tells me he and his family
nearly froze, for the house was designed for summer, of
the "wentilating" kind.

There are other houses between this and Alexandria
of the same general kind, but they are from one and one-
half to two and one-half miles distant, too far off for any
person connected with the Seminary to live. The plan
is and has been to build, but the Seminary is utterly un
able to build, nor can it hope to get the money save by a
gift from the legislature. General Graham thinks they
will appropriate $30,000. Governor Moore, though in
favor of doing so, has his doubts and was candid enough
to say so. Without that it will be impossible for me to
bring you south even next winter. The legislature meets
in the latter part of next January and we cannot even get
our pay until they appropriate, but they must appro
priate $8,ioo 27 because it belongs lawfully to the
Seminary. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, Dec. 23, 1859.
. . . I have the New Orleans papers of the i8th.

2T Interest on the Seminary land fund. - ED.

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 87

I see that the election of speaker was still the engrossing
topic, John s vote being 112, 114 being necessary to a
choice. Still I doubt his final success on account of his
signing for that Helper book. Without that his election
would be certain. I was at Alexandria yesterday and
was cornered by a Dr. Smith, a member of the Board of
Supervisors and at present a candidate of this Parish for
a seat in the state senate, to which he will surely be elect
ed. He referred pointedly to the deep intense feeling
which now pervades the South, and the importance that
all educational establishments should be in the hands of
its friends. I answered in general terms that I had noth
ing to do with these questions, that I was employed to
do certain things which I should do, that I always was a
strong advocate of our present form of government, and
as long as it remained I should be true to it, that if dis
union was meditated in any quarter I should oppose it,
but that if disunion did actually occur, an event I would
not contemplate, then every man must take his own
course and I would not say what I would do. I still be
lieve somehow or other efforts will be made to draw
me out on these points and I shall be as circumspect as
possible.

A good many gentlemen and ladies have been here to
see the Seminary which begins to attract notice. All ex
press great pleasure at seeing the beautiful building and
hope it will become a center of attraction. About the
time you receive this we will begin to receive cadets and
then things will be pretty lively. I will have nothing
to do in the way of teaching this term, my time will be
mostly taken up by supervising others, and seeing to the
proper supplies and furnishment. . .

88 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

W. T. SHERMAN TO THOMAS EWING JR.

SEMINARY near Alexandria, December 23, 1859.

DEAR TOM: I received last night a Leavenworth
paper addressed in your handwriting and I wish you
would repeat them. I get the New Orleans papers regu
larly, but they never say Kansas; indeed I know not
if they are admitted south, Kansas being synonimous
with abolitionism.

You can readily imagine the delicate position I now
hold at the head of a seminary to open January i next,
for the instruction and training of young men to science
and arms, at the same time that John Sherman s name is
bandied about as the representative of all that is held
here murderous and detestable. Thus far all have had
the delicacy to refrain in my presence with but one cas
ual exception, but I would not be surprised if at any
time I should be officially catechised on the subject.
This I would not stand of course.

I would not if I could abolish or modify slavery. I
don t know that I would materially change the actual
political relation of master and slave. Negroes in the
great numbers that exist here must of necessity be slaves.
Theoretical notions of humanity and religion cannot
shake the commercial fact that their labor is of great
value and cannot be dispensed with. Still of course I
wish it never had existed, for it does make mischief. No
power on earth can restrain opinions elsewhere, and
these opinions expressed beget a vindictive feeling. The
mere dread of revolt, sedition or external interference
makes men ordinarily calm almost mad. I, of course,
do not debate the question and, moderate as my views
are, I feel that I am suspected, and if I do not actually
join in the praises of slavery I may be denounced as an
abolitionist.

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 89

I think it would be wise if northern people would con
fine their attention to the wants and necessities of their
own towns and property, leaving the South to manage
slavery and receive its reward or doom, let what may
come.

I am fully conscious that respectable men here not
only talk but think of the combinations to be made in
case of a rupture. It may be that they design these
military colleges as a part of some ulterior design, but
in my case I do not think such to be the case. Indeed it
was with great difficulty the Board of Supervisors were
prevailed on by an old West Pointer to give the Semi
nary the military feature, and then it was only assented
to because it was represented that southern gentlemen
would submit rather to the showy discipline of arms
than to the less ostentatious government of a faculty.
Yet, I say that it may result that men are preparing for
the wreck of the U.S. government and are thinking and
preparing for new combinations.

I am willing to aid Louisiana in defending herself
against her enemies so long as she remains a state in the
general confederacy; but should she or any other state
act disunion, I am out. Disunion and Civil War are
synonimous terms. The Mississippi, source and mouth,
must be controlled by one government, the southeast are
cut off by the Alleghany Mountains, but Louisiana oc
cupies the mouth of a river whose heads go far north,
and does not admit of a "cut off." Therefore a peace
able disunion which men here think possible is absurd.
It would be war eternal until one or the other were
conquered - "subject." In that event of course I would
stand by Ohio. I always laughed when I heard dis
union talked of, but I now begin to fear it may be at
tempted.

90 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I have been to New Orleans, purchased all the fur
niture needed, and now await the coming of January 2
to begin school. We expect from sixty to seventy-five
scholars at first. I will not teach, but supervise the dis
cipline, instruction, supplies, etc.

How are your plans, political and financial, progress
ing? If Congress should organize I suppose we will
have the same war over the admission of Kansas.

Of the final preparations before the opening of the school,
Sherman made report in the following letters to General Gra
ham, the vice president of the Board of Supervisors.

SEMINARY, Dec. 21, 1859.

DEAR GENERAL: ... I have also another long
letter from Bragg, who warms in our favor, and he will
be a valuable coadjutator, should you seek legislative
action. He discusses two suggestions I made: First,
let the state maintain their sixteen cadets, or double the
endowment. Meet Uncle Sam half way. I think the
latter the simplest offer, and if they do this we should
ask nothing in the way of building; with a certain in
come of $16,200 we could annually enlarge to the extent
of three to four thousand.

I think to ask any large sum such as $30,000, would
startle the friends of the Seminary, whereas to do as
much for their Seminary as the United States have done,
would be in the nature of a fair banter and could easily
be debated.

I would like much to come up Christmas, for I am
lonely enough here, and may do so if the day be tempt
ingly warm. Still I now have Jarreau s negroes all at
work - scrubbing, cutting wood, etc., and would hate to
leave, as when the cat is away, etc., and I see they watch
me, as I make my round about twenty times a day. All my

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 91

New Orleans purchases are here safe and sound, except
some forty tables which I hourly expect. Still I have
forty on hand enough to study by even should a mistake
have occurred. I bought eighty, but they had to be put
together after I bought them. I go to Alexandria to
morrow to buy a few small items. I beg you will give
yourself no uneasiness about the regulations. I am in
no hurry about them. I have boards, like the bulletin
board in the main hall, on which I will post "roll call,"
"mess hall regulations," "regulations for rooms," etc.,
in the form of orders, and each cadet will study and re
member them quite as well as if they were printed.

After Monday next I will be prepared to entertain
gentlemen or ladies, and think then a visit here would be
opportune.

SEMINARY, Dec. 25, 1859.

DEAR GENERAL : . . . I wish to be understood as
perfectly willing that encampments should be inaugu
rated at once, but only that I, comparatively a stranger,
should not seem disposed to make this too military,
against or with the lukewarm consent of the people of
Louisiana. The proper rule is for me to execute the de
crees of the legal authorities, leaving them to determine
the objects of the Seminary.

I take pleasure in informing you that our mathemati
cal books have arrived and I will send for them to-mor
row. The publisher deducts ten per cent for cash. So
that I advise you to cause the cashier of the Mechanics
and Traders Bank to remit to A. S. Barnes and
Brown ... the sum of $448.65 to the credit of the
"Seminary of Learning." A prompt business-like mode
of payments will give us good credit, and be of vast ser
vice to us, should we ever get into a tight place. I am
satisfied our present funds are sufficient, and in a few

92 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

days, we will be reimbursed in full, by the sale of these
books and furniture to the cadets.

I am uneasy about the steward being fully ready. I
have his sub-steward here at work as cook, he got supper
and breakfast. Our range requires more draft than the
flues in the side-chimney afforded. I changed it to the
inner large fireplace, walling up its front, and it now
works to a charm. I also apprehended a scarcity of
wood. I have failed in every effort to get negroes, or
men to cut and draw wood. Can you advise when they
are to be had. Or if you can send or cause to be sent two,
immediately, I will give them a month s employment,
trusting to Jarreau s boys after that. He has only three
left that are worth a sou, and he will need two of them.
It will take the three girls every day this week to clean
up.

I have also offers from New York for our clothing,
much more satisfactory than any in New Orleans. Coat
from $13 to $16, vest and pants from $3.50 to $4.00;
samples of cloth are with the offer. A beautiful suit of
good flannel- navy- all wool, can be made, coat $7,
pants $4, vest $3, a really beautiful article. I have also
samples for overcoats from $10 to $16. After the arrival
of cadets by taking their measures carefully, sending
them on, I would in six weeks have everything delivered.
It can t be done at all in Alexandria. In New Orleans
I found too many if s and and s: New York is the great
commercial center of America, and it would be in my
judgment extreme squeamishness to pay more for a
worse article elsewhere.

If prejudice, non-intercourse, such as Mr. Manning
evinced is to restrict me in supplies, we shall be at a
stand still soon enough, for I assure you, New Orleans

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 93

could not fill our small orders for books, which left New
York the day my letter reached the publisher. Admit
ting we buy in New Orleans, your merchants there are
northern men or would at once order of northern men,
thus subjecting us to double profits and commission. Of
course in matter of clothing, arms, and accoutrements I
will not be called on to act till after cadets are here, and
I know I will see you in the mean time.

I have been quite unwell for two days. I attributed it
to an attempt at chicken-pie by our old cook, but since
the receipt of yours I suspect the oysters. This cause
and my unwillingness to entrust our property here to
irresponsible servants deter me from accepting your
kind invitation for to-day, as also a similar one from Mr.
Henarie and Professor Vallas. My Christmas pleasure
must consist of thinking of my little family, enjoying as
I know they do all they could wish, in their snug home
at Lancaster. . .

I m afraid from our frequent letters, the Post Master
will think we have commenced courting again.

While getting the building in order and getting in the equip
ment and furniture, Sherman boarded with the carpenters who
were employed on the work. This gave the foundation for the
newspaper story of later days that the State of Louisiana, gather
ing all its resources for war, refused to pay Sherman s salary and
thus reduced him to such straits that he was forced to board with
the servants. His own account is given in a letter to Mrs. Sher
man.

SEMINARY, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 1859.
. . . I was disappointed the two last mails at not
hearing from you, but to-morrow I feel certain. I will
go to town myself and take this. The time is now near
at hand for opening the Seminary. I have the mess
started in the building, all the carpenters are out, all
the furniture ready, a pretty good stock of wood on

94 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

hand and generally all things are about as far advanced
as I could expect. Still I am the only one ready. The
steward is sick on his plantation twelve miles off, his
son and niggers are here, a good for nothing set. He
has a white under steward who has some work in him
and another white boy to help, and I have three negro
women scrubbing out from top to bottom.

The weather is rainy, sloppy, warm and misty, every
thing is wet and uncomfortable, yet I have pushed things
so that I at least am ready. Smith is sleeping on the
floor in my room on a bed I bought for the cadets and
he is waiting for his furniture from New Orleans. None
of the other professors are here excepting Mr. Vallas
whom I have told you about. There have been forty-
three pay appointments and sixteen public, so we may
expect fifty or sixty this year, which is a reasonable num
ber as this is no time to begin. Everybody has made
arrangements for this winter. Had we begun in No
vember it would have been better. Still as this affair
is designed to last forever it may be well to commence
moderately first.

I had rather a lonely Christmas, nobody here but my
poor drummer and myself. The three negro women
rushed to my room at daylight and cried "Christmas
gift, Massa," and the negro boy Henry that chops wood
and the old negro woman Amy that cooks in an out
house for the carpenters all claimed Christmas of me
thinking I am boss and as rich as Croesus himself. I
disbursed about $5 in halves as each of them had done
me some service uncompensated.

The old cook Amy always hid away for me the last
piece of butter and made my breakfast and dinner bet
ter than the carpenters , always saying she "knowed" I
wasn t used to such kind of living. She don t know what

PREPARING FOR THE SEMINARY OPENING 95

I have passed through. Negroes on plantations are
generally allowed holiday the whole week, but we can t
give it here, as this week is devoted to cleaning up after
the dirt of plastering, painting and tobacco spitting over
seventy-two rooms, halls and galleries. An immense
quantity of dirt is cleaned away, but enough yet remains
to find fault with.

As to Christmas I had invitation to General Gra
ham s, to a Mr. Henarie s in Alexandria and Professor
Vallas, all declined, because of the property exposed
here, which it was not prudent to leave unprotected.
Soon all these things will be distributed, others will be
here and sentinels to guard when I take my holiday. . .

Ill THE BEGINNING OF THE FIRST

SESSION

Beauregard. Obstacles to successful administration. Students arrive slow
ly. Politics again. Prospects of the Seminary before the legislature. Evi
dence of confidence in Sherman. Details in regard to Seminary finances,
enrollment, needs. Young man rides one hundred, twenty-five miles to see if
the Seminary is open. Beauregard s views on the proper education of youth.
Newspaper notice of the opening of the Seminary. Extracts from the regula
tions prepared by Sherman. John Sherman s explanation of his endorsement
of the Impending Crisis. Seminary routine. Improving the Seminary grounds.
Sherman considers the purchase of slaves. Sherman s plans for his family.
Ignorant cadets. Rumor of cadets in grogshops. Proposed legislation in re
gard to the Seminary. Arguments in favor of legalising the military system
of government and discipline. Report of the Board of Supervisors.

The Louisiana State Seminary began its first session on Janu
ary 2, 1860. The superintendent was at his post several days
earlier, busy organizing the administration, receiving and plac
ing students and professors, assuring parents that he would take
proper care of their sons, and all the while corresponding with
those interested in the school. Owing to the disagreement in the
Board between the party which favored an organization and
curriculum patterned after the Virginia Military Institute and
those who preferred something like the University of Virginia,
the book of regulations prepared by Sherman in November was
not published. Consequently much of the information therein
contained had now to be given out through correspondence.

Upon the superintendent devolved also the duties of treasurer
and commissary, and, while Captain Jarreau was ill, he was
forced to take charge of the steward s work, oversee the boarding
department and direct the ill-trained servants.

During the first month everything was gotten into fair run
ning order. Candidates for entrance were examined and classi
fied, text-books were obtained, uniforms and military equipment
ordered, drills begun, the course of study planned, the faculty or

98 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Academic Board organized, and the Seminary put upon a cash-
paying basis.

Meanwhile Sherman continued to be uneasy about the politi
cal situation, not only because he foresaw embarrassment in his
own position but because he feared more serious sectional strife.
An offer was then made by a commercial concern to send him to
London to open a branch house and under the circumstances this
offer was seriously considered.

The activities of the first days of the session are described in
letters written to General Graham and to Mrs. Sherman. Gra
ham and Sherman exchanged letters nearly every day and to
Mrs. Sherman and her father, Thomas Ewing, he wrote inti
mately and with detail about Seminary matters, political condi
tions, and the difficulties in his way. The letters from Major
Beauregard, a firm friend of the Seminary and of Sherman, are
typical of many received by Sherman at this time. Beauregard
placed two sons and a nephew under Sherman s care.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Jan. i, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: A happy New Year to you and
yours. . . I see plain enough that the impression is
abroad that state cadets are "free" and it will take time
and patience to put the matter aright. The first re
ported cadet is named Tempel from Bayou Sara; he is
a state appointee, had with him $37 which he deposited,
and I provided with a complete outfit at about $28, bed,
table, etc., and he looks quite comfortable in Room 23.
He takes his meals with the officers.

Cadet Taliaferro s father remitted for his use $250 in
his draft on New Orleans. I propose to pay this to H.
Robertson and Company as cash for blankets. I have
discharged all carpenters and to-day must settle with
them. I will in any contingency act, things here shan t
stop or take a check on my account, for as commanding
officer I shall assume all power subject at all times to
account. I will keep full accounts of all things - money,

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 99

property, etc., and will only insist that the treasurer
shall have no commission on my disbursements. Of
course our finances are not on a sound basis, we will be
short, but it is all important the cadets should be well
provided in all things, that the system should be made
to work well, that the institution should have the best
credit, and therefore I will pay all bills off and keep
the cash system, and if at the end of the year, the cash
be short, let the professors salaries be behind.

As to rank, legislation, etc., I prefer to leave all to
you, for you are more fully impressed with the impor
tance of these things than I pretend to be. If Dr. Smith
and Mr. Manning have secret designs to legislate against
our place, they should be met by friends there on the
spot. I think if consistent with your other duties of life,
you could be at Baton Rouge, about Governor Moore s
inauguration it would be appropriate. To be sure you
have labored enough, but having built the arch, drop
in the keystone, and then you can rest at ease.

Please encourage the visits of ladies, gentlemen, and
all strangers especially to a visit. I will make it a point
to attend them, and can do much to convince all that the
military system is the truly watchful, parental system,
instead of the neglectful one of common academies.
Mr. Smith and Mr. St. Ange are with me. Also Mr.
Sevier 28 all provided a la cadet.

It is fortunate I got my things in New Orleans. Mr.
Ford has not delivered a single mattress, and I doubt if
he will. I have seventy-five good mattresses, pillows,
sheets, covers, straps, etc., for one hundred beds, trust
ing to Ford for twenty-five mattresses. If cadets come
in pretty fast I shall order twenty-five from New Or-

28 Dr. John W. Sevier, a veteran of Walker s filibustering expedition, was
appointed surgeon and adjutant of the Seminary in December, 1859. ED.

ioo SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

leans, and refuse to take Ford s because he has not come
to time. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Jan. 4, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: . . . We began recitations to
day. Mathematics and French, tomorrow mathematics
and Latin. Mathematics five days a week; French
and Latin on alternate days, two hours each. To-mor
row we commence drills one hour a day - and two hours
on Saturday. Everything works well. . .

P. G. T. BEAUREGARD TO W. T. SHERMAN

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 4, 1860.

DEAR SIR : Allow me to introduce to you the bearer,
my son Rene T. Beauregard, who goes to report to you
under the charge of W. I. N. Reid of this city, for my
occupation will not permit me to accompany him. . .

May I take the liberty to ask you to find for my son a
proper roommate, one of studious and steady habits
who has not seen much of city life and habits, for on
this first start in life will depend his future career.

You will no doubt find him a very studious, correct,
and upright boy in every respect. I desire fitting him
for a commercial life. . .

P.S. I beg you to furnish my son with whatever
objects he may have need of during his stay at the Sem
inary and draw on me for the same.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, Jan. 4, 1860.

. . . Since my last I have been pretty busy. Last
week was very cold and stormy. The snow fell one
night to depth of five inches and lay all next day. On
New Years however it cleared off and was bright. Mon-

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 101

day was our opening day- was bright cold and clear.
All the professors were on hand and nineteen cadets
made their appearance. Since then four more. To
day we begin reciting in mathematics and French. To
morrow mathematics and Latin. These studies and
drilling will occupy this year till June. There are
sixteen state appointments and forty-three by the Board-
fifty-nine in all, so that there are about thirty-six to
come yet. Not punctual, according to southern fash-
sion, but partly occasioned by the severe weather of last
week which has interrupted travel.

If I were to tell you of the thousand and one little
things that stand in the way of doing things here you
would be amused. As a sample, in New Orleans I
could not find the French grammars wanted by the pro
fessor. I telegraphed to New York and got answer
that they would come in time; they reached New Or
leans and were sent up this river by boat, but the boat
did not land them, and they have gone up to Shreve-
port and when they will get here we cannot guess.

The Latin professor did not get here until the Satur
day before the Seminary opened, and now he has to
begin instruction without text books. But I am deter
mined they shall teach, and I cause the young men to
be marched to their recitation rooms, where the profes
sors must teach by lecture till we get our books. Even
New Orleans is badly supplied with books and we must
order everything from New York. Some of the hot-
bloods talk of non-intercourse with New York, but that
is absurd, everything but cotton and sugar must come
from the North.

Professor Boyd is a young man of about twenty-five
years, and a very clever gentleman. Indeed on the
whole the professors are above mediocrity. The young

102 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

cadets too are a very clever set of young men. Our
messing arrangements are also quite complete, and
things work well.

You say that - - still thinks of coming south. I
still am incredulous and shall do or say nothing to com
mit me till I am sure. Seven thousand five hundred
dollars a year secured for two years would be better
than the post I now hold, as I do not believe this Sem
inary without legislative aid can pay us the salaries
they have agreed to do. Thus the state has compelled
us to receive sixteen cadets without pay. Their board,
clothing, books, etc., have to be paid for by the Seminary
out of the endowment of $8,100. The actual cost of
board, etc., of these sixteen will be near $4,000, leaving
about the same amount out of which to pay professors
salaries amounting to $i 2,500, or in other words we shall
receive only one-third the pay stipulated for. The pay
cadets pay barely enough to support themselves. Every
thing will depend on the legislature for this year, and
the whole matter will be fully submitted to them.

Now that I have fairly got the Seminary started, a
great point about which there was much doubt, I shall
apply myself to this, to procure legislation that will put
the college on safe financial ground. The governor
and many members are highly favorable and none thus
far has breathed a word against me on John s account.
I was in hopes that General Graham would go down to
Baton Rouge, but he says he cannot, that he has an
antipathy to such business - politics and politicians be
ing obnoxious to him as they are to me. .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Friday, Jan. 6, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: Things move along so so -only

twenty four cadets. Captain Walters brought his boy of

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 103

fourteen years and eight months and I will receive him.
Vallas is so zealous that he keeps his class nearly four
hours in the section room. I may have to interfere,
but for the present will leave him full scope to develop
his "Method." To-morrow, Saturday I will have a
drill and afterward daily.

We had some conversation about John Sherman. You
have seen enough of the world to understand politicians
and the motives which influence and govern them ; last
night I received a letter from him, which explains his
signing that Helper book. He is punished well and
deservedly for a thoughtless and careless act and will
hereafter look at papers before he signs them. I also
send you a letter he wrote me before he left home to go
to Washington. Whatever rank he may hold among
politicians I [know] he would do no aggressive act in
life. I do think southern politicians are almost as much
to blame as mere theoretical abolitionists. The con
stant threat of disunion, and their enlarging the term
abolitionist has done them more real harm than the
mere prayers, preachings, and foolish speeches of dis
tant preachers. It is useless for men to try and make a
party on any basis. The professional politician will
slip in and take advantage of it if successful and drop
it if unsuccessful.

The true position for every gentleman north and south
is to frown down even a mention of disunion. Resist
any and all assaults calmly, quietly like brave men, and
not by threats. The laws of the states and Congress
must be obeyed; if wrong or oppressive they will be
repealed. Better to bear, etc. I don t pretend to en
dorse republicanism, John Sherman or anybody else-
but I send these letters to show that he is no abolitionist.
As he is my brother, is honest, of excellent habits, and

104 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

has done his duty as a son, brother, neighbor, etc., and
as I believe, he will fill any post creditably I wish him
success.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

ALEXANDRIA, Tuesday morning [Jan. 7, 1860].
. . . I have just paid every bill due by the Semin
ary and hereafter the cash system shall prevail. We
now have thirty-six cadets (five state). . . John
Sherman is tetchy about seeming to yield to clamor, but
if Dr. Smith explains the manner in which the letter
came to him, nobody can object. We are working
smoothly. I have found my books - in Henarie s loft
where they had been three weeks! - too bad. They were
marked plain. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO THOMAS EWING

STATE SEMINARY, ALEXANDRIA, Jan. 8, 1860.

DEAR SIR: As you can well understand I am in the
midst of busy times, answering letters, making reports,
issuing orders, etc., all pertaining to the organization of
a new school on a new plan for this part of the world.
The weather has been exceedingly boisterous. Snow
fell here last week, five inches, but it lay only one day.
To-day was like May with you. But the rains and
frosts have made the roads bad and have in a measure
delayed the coming of our cadets. They have been so
used to delay and procrastination that they could not
understand the necessity of time.

I took things in hand a la militarism, usurped full
authority and began the system ab initio. We now
have thirty-two cadets who attend reveille and all roll
calls like soldiers, have their meals with absolute regu
larity and are already hard at work at mathematics,
French, and Latin. I am the only West Pointer, but
they submit to me with the docility of lambs.

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 105

A good many gentlemen have attended their sons and
are much pleased with the building and all arrange
ments. They occasionally drop the sentiment of their
gladness that thus they will become independent of the
North and such like, but not one man has said one word
about John or anything at which I could take exception.

The supervisors seem glad to devolve on me all the
burdensome task of details, and are now loud in their
determination to besiege the legislature to so endow the
Seminary that it shall be above all danger or contin
gency. The governor sent me word to-day to give him
some points for his message, and I have written him at
length urging him to get the state, out of her swamp
lands, to double our endowment. The present comes
from the United States. If Louisiana gives equal we
will have an income of $16,200, which would put us
above all want. Or if she will simply appropriate to
pay for the sixteen cadets which she forces us to educate
and support. . .

This however is too good a berth to risk. 29 I per
ceive I have a strong hold there. The South are right
in guarding against insidious enemies or against any
enemies whatever, and I would aid her in so doing. All
I would object to is the laying of plans designed to result
in a secession and Civil War. The valley of the Mis
sissippi must be under one government, else war is al
ways the state. If I were to suspect that I were being
used for such a deep laid plan I would rebel, but I see
daily marks of confidence in me and reliance upon my
executing practical designs, and if I were to say that I
contemplated leaving I would give great uneasiness to
those who have built high hopes. Still if - - is in
earnest and I can hold off till the legislature shows its

29 Sherman here refers to an offer made to him of a position in London. ED.

106 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

temper (it meets Monday, the i6th) I will be in better
attitude to act.

Here at $3,500 I could save little after bringing my
family, but I would have good social position, maybe
a good house and, taken all in all, a pleasant home, for
such I should make it, designing to keep my children
here summer and winter, always. Epidemics never
originate here. Sometimes they come up after having
sojourned some time below. . .

We must absolutely have help this year or the Sem
inary cannot pay the salaries stipulated for, nor build
houses for the families. I now handle all the moneys
and am absolute master of all the business. We have
a treasurer twenty miles off, under bond, whereas I, in
fact, have in my possession all the moneys, $6,000 near
ly, and for its safety they have never asked of me a
receipt. I cannot therefore mistake the confidence of
the Board. Caution must be my plan now.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Monday, Jan. 9, 1860.

According to your request, I prepared yesterday and
will mail today for Governor Wickcliffe: i. A copy
of our morning report of yesterday giving numbers of
officers, cadets, and servants. 2. Distribution of rooms,
showing easy accommodations for one hundred forty-
three cadets, and in case of necessity fifty more. 3.
Copy of our register of cadets, giving names, etc., of
thirty-one cadets (now thirty-two). . . 4. Copy of
the proceedings of the Academic Board, showing the
basis of instruction, text books, etc. Still subject to
change, before being finally referred to the Board of
Supervisors for approval.

And lastly I wrote him a letter, giving him such
details and suggestions as occurred to me at the time.

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 107

Of all these I retain copies, and would send them to you
only they are voluminous, and are always here of rec
ord, and will be examined by you on your next visit.
Our mess arrangements, drill and recitations work as
smoothly as I would expect. . .

Dr. Smith 30 sent me word to send him about the close
of this month at Baton Rouge full details for his use.
I think I had better do so, carefully and minutely.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Wednesday, January n, 1860.
DEAR GENERAL : . . . I will receive all who ap
ply whether appointed or not, and would suggest that
you send me a few blank appointments. This idea is
suggested by the fact that a young man named Stokes
rode one hundred twenty-five miles from Monroe on
horseback simply to find out whether it "am a fact"
that such an institution was in existence. He brought
the enclosed letter. I tried to prevail on him to stay
but he was ordered to return. I wrote Mr. Noble to
send him back forthwith with two hundred dollars. He
thought he could go and return in seven days but I allow
ten. . .

In the Louisiana Democrat of January 1 1, 1860, is an editorial
notice of the opening of the Seminary based upon notes sent to the
editor by Superintendent Sherman. It was found necessary to
remind prospective students of the necessity of coming early and
to advise the public in regard to the nature of the academic work
offered, the disagreements in the Board having been made public.

To this date the number of cadets who have reported
themselves at the State Seminary is over forty, the ar
rivals having been at the rate of about six per day. The
cadets who have arrived are creditable representatives
of Young Louisiana, averaging in age about seventeen

30 State senator and member of the Board of Supervisors. ED.

io8 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

years and in height about five feet six inches. A con
siderable proportion of them are well advanced in
academic studies and several have been members of
military schools in other states.

By the energy and forethought of the superintendent,
the professors and members of the Board, due prepara
tion had been made for this promising influx of cadets,
who are now, consequently, already beginning their
studies. It is very desi rable that all students who intend
to go to the Seminary during the current session should
report themselves at the earliest day practicable. . .

While on this topic we might as well advert to a seri
ous error into which some have fallen concerning the
course of study at the State Seminary. It is assumed by
these that, as the organization of this institution is mil
itary in character, the course of study will of necessity
be purely scientific, to the exclusion of classical studies.
On the contrary provision is made for as complete a
course of tuition in Latin and Greek as can be enjoyed
in any American College. The chair of ancient lan
guages is filled by an able professor, chosen by the Board
of Supervisors from a large number of applicants, and
recommended as well by his attainments as by his suc
cess as a teacher. Our State Seminary has therefore
all the features of a collegiate institution of the first
grade; its military regulations and discipline will not
interfere at all with the classical and scientific pursuits
of the cadets, as we have already fully explained.

The following extracts from the regulations prepared by Sher
man are of interest as giving his views on questions of curriculum
and discipline. Though drawn up in November and December,
1859, and put into operation in January, 1860, the regulations
were not printed until the vacation of 1860. The scheme of
grading and the valuation of the subjects in the course of study
were borrowed from the West Point system. The original manu-

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 109

script copy in the handwriting of Sherman was taken from the
Seminary in 1864, when General Banks raided the Red River
Valley. In 1909 the manuscript was returned to Louisiana
State University.

35. Each candidate, before he is admitted as a cadet,
must be able to read and write the English language
well, and to perform with facility and accuracy the
various operations of the four ground rules of arithme
tic (addition, substraction, multiplication, and divi
sion), of reduction of vulgar and decimal fractions, of
simple and compound proportion.

38. No married person will be received as a cadet,
and if any one shall marry whilst a cadet, such marriage
will be considered as a resignation.

60. The Course of Instruction will be substantially
as follows : mathematics - embracing arithmetic, al
gebra, geometry, plane and spherical trigonometry,
mensuration, descriptive geometry, analytical geome
try, differential and integral calculus.

61. Natural Philosophy - embracing mechanics, op
tics, acoustics, magnetism, and electricity. Astronomy.

62. Chemistry, with its application to agriculture
and the arts; mineralogy and geology; infantry tactics.

63. Surveying, civil engineering, military engineer
ing, as far as the construction of field-work of attack and
defense; topography, perspective drawing, sketching
in pencil and colors; architecture, description of the
ancient orders and modern styles.

64. The English language, composition, and elocu
tion ; geography and history; mental and moral philoso
phy.

65. The Latin and Greek languages.

66. The French and Spanish languages.

67. Practical instruction will be given in the infan-

1 10 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

try and artillery drill, and with the sword when prac
ticable.

84. The relative weight to be given the different
subjects in forming the roll of general merit shall be
expressed by the following numbers :

Engineering ..... 300

Mathematics ..... 300

Natural philosophy .... 300

Conduct (demerits) .... 300

English studies and literature . . . 300

Chemistry . . . . . 200

Infantry tactics ..... 200

Mineralogy and geology . . . . 100

Artillery . . . . . 100

French and Spanish .... 300

Latin and Greek .... 300

Compositions . . . . . 100

Declamation ..... 100

Drawing ..... 100

85. The minimum mark of any subject shall be one-
third the maximum, intermediate merit being represent
ed by the terms of an arithmetical series, the extremes of
which are the highest and lowest marks, and the number
of terms the number in the class.

109. No cadet shall keep a waiter, horse, or dog.

no. No cadet shall in any way use tobacco, nor
have it in his room or in his possession.

in. No cadet shall cook or prepare food in the
Seminary building, or have cooked provisions in his
room, without permission.

After the Seminary routine was somewhat fixed, the corres
pondence of Sherman shows that he felt more sure of his posi
tion. His own views were understood by his associates and he
had been assured that neither his political opinions nor those of
his brother would interfere with his Seminary work. During
the long contest in Congress over the election of a speaker of the

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BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 117

House, W. T. Sherman asked his brother John why he had en
dorsed Helper s book. John Sherman answered: "It was a
thoughtless, foolish, and unfortunate act. I relied upon the repre
sentation that it was a political tract. . . I was assured that there
would be nothing offensive in it and so ... I told Mor
gan, a member of last Congress, to use my name. I never read
the book, knew nothing of it. . . Everybody knows that the
ultra sentiments in the book are as obnoxious to me as they can
be to anyone and in proper circumstances I would distinctly say
so, but under the threat of Clark s resolution 31 I could not with
self respect say more than I have." General Graham secured
this letter and quietly sent it around among the prominent poli
ticians of the state. It eased the situation considerably, though
later letters show that Sherman continued to be "somewhat mor
bid" on the subject.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, Jan. 12.

. . . I have allowed more time than usual to pass
without writing. Indeed I have had a good many calls
upon my time not properly belonging to me. The
steward was sick of sore throat that made it imprudent
of him to come so I had to supervise his mess affairs.
I had a parcel of lazy negroes scrubbing and cleaning,
and lastly new cadets arriving and receiving their out
fits. I have to do everything but teach. We have now
forty cadets all at work reciting in mathematics, French,
and Latin, also drilling once a day. I drill one squad,
but as soon as I get a few of the best far enough advanced
to help I will simply overlook. Hereafter I will have
none of this to do.

Everything moves along satisfactorily, all seem
pleased, and gentlemen have been here from New Or
leans and other distant points who are much pleased.

31 John B. Clark, a member of Congress from Missouri, introduced a reso
lution to the effect that no person who endorsed Helper s book was fit to be
speaker of the House of Representatives. ED.

n8 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I have knowledge of more cadets coming, and this be
ing the first term and being preceded by so much doubt
I don t know that we have reason to be disappointed
with only forty. The legislature meets next Monday,
and then will begin the free discussion which will settle
the fact of professors houses and other little detailed
improvements which will go far to make my position
here comfortable or otherwise.

Nobody has said boo about John. Indeed I have two
letters from John which I showed to General Graham
who gave them to the senator from this Parish, who took
them to Baton Rouge. In them John tells me he signed
the Helper card without seeing it, not knowing it, but
after Clark introduced his resolution he would make
no disclaimer. He was right, and all men acquainted
with the facts will say so. Even southern men. The
supervisors can t spare me. I manage their affairs to
their perfect satisfaction, and all here in the parish
would never think of complicating me. But the legis
lature may- we shall soon see. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO JOHN SHERMAN

[January and February, 1860].

DEAR BROTHER: I received your letter explaining
how you happened to sign for that Helper book. Of
course it was an unfortunate accident, which will be a
good reason for your refusing hereafter your signature
to unfinished books. After Clark s resolution, you were
right, of course, to remain silent. I hope you will still
succeed, as then you will have ample opportunity to
show a fair independence.

The rampant southern feeling is not so strong in
Louisiana as in Mississippi and Carolina. Still, hold
ing many slaves, they naturally feel the intense anxiety

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 119

all must whose property and existence depend on the
safety of their property and labor. I do hope that Con
gress may organize and that all things may move along
smoothly. It would be the height of folly to drive the
South to desperation, and I hope, after the fact is ad
mitted that the North has the majority and right to
control national matters and interests, that they will
so use their power as to reassure the South that there
is no intention to disturb the actual existence of slavery.

. . . The excitement attending the speakership
has died away here, and Louisiana will not make any
disunion moves. Indeed, she is very prosperous, and
the Mississippi is a strong link, which she cannot sever.
Besides, the price of negroes is higher than ever before,
indicating a secure feeling. .

I have seen all your debates thus far, and no southern
or other gentleman will question their fairness and dig
nity, and I believe, unless you are unduly provoked,
they will ever continue so. I see you are suffering some
of the penalties of greatness, having an awful likeness
paraded in Harper s, to decorate the walls of country
inns. I have seen that of Harper, and as the name is
below, I recognize it. Some here say they see a like
ness to me, but I don t.

. . . I don t like the looks of the times. This
political turmoil, the sending commissions from state
to state, the organization of military schools and estab
lishments, and universal belief in the South that dis
union is not only possible but certain, are bad signs.
If our country falls into anarchy, it will be Mexico, only
worse. I was in hopes the crisis would have been de
ferred till the states of the northwest became so popu
lous as to hold both extremes in check. Disunion would
be Civil War, and you politicians would lose all charm.

120 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Military men would then step on the tapis, and you
would have to retire. Though you think such a thing
absurd, yet it is not so, and there would be vast numbers
who would think the change for the better.

I have been well sustained here, and the legislature
proposes further to endow us well and place us in the
strongest possible financial position. If they do, and
this danger of disunion blow over, I shall stay here;
but in case of a breach, I would go north. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Friday Night, Jan. 13, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: . . . We are getting along well
enough. On Monday next a week, I will order break
fast at seven, Mathematics, five classes a week from
eight to eleven, French from eleven to one, Latin two
to four, drill one hour daily- and that order will carry
us to June. The tailor was to have been out to-day to
measure for uniforms, but as usual he did not come.
As soon as I have measures I will order fifty uniforms -
coats, vests, and pants, hat and forage caps, also a suit
of fatigue flannel - fifteen dollars per coat, vest, pants.

I think there is no objection to the use of the extract
of Bragg s letter. I also do not object to a reasonable
use of John s letters to me. I think he would not like
to appear to seek to counteract any prejudice against him
in any quarter, save privately among gentlemen. Not
for the public and press. Congressmen think their
public record hard enough to reconcile to the changing
opinions and prejudices of a wide-spread people.

I saw him last summer, had much talk with him on
this subject, and used all my influence to prevail on him
to assume a high national tone, and understood him as
asserting that no bill could be offered for any purpose
in Congress without southern politicians bringing in

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 121

some phase of the negro question. But on the subject
of slave property in the states where it exists, or any
molestation of the clear distinct rights relating thereto,
guaranteed by the compact of government, he expressed
in a speech in my hearing as emphatic a declaration as
any one could. But as to nationalizing slavery or get
ting Congress to pass a distinct law about it in the ter
ritories that he will not do. I sent you his letter to show
you my reason for asserting that he is no abolitionist.
I could not understand his signing the Helper s card
and wondered why he did not explain it in his place,
but he could not do so after Clark s resolution.

I did apprehend for a time that any feeling against
him might be turned against me - not injuring me ma
terially as I have still open to me the London offer, but
that my being here might prejudice the Seminary, a
mere apprehension of which would cause me to act
promptly -but I do not apprehend such a result now.

Our grounds are being materially damaged by the
hauling of heavy loads of wood by the front gate, over
the only smooth ground we have for a parade; the
ground being soft and the wagons turning upon the
Bermuda grass, which is firmer than the road I feel
much tempted to alter our fences - thus to run a fence
from the rear of building straight to the road, and com
pel all loaded wagons for Jarreau or ourselves to enter
to the side and rear. I think I could do all fencing by
the men employed to saw and distribute wood, especial
ly as the weather grows warm giving more time. I
could get the board for the fence of Waters, on account
of his son who is with us. I estimate the entire cost of
all the fencing necessary at two hundred dollars and I
could do all that is necessary at one hundred fifty dol
lars, and it would add greatly to the appearance of the
place.

122 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I made the measurements to-day and will make a
diagram showing my meaning but of course I will do
nothing without your sanction. We will have some of
the construction fund left- as our furniture will all be
taken by cadets at a small profit over cost. With pres
ent fences and gate constantly open our enclosure is full
of hogs. We dare not kill them, and they root about
and keep our premises nasty. I am full aware of the
absolute necessity for economy and allude to the subject
only, as I might now work in labor of men we must keep
employed at the wood-pile; by using split posts I could
further reduce cost; little by little anyway I will smooth
the ground for drill. . .

SATURDAY EVE. I have been busy all day in taking
measures for clothing, in drill, examining applications
for leave to visit home for Sunday, etc., and now as the
hour approaches to send off my mail, I have no time
even to look over what I wrote last night. Smith and
Boyd go to-day to visit some Doctor from Virginia - to
be absent till Monday- thirty-nine Cadets present.

G. MASON GRAHAM TO W. T. SHERMAN

TYRONE PLANTATION, Sunday, 1:15 p.m., January 15,
1860.

DEAR SIR: Captain Jarreau has just left here, after
bringing me yours of Friday night. I can well com
prehend the pressure on your time, which keeps you
constantly busy, and therefore makes you write hurried
ly. I have more letters on hand now myself than I
shall ever have time to answer. You were in this sort
of hurry when you wrote me on the eleventh. .

I entirely approve and authorize your suggestions in
regard to approaches and enclosures. You will see
where I formerly had the gate put, in the neighborhood
of where [you] propose to put it now, with the express

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 123

view to avoid injury to the front ground. Its removal
to its present site was the work of more thoughtful heads
that succeeded me.

In regard to the fencing, pine posts, whether sawed
or split, will rot off very quick, the more lasting is the
chinkapin, of which a good deal is generally to be found
in the ravines and branch bottoms. If you cannot get it
convenient to yourself the Pinewood s wagoners can get
it for you, if they will. The gates I would move im
mediately. . .

Rest assured that I neither have made nor will make
any use of Colonel Bragg s or your brother s letters to
you that you could yourself object to, although you
could not show them to those that I can. The only
persons I have shown them to are Dr. Smith, Mr. Man
ning, Captain Elgee, and Mr. Halsey and Goodwin in
my room at Mr. Fellows on Thursday night, and I
should now return them to you but that there is one
other person I am desirous to show them to. I showed
them to Mr. Halsey not as an editor, yet because he is
an editor too, in order that he might in that capacity
say nothing ignorantly, but principally from the esti
mation in which I hold him as a gentlemanly and right
minded man, as far as the occupation, that of a hired
partizan editor, he is engaged in, will permit. . .

I think the declaration of your brother in the House
in one of the early days of the present session of Con
gress, and in the debate on the President s message in
1856, republished in the National Intelligencer of the
twentieth ult. ought to be sufficient for any thinking, re
flecting southern man, who has reason enough in him to
admit of a difference of opinion between himself and
other people.

Demagogical politicians and partizan editors make

124 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

all the mischief. Since 1830-1833, I have always be
lieved and never hesitate to express myself so on all
occasions, that southern people of the above classes,
many of them northern and eastern born, have had quite
as much to do with producing the troubles of the coun
try as any body else.

For yourself, my dear Sir, if I had never seen you at
all, a knowledge of the facts that you had passed through
the Military Academy, had served and resided in the
south, and enjoyed the confidence and friendship of
Colonel Bragg, was enough for me. The use that I
desired to make of your letters was to forestall any ap
prehensions on the minds of others, not to remove any
that I knew of. Am truly glad to learn from you that
your own mind is quiet on this point.

W. T. Sherman s views on politics and slavery were in 1860
more moderate than those of his relatives. He disliked slavery
and negro servants but saw no other solution of the labor prob
lem in the south. His letters on this point are somewhat amus
ing. Writing to his brother-in-law in regard to the prospect of
Mrs. Sherman s coming south, he describes the situation as it
appears to him.

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY of Learning and Military

Academy, Alexandria, Jan. 21, 1860.
. . . I have no doubt one of our first troubles will
be that Ellen s 32 servants will all quit, after we have
gone into debt to get them here, and then she will have
to wait on herself or buy a nigger. What will you think
of that- our buying niggers? But it is inevitable. Nig
gers won t work unless they are owned, and white ser
vants are not to be found in this parish. Everybody
owns their own servants. I suppose next fall we will
bring some down from Ohio and after they leave and

32 Mrs. Sherman. - ED.

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 125

get married to some roving Texas trader or carpenter
with a few hundred dollars in pocket, we will be without
servants and compelled to do without or buy.

I have made this point to Ellen, and you must be care
ful in your Black Republican speeches not to be down
on us too hard, for your own sister may be forced by
necessity to traffic in human flesh. Niggers in a cotton
or a sugar field are invaluable, but about a house they
are dirty and of no account, but they monopolize the
business and white girls or boys as servants won t come.
Carpenters and mechanics are white, but nearly all labor
is by slaves. Without them the cotton and sugar fields
would relapse into cane brakes.

We have sixty-four cadets, next year the number will
be double. I have had my share of petty troubles and
annoyances, but thus far have got along; but I won t be
boastful how long I can keep it up, as the boys here are
wilful and govern their parents despotically.

The following letters by Sherman to his eldest daughter and
his wife give interesting glimpses of Seminary life and show an
other side of the efficient superintendent s nature.

W. T. SHERMAN TO HIS DAUGHTER MINNIE

SEMINARY, ALEXANDRIA, LA., Jan. 22, 1860.

DEAR LITTLE MINNIE : I have not written to you for
a long time, but I have sent many messages to you and
the children through your Mama, but as my letters have
come very irregularly, I suppose mine to you have also
been very irregular. It has rained very hard here, and
the roads are so bad, that the stage which brings the
mail can hardly travel. We have no railroads here
and no telegraphs.

Our school began the day after New Year s and every
day since cadets have been coming, sometimes one and

126 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

sometimes two a day. I have to write many letters to
their fathers and mothers, who think I must take par
ticular care of their children, but I cause all to be treated
just alike. They all recite every day in algebra, French,
and Latin, besides which we drill them like soldiers an
hour each day. At present I help the other professors,
but after a while that won t be necessary, and therefore
I will have more time. We now have fifty young men,
some of whom are only fifteen years old and some are
men, but all of them eat, sleep, study, and recite their
lessons in this building.

We put three or four in a room. All have their beds,
which they make on the floor; at daylight they make up
their beds, roll them up and strap them. They then
sweep out their own room, and study their lessons till
breakfast at seven o clock, then they commence to recite
and continue reciting till 4 p.m. when they are drilled
an hour. At sundown they get supper and study their
lessons till 10 o clock, when all go to bed and sleep till
day-light.

They all seem to like it very much, and the governor
of the state is much pleased at our arrangements and
system. He has made a message to the legislature, rec
ommending much increase, and that suitable buildings
should be erected for me and another professor, who
has a family. If the legislature will do this then I will
see that we have a good house, so that next year you and
Mama, Lizzie, Willie, Tommy, and the baby will all
come down to Louisiana, where maybe we will live all
our lives. I think you will like it very much.

There is no snow here now. We had snow only two
days this winter, and there is plenty of good wood, but
to-day it was so warm we did not need fires at all. The
grass is beginning to grow, and the trees begin to look

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 127

as though we would soon have flowers, but generally
the leaves do not sprout until about March.

I find the professors here very nice gentlemen, espe
cially Mr. Boyd and Mr. Smith. Mr. St. Ange is a real
Frenchman, and we laugh a good deal at his oddities.
Mr. Vallas has a family, several boys and one fine little
girl about three years older than you. I know you will
be nine years old when you get this letter. . .

YOUR LOVING PAPA.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, Jan. 24, 1860.

. . . Things along here about as I expected. We
have had many visitors - ladies with children, who part
with them with tears and blessings, and I remark the
fact that the dullest boys have the most affectionate
mothers, and the most vicious boys come recommended
with all the virtues of saints. Of course I promise to
be a father to them all.

We now have fifty-one and the reputation of the or
der, system, and discipline is already spreading and I
receive daily letters asking innumerable questions. The
legislature also has met and the outgoing Governor
Wickcliffe has recommended us to the special attention
of the legislature, and a bill is already introduced to
give us $25,000 a year for two years, which is as long
as the legislature can appropriate. I think from ap
pearances this bill will pass, in which case we can erect
two professors houses this summer.

This sum of money will enable us to make a splendid
place of this. In addition it is also proposed to make
this an arsenal of deposit, which will increase its im
portance and enable me to avoid all teaching which I
want to do, confining myself exclusively to the supervi
sion and management. Thus far not a soul has breathed

128 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

a syllable about abolitionism to me. One or two have
asked me if I were related to the gentleman of same
name whose name figures so conspicuously in Congress.
I of course say he is my brother, which generally amazes
them because they regard him as awful bad. . .

Professor Smith and Boyd are very clever gentlemen
and so are Vallas and St. Ange but these are foreigners
with their peculiarities. We have also a Dr. Sevier
here, of Tennessee, a rough sort of fellow but a pretty
fair sort of man. . .

The first month of the session closed with affairs in good
shape, as shown by the correspondence, which, however, dis
closes the existence of certain irritating local conditions, both at
the Seminary and in Alexandria.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, Alexandria, Jan. 24, 1860.
DEAR SIR: . . . There are two cadets that may
call for action on my part, unless you think different:
D and one of the L s are so ignorant and evince so
little effort to learn, that labor on them seems lost. I
might construe the first month as a preliminary examin
ation, and being disqualified let them return home. This
only after all possible means to excite ambition or in
dustry are exhausted.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Sunday Evening, January 29, 1860.
DEAR GENERAL: I received this p.m. your official
letter on the rumor in town that some cadet had gone
into a common grog shop and drank liquor. I forth
with embodied it into an order and published it at re
treat. I will bear my testimony to the general good
behavior of the young men here, and I will not allow
my mind to be prejudiced against them by any mere

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 129

general assertion of any person in Alexandria. I do
not believe the report. It may be true, and even if so,
I hope we are able to plant the roots of this institution
so deep in the soil of truth, honor, knowledge, and sci
ence, that it cannot be shaken by the mere clamor of
any town. If the men of Alexandria have the interests
of us at heart let them deal by us as fair men.

If young men go into saloons, let them convey to me
or to you openly, or even confidentially a statement,
naming persons, and dates, and not [make] general,
blind assertions, intangible, calculated to do mischief,
and utterly incapable of good. I know there are some
who may elude us, their teachers. We did it when
boys, and boys will outwit their masters long after you
and I are gone, but I know that generally the conduct
of the young gentlemen here, at Alexandria, going and
returning, has been as proper and fair as that of any
other equal number at West Point or Lexington. I have
indirectly satisfied myself of these truths, and shall per
mit a portion of them each Sunday to go as now under
marchers and to return as now for dinner here. I do not
expect them to do any thing else than young gentlemen
but should any well established case of drinking or
rowdyism occur, it shall be punished summarily. But
I beg of you to demand of any informer specific facts.

I hear that complaints are made by merchants, apothe
caries, booksellers, and hotel-men - even Dutchmen
who cannot speak English - damning us because they
can t make any money out of us.

I repeat, the young men here, now fifty-one, are gen
erally well behaved, appear well-satisfied, are with a
few exceptions progressing in their studies, and I never
saw such manifest interest in the drill, we can hardly
keep them back. They attend roll calls with great punc-

1 3 o SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

tuality and we have no complaints of them other than
would be naturally expected. They write many letters,
the best kind of advertisement, and they can better
spread the necessary information of the characteristics
of the school than we could do by advertisements, circu
lars, or letters.

I did intend to send Bragg a copy of your bill, 33 but I
send the copy herewith to you. Mr. St. Ange will make
you another copy, and if necessary you can send this to
Bragg. I wrote him fully. I also wrote yesterday to
Dr. Smith. I still have many letters of inquiry; all of
which I answer fully or by sending an appointment. As
you say we must jog along in studies at this irregular
term till the legislature determine the exact character
of this school and until a new working, practical Board
of Control is organized. I hope that will be soon.

I have been out fighting a fire which threatened a
fence, and now have a tooth-ache, not calculated to
make me cheerful. Sunday to me instead of a day of
rest is one of dread, for fear of these very disagreeable
rumors which I cannot help. . .

[P.S.] By the way a Mrs. C brought a son here a
few days since, of proper age and appearance and I re
ceived him. She said she was in the family of Mr.
Chambers, that she did not know the rules, etc., but that
as soon as Mr. C- - got up from New Orleans, she
would send me the money. It is time I should hear
from her. Do you know of her? Can you find out, as
I had to act on her bare words, she being an utter stran
ger. The boy is a fine, bright, handsome boy, though not
smart. I have notified Mrs. D that she must send
money for her son, and that without it I could [not]
procure for him the uniform, about which they are very
anxious.

33 A bill providing for a more efficient organization of the Seminary. ED.

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 131

Can you imagine where we could get fifty-five bayo
nets and scabbards? There are none in the State Arse
nal at New Orleans. The U.S. Arsenal at Baton Rouge
is under a citizen, else I would make a desperate effort
there, promising to pay, unless I could get an order
from the Secretary of War. I would not dare approach
Mr. Floyd, as Sherman is not a fair sounding name there
just now. My aim is to have fifty-five muskets [pri
vates] and five sergeants and corporals, all uniformed
early in March.

W. T. SHERMAN TO THOMAS EWING

SEMINARY, Jan. 29, 1860.

DEAR SIR : . . . I perceive no signs of insubordi
nation on the part of the cadets. On the contrary they
are well behaved. No person here would think now of
suspecting me, though I have made no promises or ad
vances. The governor too, Wickliffe, in his message,
congratulates the people of Louisiana in having secured
so good a faculty, and the new governor, Moore, has I
know expressed himself well pleased at all I have done.

I have initiated the Seminary, and its details work as
smoothly as an older college, and already bills are intro
duced into the legislature to appropriate annually the
sum of $25,000 which in addition to the fund accruing
at interest on the proceeds of sale of U.S. lands will
place us in good financial condition. Also, it is proposed
to enlarge the number of State cadets to forty-eight, one
from each parish, and to establish here a State Arsenal.
If these be done or only in part this Seminary must be
come an important institution. It is furthermore pro
posed to change our title to the Louisiana Military
Academy. The State of Louisiana is comparatively
wealthy, and she is abundantly able to do these things
handsomely. . .

i 3 2 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

During the latter part of January the Seminary authorities
were busy preparing a bill for the reorganization of the institu
tion, the previous law having been found defective. State Sena
tor S. A. Smith was in charge of the Seminary legislation. Since
he disliked the military system and favored the University of
Virginia organization it was necessary to consider his views in
forming the proposed new law. Governor Wickliffe, the out
going executive, was favorable to the military system and in his
message recommended that it be fixed by law. The Board of
Supervisors in their annual report to the legislature asked that the
title of the institution be changed and its military character be
established by statute.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Friday p.m., Jan. 20, 1860.

DEAR SIR: ... I enclose herewith officially a
letter received last night. You know how difficult it is
to receive a cadet so far into the session. Indeed one
class is kept confused by those arriving now. We have
now forty-five. One great point to be arranged in the
future is to devise some means whereby our classes will
all start fair. I know fully that such a thing is impos
sible this term, and will receive all pay cadets come as
they may -but the state cadets should be held to a
stricter compliance or they are not so welcome. There
are now eight state cadets now present.

This warm weather gives me good time to clean up
and I regret that you cannot come out to see us. I want
to have the road opened, trees trimmed, and grading
done as far as possible by the time the trees begin to
leaf. I use only the servants during the time they are
not engaged in sweeping and carrying wood. I shall at
the end of January pay Jarreau and all the professors,
taking vouchers. I think I ought to charge for my ser
vices in November and December at $1,000 a year as
superintendent- little more than Jarreau received-

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 133

$83.33 per month, waiving all claims to pay as professor
for that time. Will you approve it?

G. MASON GRAHAM TO S. A. SMITH

ALEXANDRIA, Jan. 21, 1860.

DEAR DOCTOR: ... I endorse you, herewith, a
draft of an act for making the Seminary a Military
Academy by law, and I hope the reflections of your
mind will bring you to the conclusion to support it. Look
at the immense sum, $1,500,000, expended by the state
in educational efforts; and where are the results? Not
a vestige of them remains for any useful purpose.

Look at the youth of the state, and the low grade of
education pervading it. Look at the lethargy of the
parents in regard to the education of their sons, and the
reluctance of the sons to submit to control or guidance
either at home or at school. The superintendent told
me that already a very insubordinate . . . disap
pointment is manifested by several of the boys. The
Academic Board has no power to punish in case of any
difficulty; a meeting of the Board of Supervisors can
hardly be obtained before next spring. The state must
lend the whole aid of its power and influence to enable
the institution to exercise a beneficial control. This can
only be done by a military government- this makes the
young men themselves a part of the power for governing
themselves that soon becomes attractive and works bet
ter than any other system of college government. But
the boys themselves will be very quick to perceive the
difference between a system established by a gentleman
and one established by a legislature authorizing with the
little pomp and circumstance of military parade in
music, colors, etc. The people of the state will be
brought to take an interest in it that they never will take
in any other kind of school or college. This I witnessed

134 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

at Lexington, Va., in July, 1857, when six hundred peo
ple, come to witness the "commencement" of the Vir
ginia Military Institute, dined at one of the hotels of
the place.

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
JANUARY, 1860

. . . The Board of Supervisors has adopted every
means in its power, by the publication and circulation of
circulars, newspaper articles, individual correspon
dence, etc., to disseminate information in regard to the
institution, through the State. . . It will take some
time to make it generally known, but the Board feels
every confidence that when the people of the state shall
become aware of the character of the able, upright, en
lightened, patriotic, and in every respect most admir
ably qualified corps of professors, which it has had the
good fortune to combine in an Academic Board for this
institution ; and with the order, regularity, method, neat
ness, sobriety, habits of study ensured by the military
system of government, any harshness, in which it will
be the constant study and aim of each and every instruc
tor to temper with parental care and kindness ; that then
the institution will be filled to its utmost capacity with
the high spirited and emulous youth of the state. . .

The Board from its first organization, was deeply im
pressed with the necessity, and with an earnest anxiety
to find some means of avoiding, for this school, the fate
of every other previous effort on the part of the State of
Louisiana to establish educational institutions, in which
it has expended a million and a half of dollars, every
one of which has ended in total failure. The Board has
looked at all the various systems of education and of
school government, and has come to the almost unani
mous conclusion that the safest system for us to adopt,

BEGINNING OF THE FIRST SESSION 135

and that most likely to ensure success, is the military sys
tem of government, combined with a certain degree of
military instruction, similar to the State Military School
at Lexington, in the State of Virginia. . .

The Board is of opinion that the greatest obstacle in
the way of the success of southern schools is found in the
inherent propensity of southern youth to resist authority
and control from any quarter with which they have no
sympathy. This difficulty is admirably overcome by the
military system in which the young men are themselves
made an essential element in the governing power. But
to do this effectually, and to give this school, and this
experiment with it, a full and fair trial, it is indispen
sable that the General Assembly should lend the full
force and aid of its influence, and the Board, therefore,
earnestly and urgently recommends to, and asks of the
General Assembly to make this a military school by law,
changing its style and title from the long and inconven
ient one of "The Seminary of Learning of the State of
Louisiana," to the shorter, more convenient, and more
expressive one of "The Louisiana Military Academy,"
assigning to the professors military rank and title, as
in the Virginia school, where it is found to give them
a prestige and influence with the young men which
they could not otherwise enjoy. In the words of our
circular: . . .

The military system is not necessarily designed to make sol
diers, but it teaches subordination to the laws and constituted
authorities of the state; it exercises a wise and wholesome re
straint over young men, at a period of their life when restraint
is necessary and proper; and also teaches them the use of arms,
and the science of organization, a knowledge of great importance
to every civilized government. Moreover, it does not withdraw
their minds from study, but affords them healthful exercise
during hours otherwise devoted to listless or mischievous idle
ness.

IV. STUDENT TROUBLES -SHERMAN
PLANS TO GO TO ENGLAND

Student troubles at the Seminary. Sherman dismisses the delinquents.
Hair grease on Dr. Vallas s blackboards. Parents approve Sherman s disci
pline. One father s protest. Graham explains the necessity for strict dis
cipline. Why the regulations were not printed. Troubles subside. Sherman
receives the offer of a commercial position in London. His family and rela
tives wish him to go. Graham s proposition to induce him to remain. The
legislature seems to be unfavorable to the Seminary. Sherman agrees to defer
until the legislature acts. Bragg s account of the legislative attitude toward
the Seminary. Sherman goes to Baton Rouge. The Seminary measures before
the legislature. Sherman publicly expresses his views on slavery. He decides
to accept the London offer. Visits New Orleans. Goes to Ohio on a visit.
Decides to remain in Louisiana.

It was not until the close of the first month that insubordina
tion occurred among the students. Before this the novelty of
school life had occupied the attention of those undisciplined
young men who had been sent to the Seminary as a last resort
by their parents. The outbreak was unexpected and Sherman
acted characteristically, both in firmly suppressing the trouble
and in becoming discouraged afterward. The correspondence
relating to one of the cases discloses the state of affairs with
which the authorities had to contend until ten or twelve of the
insubordinate students were expelled.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, Jan. 30, 1860.
SIR : A case has this day arisen requiring my prompt
action under the paragraph of regulations quoted be
low:

"In extraordinary cases of resistance to authority, calling for
immediate action, the superintendent may adopt the measures
necessary to maintain order and good discipline, but in all such
cases he shall forthwith submit to the Board of Supervisors his
report in writing of all the facts and reasons for his action."

138 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Cadet D. F. H h was reported to the commandant
of cadets, by Cadet S. M. H s, acting as sergeant for
some delinquency. He made an excuse in writing,
which the commandant of cadets referred to Mr. H s
for explanation. Just before drill this p.m., Mr. H s
spoke to Cadet H h about the excuse; some words
passed resulting in Mr. H s using the word "lie."
H h retorted the same when H s struck. H h then
went to his room and returned with a dirk knife, and
renewed the altercation with the knife open, and threat
ening to use it. I have the knife and it is of the bowie
knife pattern.

Mr. Smith happening to be near, interfered and
caused Mr. H h to go to his room and remain there
during drill. At the moment I was showing some visi
tors through the building. As soon as the matter was
reported to me, I forthwith informed Mr. H h that
no possible cause or provocation could justify or palliate
the use or display by a member of this Seminary of a
deadly weapon: and that he must leave. I made an
order to that effect, and although I told him he could
remain till morning, still he preferred to leave to-day.

I will to-morrow cause the whole truth to be deter
mined and recorded, and if Mr. H s is to blame, he
too must be punished according to the degree of offence.
The word "lie" must never be used here, with impunity,
but I assert the broad principle, that no word, or even
blow must for a moment give a pretext for the use of a
deadly weapon.

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, January 30, 1860.
ORDER No. 9. Cadet D. T. H h, having in an angry
controversy with another cadet drawn a dirk or a bowie
knife, is hereby summarily dismissed.

STUDENT TROUBLES 139

The superintendent in this connection does not deem
it necessary to look to the provocation. Here no possible
provocation can justify such an act.

W. T. SHERMAN, Superintendent.

JNO. W. SEVIER, ADJ. S.S.L.

AN ACADEMIC COURT MARTIAL

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, January 31, 1860.
ORDER No. 10. Professors Vallas, Smith, and St.
Ange will assemble at the office at 3 p.m., this day, and
examine into all the facts of the altercation between Ca
dets S. W. H s and D. T. H h, between the hours of
4 p.m. and the drill call of yesterday, and will report the
same as soon as concluded, with a synopsis of the testi
mony elicited. The Board will question witnesses, who
are bound by the obligations of honor, and good faith
to reveal without prejudice or favor the whole truth.

2. During the pending of this inquiry, Cadet S. M.
H s will be suspended from the duties of acting order
ly sergeant, and the commandant of cadets will name
some other cadet to call the rolls.

3. The Board, if necessary will adjourn from time to
time to such hours as will not materially interfere with
the academic exercises.

W. T. SHERMAN, Superintendent.
JNO. W. SEVIER, ADJ. S.S.L.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, ALEXANDRIA, Feb. 2, 1860.

SIR : I enclose you herewith the original proceedings
of a Board assembled by my order to examine and ascer
tain the truth touching the affair between Cadets H s
and H h. To hesitate one moment in showing the
judgment of the institution on the great criminality of
actually brandishing and threatening to use a keen dag-

140 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

ger, would in my judgment endanger the actual exist
ence of our authority. Therefore I dismissed Mr.
H h forthwith, and after awaiting a day or so will
make up his accounts and return to his parents the bal
ance of cash due him and hold his books and private
property subject to his order.

In the case of S. M. H s there was not the same rea
son for the assumption of power on my part : but there is
no less a necessity that even handed justice be done. By
the testimony, Mr. H s did first address H h, did
first use the word "lie," which is among all boys deemed
a fighting insult, and moreover H s did strike the first
blow. He was in a position of trust and authority. He
is full grown, larger that H h, has been at the Military
School at Nashville and was every way supposed to be
a leader from age, qualifications, and experience.

I therefore think there are no palliating circum
stances and on the rule that he caused the blind anger
that made H h resort to a [weapon], he too should
suffer the penalty, the same as H h. And be dismissed
firmly, mildly, but without recall.

With two such prominent examples we shall never
again I hope hear the lie, or have the life or safety of a
cadet in danger from a pistol or knife.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, Feb. 3, 1860.

I am half sick to-night- have had the trouble that I
anticipated with these boys. Some of them are very
good but some are ill bred and utterly without discipline.
A few nights since one cadet reported another -it re
sulted in mutual accusations, the lie, blow, and finally
the knife - fortunately it was not used. I dismissed the
one with the knife instanter- the other after examina
tion I thought equally to blame for first giving the lie.

STUDENT TROUBLES 141

Yesterday the friends of all parties came and after mak
ing all sorts of apologies I had to listen. Fortunately
both were fine young men and no doubt the affair was
one of passion and of sudden broil.

It is against the rules for cadets to use tobacco - but
we know that they do use it, but this morning one did
it so openly that I supposed he did it in defiance. I
went to his room to see him but he was out and in the
drawer of his washstand I found plenty of tobacco. I,
of course, emptied it into the fireplace. Soon after the
young gentleman named C d came to me, evidently in
stigated by others and complained of ill treatment and
soon complained of my opening his drawer, intimating
that it was a breach of propriety. Of course I soon ad
vised him that his concealment and breach of regula
tions well known to him was the breach of honor. He
said he would not stay and after some preliminaries I
shipped him. Another came with a similar complaint
and I sent him off and then the matter ended. These
two last w 7 ere dull at books and noisy quarrelsome fel
lows and a good riddance. We had fifty-three now fifty-
one.

We have refused to receive many after the first in
stant and I have now an application from thirty in one
school, but we think it best now to await the action of
the legislature to ascertain what they propose to do for
us and I also think it best to prepare some forty steady
young men as a nucleus on which to build the hereafter.

The weather has been very fine for the past ten days -
except one frosty day. It is now pretty warm and the
grass and trees begin to indicate spring- gardens are
being fixed for vegetables - here the land is too poor,
and yet there are fine orchards of apples, pear, plum,
peach, and fig. All say they have abundance of figs and

i 4 2 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

peaches and they also boast of pears and plums. Apples
and cherries not so well. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, February 6, 1860.

SIR: I have the honor herewith to enclose your two
papers, being the resignation of Cadets S. M. H s,
A. P. W s, and state cadet R. A. W 1.

As these persons have all left the Seminary without
leave, or authority and in a spirit of defiance, I shall re
port them tomorrow as "deserted," and give their par
ents a statement of their accounts, with an outline of the
facts attending their departure.

Cadet S. M. H s is the person first installed as act
ing first sergeant. Whilst in that capacity I reproved
him for using his office to expose a young gentleman just
arrived as a sentinel with a broom stick on one of the
gallaries. Again he was the party who first began the
affray with Cadet H h, for which he was deprived of
his office. Since that time he has been careless, absent
ing himself from roll call, etc. And this morning in
connection with Cadet W s he handed me the enclosed
resignation which I told him should be forthwith trans
mitted to the Board of Supervisors. He told me he
should not wait for their action but was going off, as he
did not like the way things were managed generally. I
informed him he had a perfect right to complain, and if
in writing I would forward his complaint- but that he
would not do. And without further ado he has gone.

W s s case is somewhat similar except in this - last
week he was reported by Professor Boyd for singing in
a loud voice from one of the upper windows in a tone
which enabled Professor Boyd on the ground to dis
tinguish the words, "a Blackguard Song." For this, I

STUDENT TROUBLES 143

reproved him. And yesterday, Sunday, he asked leave
to go and see his mother. I refused him permission, and
told him why.

Many of the cadets have recently made urgent appli
cations to me for spending money. I always must know
to what purpose it is applied. And have in most in
stances refused, because of the quantity of tobacco used,
fouling our galleries and rooms to a filthy extent. I will
not be privy to the purchase of forbidden articles.

On Saturday a state cadet, W 1, applied for money.
I asked him what for - he answered the "Dentist." I
then gave him a written order on a dentist in Alexandria
to properly fix his teeth. After some time he returned
complaining that that was no way to treat a gentleman.
On Sunday, yesterday, he again made application or
rather a formal complaint. In the interview I even ex
plained my reasons, but he was evidently pushed for
ward by others, for he seemed to feel that he was wrong,
but this morning he again applied to go to town to the
dentist asking for the first time a specific sum of five
dollars.

I then told him that I would send in for the dentist
and for him to be ready at 1 1 a.m. - this too puzzled
him. He wanted money, for some specific purpose but
not for the dentist, for he came again and said I need
not send for the dentist. He openly boasted of the
wealth of his parents and connections leaving on my
mind an inference I need not express, as he is entered as
of indigent parents. He too has gone. And I will add
that the Seminary is no loser in any who has gone.

We have fifty left, one or two more may renew their
vain struggle to do as they please, but I have no appre
hensions of more than two. If any cadet absent himself
stubbornly, and with avowed purpose from his recita-

144 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

tions and roll call, I will dismiss him summarily. If
they resign I will refer their resignations. But if they
leave without awaiting the answer of the Board, they
must stand of record "deserted."

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Feb. 8, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL, ... It is all moonshine about
twenty or thirty leaving. H s and W s flattered
themselves as being leaders and that their influence
would be fatal to us. We have not lost a drill, a recita
tion, and have all slept more comfortably since. Indeed
had I yielded one jot last Sunday and Monday, farewell
to government, cadets, not professors would have ruled.
I believe all now see their mistake. W s and H s
thought we could not do without them. The new Order
ly Sergeant Cushman is a better soldier than either to
day.

The affair of H h was thus : last Saturday at supper,
we heard too much noise at the table. Mr. Smith
stepped to the door and whilst there H s, the younger,
the one now here made some offensive remark - he was
the head of one table ; S. M. H s, the elder, the head of
another; Mr. Smith at once removed H s from his
place, and allowed H h who sat next to him to act as
carver temporarily.

He is no longer carver, was changed as soon as this in
ference was noticed - the boy only acted as marcher
from the porch to the table - he had no authority, but
even that was temporary. Of course I had nothing to do
with this. It fell exceedingly under Mr. Smith, and was
accidental. The elder H s was not spoken to, in no
wise concerned, and sat as the carver at the head of his
table up to the time of his departure. Therefore no
distinction was made between them -both on the same

STUDENT TROUBLES 145

footing. I understand he is over at Mrs. W s. I en
close a note I got from her yesterday. She understands
the point. The whole truth is this: both H s and
W s presumed on their importance and feeling others
creeping up to and past them thought to soften their
certain downfall.

I enclose to Bragg to-day your bill (a copy thereof)
and wrote him to favor Wickliffe s bill. Let any one
who finds fault with the removal of obstreperous apply
to Bragg- he understands the case.

Yesterday morning all the blackboards and chairs in
Dr. Vallas s section room were bedaubed with hair
grease. It took the drummer and two black boys all day
to clean it off with hot soap suds ; but I got a thread, un
ravelled it and found the party to blame. He insisted
he did not do it and as the proof was not conclusive, I
told him he should be charged the expense of cleaning
and repainting, which he consented to do. I cannot now
overlook anything.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, February 10, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL : I received your note yesterday, and
feel sorry that you are troubled by the condition of af
fairs now. All things are working here smoothly. All
appearance of dissatisfaction has disappeared and reci
tations and drills have not been interrupted one moment.
Parents too have responded so manfully that the cadets
see their mistake - their complaints of tyranny and treat
ment like negroes are ridiculed by their parents.

I had a very long interview with Mr. H s and
Judge C 1 yesterday. Showed them the record, or
ders, delinquincies, and class reports and Mr. H s ad
mitted there was not a break in the chain and that I
could not have acted otherwise. I had received two

i 4 6 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

letters for Cadet S. M. H s which I handed his father.
He made us read one from him, which was so proper,
manly, and father-like, that I warmed to him at once,
and felt deep sympathy. Could I have obeyed my mere
feelings I would have offered no obstacle to the return
of S. M. H s, but I am convinced that under the most
favorable circumstances he can never hold office here or
occupy a position of trust or confidence, that consequent
ly he will never be content but prove a restless example,
that all I can now advise is that his resignation be ac
cepted by the Board and the record thus made clear.
And then he will return home with his father and study
some new profession. The other son is more seemingly
anxious to remove some of his reports, already exceed
ing fifty demerits, and to make an effort to proceed in
his studies. If he do this I will favor him all possible.

Mr. Cushman whom we installed as acting first ser
geant is intelligent, manly, ambitious- very forward in
study, and forms the company and calls the roll better
than H s. Indeed there is a palpable manifest im
provement in the tone here since the entente horrible.

Mr. H s yesterday remarked unguardedly that the
military feature of this school would soon be changed.
I expressed myself emphatically that personally I was
unconcerned but that it would be fatal. One hundred
young men in this building under a civil government
would tear down the building and make study impos
sible. With our frequent roll calls, and the other regu
lations it is all we can do to keep quiet. I think both
Mr. H s and Judge C 1 changed their opinions
before they left. Mr. H s did not clearly indicate his
line of conduct but said he would be out again. I cannot
again receive H s under his old appointment, unless by
a formal resolution of the Board of Supervisors, which

STUDENT TROUBLES 147

to me would be an order. I have no objection to his in
formal resignation. I am sorry I allowed P n and
C d to resign - but I then thought it safest - and least
liable to abuse.

I have just received yours of to-day and will make up
an abstract of T r s recitations - he has been reported
to me several times for neglect of studies. If anybody
has spoken an unkind word to him I know it not. This
general mode of complaint is not worthy of notice. Mr.
T r will be most welcome here, and a visit might bene
fit the son.

The firm stand of the authorities in dealing with the student
outbreak and the dissatisfaction of some of the remaining students
with the rigid military system which exacted of them unaccus
tomed obedience caused protests from certain parents fearful for
the liberties of their sons. A typical case is here illustrated.

P. T R TO GENERAL GRAHAM

CHENEYVILLE, LA., Feb. 9, 1860.

DEAR SIR: I am induced to address you in reference
to the officers of the State Seminary from the promi
nent position you occupy and have occupied as the most
persevering and untiring friend of that institution. I
believe it to be the last best hope of Louisiana s sons.
Therefore its interests are mine and every other citizen s.

Will our sons submit to the arbitrary commands of
dictators or shall the officers be governed by the laws of
the institution? If the Board of Trustees enact and en
force a code of laws which regulates the conduct of offi
cers and students good may be effected; but I fear the
effects of stringent personal command. I am aware that
boys are hard to be pleased or governed and especially
if they suppose the government to originate in the mere
will of the superior.

I hope the Board of Directors will speedily enact a

148 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

code and publish it to the students. I depend particu
larly upon General Graham for the future usefulness of
that institution and hope he will make immediate in
quiries into the condition and government of the insti
tution.

G. MASON GRAHAM TO P. T R

TYRONE PLANTATION, February 10, 1860.

DEAR SIR : . . . I understand the subject of your
letter to be that the cadets at the State Seminary are
spoken to by the officers of the institution in too authori
tative a manner, and that their commands are sometimes
"arbitrary." If you will spend a day at the Seminary I
think you will understand the better. There everything
must move by the clock and to the minute. This requires
quick motion on the part of every one (to which, as you
doubtless know, our boys are but little accustomed - ex
cept, indeed, when they are after mischief, and then they
are rather too quick) ; hence the quick, authoritative,
decided tone of voice necessarily assumed by military
men. This at first, and for some time, grates harshly on
the ears and feelings of boys who have been accustomed
to home tones and to take as long time as they pleased to
do a thing, or to go to a place that they haven t much
fancy for, and it is natural enough therefore that he
should be, even unduly, sensitive under it.

It is for us at home, parents and citizens, to guard our
selves that we do not suffer the reflection of this sensi
tiveness to exercise an undue influence on our feelings.
I think that some gentlemen have sent chronic cases to
this institution as their last hope for a cure, but we do
not intend to keep that kind of a hospital. Before we
have been able to get rid of them, however, they have
sown some bad seed, which will take a little time, care,
and patience all round, to eradicate.

STUDENT TROUBLES 149

As to the regulations, for the government of all con
nected with the institution, they were prepared with
much care and labor about the middle of November by
a Board convened for the purpose by an order of the
Board of Supervisors at a meeting in August last, and
composed of three members of this Board and the mem
bers of the Academic Board. That they were not pub
lished and placed in the hands of each as was intended to
have been done, was no fault of any member of the insti
tution or myself, but arose from the [illegible], though
doubtless well-intentioned, assumption of authority on
the part of an individual member, in whose hands the
manuscript had been placed for preservation, but
[who], when called for it by the superintendent at the
moment of his departure for New Orleans, to take with
him to be printed, refused to give it up for that purpose,
on the ground that they had not been submitted to the
Board of Supervisors, although that Board had ad
journed from August to next May, having ordered the
institution to be opened on the first Monday in January,
and the regulations to be prepared for its government.

In this dilemma, I directed the superintendent to have
such portions as related to the duties, studies, division
of time, and deportment of cadets, copied in writing and
placed on order boards in the hall where all could see,
read, and copy them.

That the professors should not sometimes be irritated
at the unaccountable tricks of the boys, would be expect
ing too much of even professors nature. As an ex
ample a morning or two since, when the professor of
mathematics met his class, he found his own chair and
all of his blackboard thickly smeared with hair-grease,
which it took the only two servants the institution is
able to afford, near half a day to cleanse them of, and

150 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

then they had to be repainted. The only punishment the
superintendent imposed on the offender, who was
brought to taw, was to make him pay the expense of
cleansing and repainting.

The cadets are allowed, and encouraged, to go to
church on Sabbath day. A list is taken of those desiring
to go, and they are placed under the charge of the most
responsible cadet of the squad. In two instances citizens
of Alexandria reported to me that some of them were
seen in grogshops. In the first instance I apprised the
superintendent, in the second I wrote him a letter de
signed for effect on the young men. To show you the
character of the man it has been our real good fortune
to obtain the services of for this position, I enclose you
his reply- and have no objection, to your showing it to
some of your friends, although it is written with the un
reserve of private correspondence. 34 . . . Whilst
he will require them to discharge their duties, one alike
to themselves, their family, and their institution, he is
loath to believe ill of them, and I stand up in their de
fense.

It can hardly be expected that everything will work
smooth at the [beginning] in such an institution as this.
Time, patience, care, and forethought is - to use a surgi
cal term -the "lubricating fluid" [illegible], and then
it will be a gallant ship entering on an open sea of suc
cess after having surmounted the shoals and quicksands
of navigation.

A great help to this will be in home-folk impression-
ing the conviction that "there is no other name known
unto men, whereby he can" get creditably through this
institution, but order and industry. . .

34 See pages 128-129. - ED.

STUDENT TROUBLES 151

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

Saturday, Feb. 10, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL : Mr. Smith goes to visit you to-day.
St. Ange is sick, and I am ordered by a higher power
than our tyrannical military dictator to teach Spanish -
I mean by tyrant necessity. Well I can give them the
true "greaser" pronunciation which is the Spanish they
will use in after life as we ride over and trample down
that vestige of a once brave and noble people that stands
in the way of our boasted civil progress.

Every time I think of Mr. T r s letter I feel inclined
to laugh. The idea of T r s being oppressed is too
good. Last evening after drill I could not resist the
temptation to call him to me, and ask him who had op
pressed him here. He said Mr. Boyd. What had Mr.
Boyd done? Why one boy tied a pig s-tail to another
boy s coat, as they were marching into their recitation
room, and he was so convulsed with laughter thereat
that Mr. Boyd ordered him to quit the section-room.

That was the tyranny, and that was all, the precision
of time, the fine course of study spread before them, the
regular and good supplies of food, clothing, lights, etc.,
everything that any gentleman s son could expect are
nothing; but because T r was ordered to quit the sec
tion room very properly by his professor, he must tell a
cock and bull story to his father and he must undermine
the authority of gentlemen whom he has never seen.
There is the radical cause of the destruction of every
educational establishment in Louisiana. Parents while
they boast of the hardships they overcame in early life
and admire the brave and noble deeds of the past, are
willing to listen to and extend the whims of their boys,
who have nobody to wash their faces and comb their
hair in the morning.

152 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Indeed are you the rock, alone on which can be built
any structure in Louisiana, with any chance of stability.
I say this in no spirit of flattery, and I deeply, painfully
regret that you are afflicted both in your eyes and the un
ceasing calls on your time and patience. I ought from
this cause alone to abstain from boring you with long
letters, in so rapid and illegible a hand.

I have read your letters to Mr. T r, to Mr. Smith,
and to Mr. Boyd and we could not help laughing at
T r s complaint.

[P.S.] St. Ange is in no serious danger. We have
had some pretty bad dinners, but the day before yester
day it came to a crisis and brought St. Ange to death or
rather his injective apparatus. The rest of us bear with
patience Jarreau s prolonged absence, and the want of
foresight and preparation that must not be - for the first
time yesterday the report came in of a scarcity of meat
on the cadet s tables which I must notice.

Early in February, 1860, the commercial concern which had
already made Sherman an offer to act as its representative in Lon
don sent an agent to Louisiana to renew the offer and to urge its
acceptance. The correspondence shows that Sherman, owing to
disturbed political conditions, to the opposition directed against
the military system, and to the uncertainty about a legislative
appropriation for the support of the Seminary, was disposed to
accept the position. But the offer afforded an opportunity for
those in authority to convince him that he was appreciated in
Louisiana.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Feb. 8th, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: As to-morrow is mail day I will
begin now to make up a budget for you ; first your letter
from Dr. Smith is returned and along with it I send an
other of later date, more pointed, showing a weakening
on the subject of the Seminary. I was sorry to see this,

STUDENT TROUBLES 153

for, as Governor Wickliffe had broken the ice, I thought
his friends and Governor Moore s united would settle it
without contest. I enclose my answer for your perusal
asking you to seal and forward by the succeeding mail.

I am now in possession of certain facts that may affect
me. You know that a certain commercial company
offered me a certain salary to go to London and I was
actually in correspondence with them when advised I
had been elected to this post. The first overtures came
to me at Leavenworth after I wrote my application to
the Board of Supervisors.

Upon notice of my election to this I notified those
parties that I preferred the certainty and stability of this
to their project. Time has passed on. Their prepara
tions are all made, and certain of their European co
partners having committed themselves on condition that
I should be, in London, the depository of their bonds
and securities have renewed their efforts, and on Janu
ary ninth held a meeting in Cincinnati, during which
they agreed to guarantee and secure to me fifteen thou
sand dollars for two years service, salary to begin on my
acceptance and a certain amount three thousand five
hundred dollars, to be subject to my draft now - and
furthermore they appointed one Wm. F. R n to pro
ceed to this place, to confer with me and contract with
me on the above basis. R n writes me under date of
January 17 that he starts from Cincinnati the next day
for New York- whence he will come to New Orleans
and Alexandria, prepared to develop to me the plan
and details, to be here between the fifth and tenth of
February. I expect him daily.

Mr. Ewing, Mrs. Sherman s father, writes me urgent
ly to go, and even Mrs. Sherman prefers it to coming
South with our children. Still I mistrust all financial
schemes. Just seven years ago I was similarly situated

154 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

in New Orleans, commissary U.S. army, when Mr. Lu
cas and Henry Turner, two as fine gentlemen as ever
lived, came and prevailed on me to go to California as
banker with prospects more brilliant than those now of
fered me. I went and without any fault, negligence, or
want of ability I was involved by the losses of others;
so that I am mistrustful of finance and financiers.

I think if this were a state seminary with the stability
of one I would stand by it, but if it is to struggle alway,
dependent on the whims and caprices of boys, unaided,
even burdened by the state by an unjust tax (the support
of sixteen) , 85 and as subject to accident as any other pri
vate scheme, I would do myself and family an injustice
to prefer this to the other - for by the other I am certain
of $15,000 for two years - of which I would save a large
fraction, whereas here all I would look for would be an
honorable position, and pleasant future for my family
and children.

Mr. Ewing in urging me to accept this project, did so,
on an inference that because John Sherman had made a
mistake I might be suspected here, my position weak
ened, and the cadets rendered thereby insubordinate,
and he further advised me to decline to receive any com
pensation for the past, as my leaving might subject me
to the imputation of an unfulfilled contract. I have
written him and all my northern friends, that no gentle
man here has spoken one unkind or disrespectful word
of John Sherman, but on the contrary that I thought
John s carelessness in allowing his name to be used for
a purpose as foreign to his mind and heart, as of yours,
deserved failure. He is young, ambitious, and let him
be more circumspect in future.

In like manner, though the boys here last week were

35 Beneficiary cadets. ED.

STUDENT TROUBLES 155

insubordinate, that too cannot be attributed to any idea
of theirs that they can displace me. Every professor
here will bear testimony that the dismissals thus far
were absolutely necessary, and has resulted well.

Dr. Smith s letter is the first positive event that has
shaken me, and made me seriously think of R n. I will
not say one word more till he come, except, that then I
must act accordingly to my convictions. Only I promise
to give full time for a successor and to do everything in
the premises a gentleman should. . .

G. MASON GRAHAM TO GOVERNOR THOMAS O.

MOORE

TYRONE PLANTATION, February 9, 1860.

MY DEAR SIR: Although well aware of all the
troubles, perplexities, worriments and annoyances to
which your new career of executive life subjects you in
its outset, yet here is a matter, which with all my repug
nance to be obtrusive, my sense of everything that is
right will not allow me to refrain from inflicting on you.

You will see from the enclosed copy of a letter re
ceived last night, with some official communications
from Major Sherman, and which I have risen at five
o clock this morning to copy, that we are in imminent
danger of losing our irreplacable superintendent, the
apprehension of which has kept me awake for more than
half the night.

Although coming to me under the injunction implied
by the mark "confidential," I have felt that a higher duty
required that I should communicate it to you in both of
your official capacities, saying to you at the same time
that I have no objection to your using it with the same
discreet confidence among those you may desire to con
fer with. Particularly I would be glad that you would

1 56 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

show it in this manner to Doctor Smith, Doctor Clarke,
and Mr. Wise. I would also be gratified that you
would confer with Colonel Bragg because he has
known Major Sherman intimately for twenty years and
understands his character and qualities better than I do.

I have seen enough, however, to satisfy me that we
could not hope to get again exactly such another man for
the position - one of so clear, quick, and decided a
mind -such practised administrative and executive
qualities - such experienced and varied knowledge of
men, the world and its business, combined with such
kindliness of heart and parental care and thoughtful-
ness. I have found fully realized in him all which Gen
eral Gibson, Colonel J. P. Taylor (brother of the late
president), and other gentlemen told me in Washington
last September, when they said, in the words of Colonel
Taylor, "if you hunted the whole army from one end of
it to the other, you could not have found a man in it
more admirably suited for the position in every respect
than Sherman."

In this connection also I beg to ask your perusal of the
enclosed letter from Major Buell, one of the assistant
adjutants-general of the army, at present and for some
time past occupying the position of confidential military
adviser to the secretary of war -I also beg to enclose
you the first letter I ever received from Major Sherman,
regretting that I have not also to send you his letter of
application to the Board.

Now! What is to be done? I wish to be prepared for
Mr. R n s arrival, hoping that the accidents of travel
and business may have delayed him long enough for me
to hear from you in the meantime. Already too prolix,
I will answer my own question in brief. Let us offer
Major Sherman, if necessary to retain him, five thousand
dollars a year, and as an excuse for doing so let us add

STUDENT TROUBLES 157

to his duties those of treasurer and purser, which now he
in reality discharges. And I assure you that the State
of Louisiana will never have invested money that will
pay a better interest. Many men may be capable to
make laws for a nation, to govern a state, to preside on
the bench, but I tell you a man competent to govern,
control, instruct a large educational institution is of rare
occurrence. And if we throw away this one there is but
little likelihood that we can replace him. This is but
fifteen hundred dollars more than he now receives, and
whilst I am satisfied that no such idea as increased com
pensation, with such a view, has entered his mind, for he
has repeatedly said "you pay your professors very liber
ally, and have a right to expect them to work" and I
have never known a more unsordid and unselfish gen
tleman, yet I think that an assurance of that amount,
with a comfortable house for his family, will decide him
immovably against Mr. R. s offers. Action in this mat
ter either by the General Assembly, or by the Board of
Supervisors, cannot be had immediately, but if you and
Dr. Smith determine that it shall be done, there will be
but little difficulty in effecting it, and in the event of
such determination, let us three, you, Smith and I,
guarantee to Major Sherman five thousand dollars a
year for five years, conditioned of course, on the reten
tion during that time of his health and efficiency.

It will not be this amount of money which will in
fluence him so much, as the relief he will thereby ex
perience from the apprehension w r hich is becoming
somewhat morbid with him, that occurring political
events, and the position of his brother in the U.S. Con
gress, may or do conspire to affect his position and im
pair his usefulness here. This is the feeling which un
less clearly and decidedly removed from his mind, will
compel him to accept R. s offer.

158 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I heard authentically of this association, and its of
fers to Major Sherman, in Washington in September,
with many of the names, of whom I only recollect now
those of Rupell, the great Utah army contractor, Roelof-
son of Cincinnati, where two or three others of them re
side, and Beverly Tucker, U.S. Consul at Liverpool.
Professor Smith told me on his arrival here, that when
Mr. Tucker came over to Paris to attend the obsequies
of the late American Minister, he told him, Mr. S. of
this association and its proportions, which comprise an
interest also without capital on his part, in the business
to Major S., remarking to him that he could well see
therefore, that if our Sherman and their Sherman was
one and the same man, he would not be able to retain
him. Begging to hear from you in this matter after no
more delay than may be absolutely necessary, for Mr.
Roelofson may be here, and Major Sherman s decision
made in a very few days (tho* I will interpose all the
delays that I can).

[Endorsement on retained copy of the above letter]
Wrote the Governor again on February eleventh of the
arrival of Mr. Roelofson, and that although very urgent
for the Major to make an immediate acceptance and go
right of! with him, I had obtained from him a delay of
ten days within which the Major would give his answer.
This was to enable me to hear from Baton Rouge,
whither on fourteenth Major Sherman proceeded him
self.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, February 10, 1860.

. . . I have now crossed the line 38 and suppose I

must rest satisfied with the title of the Old Man/ the

cross old schoolmaster/ but time won t wait and we

must rush on in the race to eternity. . .

36 Of forty years. - ED.

STUDENT TROUBLES 159

We have just passed through a critical week, the strug
gle for mastery resulting in five boys being gone. It
would take a volume to record it, but I am now rid of
five noisy, insubordinate boys. Fifty-one still remain,
not a recitation was missed, and I am fully supported.
There can be but one master.

I was prepared for this resistance but it hardly gave
me a moment s concern, but since, I learn from Dr.
Smith in the legislature that it is doubtful whether
Governor Wickliffe s bill will pass. Since old Brown
has run out, Congress organized, Texas taken strong
ground against secession, the Louisiana politicians have
cooled down, and they are less zealous to build up a
military school. Dr. Smith wrote me to let him know
the least sum we needed from the state to carry us
through the year. I have notified him that Governor
WickclifiVs sum is the least, that the institution must
be sustained at the start, and that proper provision must
be made for the professors in the way of buildings.

I wrote to General Graham telling him the outline
of the London proposition and that I expected Roelof-
son daily, and that if I did not see in the proceedings of
the legislature some signs of providing for the institution
and for me personally, I should be forced to leave. I
have just received a letter from him and he seems in
great distress. He has worked so long and so hard to
build up this college; he is so delighted at present man
agement and prospects, and so impressed with the be
lief that I alone can manage its multifarious interests,
that he says while he will not stand in the light of my
interest, he will not lose my services to the state. . .

I see by the papers that John was defeated for speak
er, but is likely to be prominent in the House, but he
will be more careful hereafter in signing papers before
he reads them.

160 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

W. T. SHERMAN TO THOMAS EWING

SEMINARY, Feb. 12, 1860.

DEAR SIR : Roelof son 37 arrived yesterday at about
1 1 a.m. I was on the point of hearing a Spanish reci
tation, the regular professor being sick. I read your
letter of January 14 with great care and told Roelofson
I had received other letters and a copy of the resolu
tions of the informal meeting at Cincinnati, January
7. As the case at that moment stood I admitted I should
prefer his proposition to the terms of my present en
gagement, but that no consideration could induce me to
leave here without the willing concurrence of the gen
tlemen with whom I have acted. We accordingly
started for Alexandria where we found General Gra
ham and five other members of the board in informal
session. I placed in their hands all the papers and in
formed them orally of R s presence. I did not resign.
I did nothing, but allowed them to infer the conclusion.
I also told General Graham that of course if the present
legislature did not act that the Seminary could not main
tain its ground.

They passed this informal resolution, a quorum not
being present:

RESOLVED that we deeply regret the prospect of losing the
valuable services of Major Sherman as superintendent of the
Seminary of Learning.

RESOLVED that we deem him eminently qualified as a gentle
man and disciplinarian, that we will do everything in our
power to retain his services; but in consideration of his private
affairs we will yield with regret to his declination but hope it
will not be necessary.

G. MASON GRAHAM and five others.

I advised General G. some days ago that Roelofson
was coming and he immediately wrote to Governor

87 Agent of the capitalists who wished Sherman to represent them in England.

-Eo.

STUDENT TROUBLES 161

Moore and Dr. Smith, senator from this parish, pro
posing that they should at once make me a distinct guar
antee of a good house and a salary of $5,000, and yes
terday they asked me if I would delay any action for
ten days. General Graham stated the whole case fair
ly to Roelofson and after consultation we agreed that
I might remain silent and uncommitted for ten days.

The Board seem to attach vast importance to my ser
vices. I acted summarily and decisively in several
cases last week in which they sustained me, and I keep
affairs here so regular and systematic that they seem
determined to hold on. My mind is therefore made up
that if the state endow the Seminary with twenty-five
thousand dollars a year for two years, allow me to build
a good house for my family and pay me five thousand
dollars a year I will stay. Otherwise I will resign, and
give them a reasonable time to replace me, and come
north about April i. I am bound to determine conclu
sively and finally on the 2ist inst. and I will cause
Roelofson to be telegraphed from New Orleans of the
final conclusion. I left Roelofson last night in Alex
andria with this agreement, to which he assented. He
said he would be in Cincinnati the eighteenth, when he
will write you fully. He seemed pleased at our beau
tiful Seminary but regarded it as a kind of exile. Eith
er of the schemes now at my choice is good, and I will
choose that which has the best future chances and least
risks. I can t afford to run any more risks, and have
been buffeted about enough.

BRAXTON BRAGG TO W. T. SHERMAN

BATON ROUGE, February 13, 1860.
MY DEAR SHERMAN : Your two favors are received,
the last this morning with its enclosures. I find a gen
eral feeling in favor of the Seminary; and most of its

162 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

friends, as far as my acquaintance extends, are decided
ly in favor of military organization. Still there is great
cause to fear a failure of every efficient measure for its
organization and support. All agree when the subject
is mentioned that it is all right and proper that they
will vote for it, etc., but all this amounts to nothing.
Nobody seems to work, and the subject is not yet even
before a committee, and the session is half over. One
such man as General Graham in the legislature would
do more to forward its cause than forty lukewarm
friends who are content to say "I agree with you and
will vote for it when it comes up."

Dr. Smith is strongly for the Seminary, by no means
in favor of the military organization except as a mere
incident, and I conclude from what he has said to me,
very willing to see a failure of that part. He wants a
great Seminary to make learned men, its operations to
commence just where nineteen-twentieths of our young
men end. The thing is a myth, an ignis fatuus and a
dead failure certain, for want of means if nothing else.
It would cost us from fifty thousand to one hundred
thousand dollars a year, and you can t get it. In a con
versation with the doctor a few days since, I regretted
to observe what I took to be a lurking satisfaction at the
troubles you had in enforcing what he called rigid mili
tary discipline. I most emphatically expressed my
hope that you would carry the thing out in its fullest
extent, and I am glad to find I was not mistaken in you
and show the boys at the start that you were their com
mander and intended to be so. Unless this is done in
the outset we had as well give up the experiment for it
must share the fate of all previous efforts in the state.

The more you see of our society, especially our young
men, the more you will be impressed with the impor-

STUDENT TROUBLES 163

tance of a change in our system of education if we ex
pect the next generation to be anything more than a
mere aggregation of loafers charged with the duty of
squandering their fathers legacies and disgracing their
names. I hoped, and still hope, your Seminary may be
the entering wedge for a reformation, but should it fail
under the auspices now before us I shall despair. A
few weeks will determine whether the state intends to
sustain it. Suspend your decision, if possible, on the
advantageous offer made you. Under any circum
stances I would not advise you against closing with
such an advantageous offer. I can only hope we may
be enabled to make your present position more desirable.

At the request of Dr. S. and some other gentlemen, I
have given them a rough sketch of a bill for estab
lishing an arsenal with you, and making your cadets
the military guard of the "Munitions of War" belong
ing to the state. I hope it may pass. As we are now,
our arms are thrown away as fast as received.

I am getting heartily tired of the honors of office. Of
all the loose, disorganized, mal-administered state of
affairs I have ever seen, the public affairs of this state
are the worst. Nobody is responsible, every disbursing
officer keeps his own accounts, draws his own warrants
on the treasury, and if he can only get a dishonest man
to consent to sign a voucher and a warrant, they draw
the money and there is the end of it. No one ever set
tles an account with the state. One of our Board, dis
missed from the army as a defaulter, with these visions
before him, is giving us infinite trouble. So far, he
has failed in every effort, but he has kept the board from
any duty. The other members are tender toward him,
and hope to conquer by mildness. I prefer the military
system and go at him rough shod.

1 64 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

My regards to General Graham, and thank him for
his bill. I am for it first and last, but still am willing
to take less if we can t get all. But like Oliver Twist I
should "ask for more."

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, February 13, 1860.

. . . I received yesterday your letter of January
31. Roelofson came Saturday, and was in a great hurry
to go off. He said he must be in Cincinnati February
1 8 to attend to some business. I found the scheme was
pretty much the same condition as it was last winter.

. . . All admit the healthfulness of the place [the
Seminary] which is inferable from the kind of ground.
Indeed if you hear that I have concluded to stay here,
just make up your mind to live and die here, because
I am going to take the bit in my mouth, and resume my
military character, and control my own affairs. Since
I left New Orleans, I have felt myself oppressed by cir
cumstances I could not control, but I begin to feel foot
ing and will get saucy. But if I go to England I shall
expect a universal panic, the repudiation of the great
national debt, and a blow up generally.

I suppose I was the Jonah that blew up San Fran
cisco, and it only took two months residence in Wall
Street to bust up New York, and I think my arrival in
London will be the signal of the downfall of that mighty
empire.

Here I can t do much harm, if I can t do any good;
and here we have solitude and banishment enough to
hide from the misfortunes of the past.

Therefore, if Louisiana will endow this college prop
erly, and is fool enough to give me five thousand dollars
a year, we will drive our tent pins and pick out a mag-

STUDENT TROUBLES 165

nolia under which to sleep the long sleep. But if she
don t, then England must perish, for I predict financial
misfortune to the land that receives me. . .

G. MASON GRAHAM TO S. A. SMITH

ALEXANDRIA, Feb. 13, 1860.

DEAR DOCTOR: Your favor of - - inst. was received
by Saturday night s mail, and sent yesterday to the su
perintendent, both as more encouraging than your pre
vious communication to him (which had made him very
gloomy), and in order that he might cause to be pre
pared the copies you ask for, but which can hardly be
got off, I expect, before next Saturday s mail. That
which I have to copy from our minutes I know cannot,
for I am greatly over-worked. I got up at three o clock
the other night, as I had very often to do, to write a
letter of four pages to P. T r, who had written me com
plaining of his son being arbitrarily spoken to.

By this boat, the "Perry," goes a letter to Governor
Moore advising him of the arrival of Mr. Roelofson,
from whom I had obtained ten days ... for Major
Sherman to give him reply to the offer made him. I
hope that you and the governor will have agreed to my
suggestion. We will always regret it if we lose Major
Sherman.

There is no more constitutional objection to changing
the name of this school than there is to changing mine.
The name was conferred by the act of 1853. A pri
mary school as well as a university is a "Seminary of
Learning." Mr. Manning saw this very quickly on my
showing him the constitution and the act, when he and
I were discussing the draft I sent you. There is just
as little constitutional objection to appropriating a por
tion of the common school fund to preparing teachers

1 66 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

for the common schools ; and that is the easiest fund to
get the money from.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, Monday, Feb. 13, 1860.

DEAR SIR: I enclose you Dr. Smith s letter which I
have read with concern. I thought of copying our reg
ulations in full - but the task is too large. Dr. S r
is up at Dr. Bailey s and entre nous, Dr. S. is not the
kind of man for contact with young men or association
with. Still charity is a virtue and he should have the
benefit of it.

I understand Jarreau is now here at Parker s. I am
glad of it, as the irregularities in the mess and washing
must cease. Mr. Smith, 38 under the contract, has pre
scribed the bill of fare, and will hereafter inspect the
mess before meals. And I will give notice that if cadets
have their clothes properly marked, and delivered to
the laundress at the right time, the value of any article
lost shall be charged. I know Jarreau has an awful dull
set of niggers, and he himself has been sick and away,
but to secure system and economy somebody must do
their work right. Again as to regulations, I thought
of sending a copy of the Virginia rules - erased and al
tered, but on comparison I find the alterations too num
erous and important to trust to interlineation.

It occurs to me, that as things now are working
smoothly and well, I might take these regulations and
move down to Baton Rouge, appear before their com
mittee and satisfy them fully, and return in a week. At
that time, too, I could judge for myself the temper of the
legislature and come to a conclusion as to my own proper
course. I must give R. a positive answer by the twenty-
first or twenty-second instant at furthest. I have prom-

38 The commandant of cadets. ED.

STUDENT TROUBLES 167

ised him to do so and I have never failed to comply in
my life. But whether I go or not I assure you I won t
leave here till you have a successor of your own choice,
as well if not better qualified, than I am. Before the
middle of March the cadets will be well drilled, armed,
and clothed. All books necessary for this year will be
here, and all supplies needed by then. Books will be
opened and records properly arranged, and the money
affairs so adjusted that the machine would work of itself.
And if the legislature meanly act by the Seminary you
could save the salary of the superintendent.

As to your giving a personal guarantee, while I ad
mire the spunk, I think you ought not to do it. I think
the matter should be treated as any business transaction.
If the legislatures of the country are going to trammel
the Seminary, entitled to help, you ought not to inter
vene. . .

[P.S.] Have you the letter to Madame D. from the
assistant engineer? She sticks to her belief that the
governor knew what he caused to be written her - that
all her son s expenses should be paid. Yet she begs
delay and promises if the legislature do not provide
support for her boy that she will. She wants that letter,
and I think I sent it to you.

Sherman went to Baton Rouge in February and to the Senate
Committee on Education he gave detailed estimates of expenses,
income, needs, etc. It was understood that Sherman was willing
to stay in Louisiana if the requested appropriations were given.
Appropriations to cover all of them were made later.

While in Baton Rouge Sherman was treated with the great
est consideration. He found, instead of opposition to him on ac
count of his own and his brother s views, a strong desire on the
part of those interested to keep him in Louisiana. That this was
somewhat surprising as well as gratifying to him is indicated in
his letters.

168 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

BATON ROUGE, LA., Feb. 16, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: We got here last evening; I soon
found out Colonel Bragg, who is here living in the mess
of Richard Taylor and two other gentlemen of the sen
ate. I also found Dr. Smith and many others in author
ity. All seem very generally well-disposed to us. The
whole subject was referred to the Committee on Educa
tion, and I have been most of the day in copying a long
report of Dr. Smith tracing the history of the Semi
nary from its first inception to the present moment.

This report is designed to accompany a bill which is
substantially agreed on in committee, viz : to amend the
old bill by modifying the provisions for indigent State
cadets so that we educate fifty, one from each parish and
two additional from New Orleans - these to be desig
nated by the police juries, the state further to appropri
ate eleven thousand dollars for two professors houses,
five thousand dollars for chemical, philosophical, and
other apparatus and books; and to provide for the elec
tion of a vice president to the Board of Supervisors, who
with four others shall compose a quorum, to have all the
powers of the present Board.

Bragg has also prepared a bill to make the Seminary
a State Arsenal. For the fifty state cadets no provision
is made for tuition and they are limited to three hundred
dollars each and an appropriation made for them of
fifteen thousand dollars per annum. Dr. Smith of course
is leader. He will not consent to a change of title or
to modify it further, but he still says he can get a liberal
appropriation for its support.

The committee was willing to grant the superintend
ent the rank of Colonel, but as long as it is not military
by law, I think a naked rank would.be ridiculous. Dr.

STUDENT TROUBLES 169

Smith, Bragg, Mr. Taylor, another, and myself dined
together to-day and they pitched into the Doctor with
out grace, telling him now was the time to make this the
Military Academy by law. All agreed that the legis
lature would be almost unanimous but Dr. S. will not
budge. A simple bill, with few clauses and liberal ap
propriations, Mr. Taylor says, would pass without diffi
culty, but as the Committee of Education have it in
hand, it must come through them or be attached to their
bill by way of amendment.

All admit that Governor Wickliffe s recommenda
tion 39 has no weight, and that the constitution limits
the school fund to a "distribution to parishes in the pro
portion of the white children." The legislature has no
control over it. The clause certainly reads so, and I
can t imagine why Governor Wickcliffe should have
overlooked. But the general fund is large, and all ad
mit willingness to provide amply.

Dr. Smith will not report your bill, but will [report]
the one now in committee maybe the day after to-mor
row. Taylor may offer a substitute to test the sense of
the senate. I will stay here till this matter is deter
mined. In the bill for an Arsenal they provide five hun
dred dollars for the superintendent. I can not commit
myself till next Tuesday, when I must. I would much
prefer to see the Seminary made the Military Academy
by law, when its character would be fixed beyond change,
but unless the Senate be very strong that way he will not
change. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

BATON ROUGE, Feb. 17, 1860.
. . . I wrote you day before yesterday. I dined

39 That a sum be appropriated to the Seminary to be expended in training
teachers for the schools. - ED.

170 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

yesterday with Governor Moore, to-day am to dine with
the attorney-general and on the whole am treated with
so much consideration, that I cannot mistrust the general
expression of a hope that I will not leave them.

The legislature promise to build me a house, to endow
the Seminary and to put all things on the best footing.
They seem to think that I can accomplish great good,
and as they have dealt by me so fairly I am loath to quit.

We have now pretty well agreed on a bill for the
legislature which is liberal and which will easily pass.
It provides six thousand dollars for a house for us, and
also makes provision so that the Board can enlarge my
salary. I hope by Tuesday it will pass so that I can
telegraph and write to Roelofson as I agreed. Still I
will defer it to the last minute so that if any contretemps
should arise I can take advantage of it. Here they want
me to say if they pass the bill I will stay.

I tell them whether I stay or no the provisions made
for the Seminary are essential to its success. Still I do
think it would be more agreeable for you here than in
England. We have beautiful warm weather now, flow
ers and trees in bloom. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

BATON ROUGE, Saturday, Feb. 17, 1860.
DEAR GENERAL: I know how anxious you are and
must be about our affairs here. I have met a great many
gentlemen here, dined with the governor, am invited to
dine with Mr. Moise to-day, and by all am assured of
the deep interest felt in our affairs. Could any bill come
before either branch with few provisions, and ample
appropriation it would pass. But the whole matter hav
ing been referred to the School Committee it is proper
it should report its bill, when anything may come in on

STUDENT TROUBLES 171

amendment. First Dr. Smith will not consent to your
bill or any new bill. He insists on clinging to the old
bill, but is willing to modify it in any way, that may be
politic. He now agrees to amend so far as to style the
Seminary "The Louisiana State Seminary of Learning
and Military Academy," also to add a clause making
the cadets, officers, etc., a military body, with commis
sions, etc., also to make five supervisors a quorum for
the transaction of business. The Board of Supervisors
retaining all other full powers as now.

As to appropriations we feel now confident that there
is rightfully in the treasury -$12, 330, arising thus-
coupons for eighteen months on $137,000 bond, nine
percent is $12,330. We have this on the signature of
the auditor and the treasurer admits that sum to be in
the treasury subject to appropriation. It also appears
that in former years, $119,000 were appropriated, and
that only $112,000 have been drawn, leaving a balance
due the Seminary on that score, of exactly $6,930 which
we will also ask to be re-appropriated.

Dr. Smith will also ask the Seminary Fund to be re
lieved of the condition of refunding the $30,000, and
ask to cry quits on that score of our claim to compound
interest. I have just had a full conversation with Ran
dall Hunt who is an eminent lawyer and says the courts
here have compelled the payment of compound interest,
when the money has been used, as was the case with
Louisiana.

Now if the legislature will repeal the clause requiring
that $30,000 to be paid back, and will further relieve us
of the charge of indigent youth - it would be well not to
press the claim for compound interest.

Now I understand the Committee to intend to recom
mend the fifty indigent youths, the state to pay all the ex-

i 7 2 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

penses but tuition. I have explained fully that such
would not help us much, and Colonel Taylor and Mr.
Goode and others say it will ruin our institution as
planters will not send their children to a school with a
preponderance of pauper children. All admit a perfect
willingness to appropriate $5,000 for chemical, philo
sophical, surveying, engineering, etc., books; also
$i 1,000 for two professor s houses.

Therefore the points now in dispute are the indigent
student clauses. If they reenact the sixteen 40 clause they
will appropriate three hundred dollars a piece - if they
provide for fifty, then fifteen thousand dollars. If
Messrs. Taylor and Goode represent public sentiment
properly, I think the best plan would be to give the
Board of Supervisors the six thousand dollars cash, and
let them reduce the tuition fee to all as low as possible.
That would enable us to educate as cheap as any college.

We all meet again tomorrow, Sunday, and will dis
cuss these points. I want the school committee to report
on Monday or Tuesday next, as I want to hear the action
of the Senate. Bragg was compelled to go down to his
plantation yesterday and may not return before I leave,
but he put me in such good relation with his friends that
really they overcome me with zeal. They pitched into
Dr. Smith so, at dinner, that he was alarmed for the
safety of the nation. They so damned the volunteers and
elevated the regulars that the Doctor feared for the
safety of the liberties of the people.

I have your bill in my pocket- also one prepared by
myself - but I now abandon any hope of a new bill, and
shall confine my efforts to so modifying the old one as to
bring in the military element, and to get the State aid
which all seem so anxious to give. I am now in the

40 The old law provided for sixteen beneficiary students.

STUDENT TROUBLES 173

Library and shall see if there be not some books we could
get. The librarian, named Carrigan, is trying to get a
state appointment for a friend in New Orleans. I would
for myself be almost willing to give him the appoint
ment on easy terms if he w r ould give me a list of dupli
cate books that a resolution could secure them. They
have a good library here.

The knowing ones say the Arsenal Bill will also pass,
and the blank be filled with $i 50,000 for the purchase of
arms and building a structure- but I doubt it. If w r e
can get five thousand stand of arms, then a field battery
and the usual proportion of equipments, it would be all
we could expect - and in vain if the room so dedicated
get ten or twelve thousand dollars to build a mess hall
and kitchen separate.

On Thursday next I am bound to give Roelofson a
categoric answer and feel a little confused thereat, for
the solicitude of my family which I have heretofore dis
regarded now troubles me.

W. T. SHERMAN TO THOMAS EWING JR.

BATON ROUGE, Feb. 17, 1860.

DEAR TOM : . . . I am down here at the legisla
ture log rolling for a bill to the interest of our institu
tion. I have no doubt of success. I cannot but laugh
in my sleeve at the seeming influence I possess, dining
with the governor, hobnobbing with the leading men
of Louisiana, whilst John is universally blackguarded
as an awful abolitionist. No person has said one word
against me, and all have refrained from using his name
in vain. . .

As to your prospects, I see as chief justice you ran
ahead of your ticket. I doubt not you can be elected
as senator. For the chances it is best, though for a
firm solid foundation the judgeship is preferable. Still

174 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I think I know enough of you to say your mind is made
up and like the fellow engaged to some girl goes round
and asks advice leaves room for but one side to the ques
tion. I advise you then to go to the senate, be moderate
and take the chances.

If they find me advising with you and John, two
desperate Blacks, they will suspect me of treason and
hang me. No, this is not so, we discuss all public ques
tions here with fairness. Louisiana is not ultra. She
has property valued at four hundred millions of dollars
which is all based on slave labor. It is no new open
question to them; they must be prejudiced in favor of
their interests, and I know and often assert that such
persons as you and John are not inclined to molest this
property. I state your position thus: in Kansas the
party known as Democratic did endeavor to impose
slavery on Kansas and resorted to extraneous force and
fraud. This led to force and violence on the other side,
and then, as in all similar contests for colonizing, the
North beat, because she has one hundred who can emi
grate where the South has one. I understand the mod
erate Republicans to be opposed to slavery in the ab
stract, to its extension, but not committed to its molesta
tion where it now exists. I hope the party will not
attempt the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law, and that
courts and legislatures will not take ultra ground, indi
viduals and newspapers may, but judges and legislatures
cannot without committing whole communities.

The relation between master and slave cannot be
changed without utter ruin to immense numbers, and
it is not sure the negro would be benefitted. If John
had not signed that Helper book he could have been
elected and would have had a fine chance of showing
fairness and manliness at a time of crisis. As it is now

STUDENT TROUBLES 175

he can only growl over expenses and waste; that the
Devil himself cannot stop.

Louisiana will not join in any South Carolina meas
ure, but her people and representatives are nervous on
the nigger question, and I have to be on my guard all
the while as Ohio is looked on as a regular Bogey.
Bragg and others here know me to be national, and they
back me up too strong, so that I am coaxed and begged
not to leave them. I know this sentiment to be sincere
and the professors begged me by all the considerations
possible to stand by the Institution, as they think that I
can make it successful and famous. If too by being
here, with such relatives as you and John, I could also
do something to allay fears and apprehensions which I
believe unfounded I could do patriotic service. Yet
the itching for change and adventure makes me strong
ly inclined to go to London. My life here would settle
down into a plain, easy berth.

The Democratic Party will try to keep Kansas out
by manoeuvre, but I take it if a fair square vote can be
had Kansas must be admitted as she is. I shall be glad
to see your name as senator. I dined yesterday with
Governor Moore, to-day with the attorney-general, so
you see I am in the land of clover as well as molasses.

In his Memoirs, Sherman gives a summary account of his
trip to Baton Rouge in the interests of the Seminary and relates
an interesting story of how he made known his views on slavery
to a gathering of public men.

During our first term many defects in the original act
of the Legislature, were demonstrated, and, by the ad
vice of the Board of Supervisors, I went down to Baton
Rouge during the session of the legislature to advocate
and urge the passage of a new bill, putting the institu
tion on a better footing. Thomas O. Moore was then

176 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Governor, Bragg was a member of the Board of Public
Works, and Richard Taylor was a senator. I got well
acquainted with all of these, and with some of the lead
ing men of the state, and was always treated with the
greatest courtesy and kindness.

In conjunction with the proper committee of the legis
lature, we prepared a new bill, which was passed and
approved on the jth of March, 1860, by which we were
to have a beneficiary cadet for each parish, in all fifty-
six, and fifteen thousand dollars annually for their
maintenance; also twenty thousand dollars for the gen
eral use of the college. During that session we got an
appropriation of fifteen thousand dollars for building
two professors houses, for the purchase of philosophical
and chemical apparatus, and for the beginning of a col
lege library. The Seminary was made a State Arsenal,
under the title of State Central Arsenal, and I was al
lowed five hundred dollars a year as its superintendent.

These matters took me several times to Baton Rouge
that winter, and I recall an event of some interest, which
must have happened in February. At that time my
brother, John Sherman, was a candidate, in the national
House of Representatives, for speaker, against Bocock,
of Virginia. In the South he was regarded as an "abo
litionist," the most horrible of all monsters; and many
people of Louisiana looked at me with suspicion, as the
brother of the abolitionist, John Sherman, and doubted
the propriety of having me at the head of an important
state institution. By this time I was pretty well ac
quainted with many of their prominent men, was gener
ally esteemed by all in authority, and by the people of
Rapides Parish especially, who saw that I was devoted
to my particular business, and that I gave no heed to the
political excitement of the day. But the members of the

STUDENT TROUBLES 177

state Senate and House did not know me so well, and it
was natural that they should be suspicious of a northern
man, and the brother of him who was the "abolition"
candidate for speaker of the House.

One evening, at a large dinner-party at Governor
Moore s at which were present several members of the
Louisiana legislature, Taylor, Bragg, and the Attorney-
general Hyams, after the ladies had left the table, I
noticed at Governor Moore s end quite a lively discus
sion going on, in which my name was frequently used;
at length the governor called to me, saying: "Colonel
Sherman, you can readily understand that, with your
brother the abolitionist candidate for speaker, some of
our people wonder that you should be here at the head of
an important state institution. Now, you are at my
table, and I assure you of my confidence. Won t you
speak your mind freely on this question of slavery, that
so agitates the land? You are under my roof, and, what
ever you say, you have my protection."

I answered: "Governor Moore, you mistake in call
ing my brother John Sherman, an abolitionist. We have
been separated since childhood - I, in the army, and he
pursuing his profession of law in northern Ohio; and it
is possible we may differ in general sentiment, but I deny
that he is considered at home an abolitionist; and, al
though he prefers the free institutions under which he
lives to those of slavery which prevail here, he would not
of himself take from you by law or force any property
whatever, even slaves."

Then said Moore: "Give us your own views of
slavery as you see it here and throughout the South."

I answered in effect that "the people of Louisiana
were hardly responsible for slavery, as they had inher
ited it; that I found two distinct conditions of slavery,

178 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

domestic and field hands. The domestic slaves, em
ployed by the families, were probably better treated than
any slaves on earth; but the condition of the field-hands
was different, depending more on the temper and dispo
sition of their masters and overseers than were those em
ployed about the house;" and I went on to say that,
were I a citizen of Louisiana, and a member of the
legislature, I would deem it wise to bring the legal con
dition of the slave more near the status of human beings
under all Christian and civilized governments. In the
first place, I argued that, in sales of slaves made by the
state, I would forbid the separation of families, letting
the father, mother, and children, be sold together to
one person, instead of each to the highest bidder. And,
again, I would advise the repeal of the statute which en
acted a severe penalty for even the owner to teach his
slave to read and write, because that actually qualified
property and took away a part of its value; illustrating
the assertion by the case of Henry Sampson, who had
been the slave of Colonel Chambers, of Rapides Parish,
who had gone to California as the servant of an officer
of the army, and who was afterward employed by me
in the bank at San Francisco. At first he could not
write or read, and I could only afford to pay him one
hundred dollars a month ; but he was taught to read and
write by Reilley, our bank-teller, when his services be
came worth two hundred and fifty dollars a month,
which enabled him to buy his own freedom and that of
his brother and his family.

What I said was listened to by all with the most pro
found attention; and when I was through, some one (I
think it was Mr. Hyams struck the table with his fist,
making the glasses jingle, and said, "By God, he is
right!" and at once he took up the debate, which went

STUDENT TROUBLES 179

on, for an hour or more, on both sides with ability and
fairness. Of course, I was glad to be thus relieved, be
cause at the time all men in Louisiana were dreadfully
excited on questions affecting their slaves, who consti
tuted the bulk of their wealth, and without whom they
honestly believed that sugar, cotton, and rice, could not
possibly be cultivated. . .

At the end of the time in which Sherman was to make his de
cision he concluded, that since his family so desired it, he would
accept the London position. To his wife s brother, Thomas
Ewing Jr., he wrote: "I confess I sever the relations between
myself and present associates with deep regret. Their behavior
in all things has been frank, manly and generous." He then be
gan preparations looking toward the selection of his successor,
but the Board of Supervisors urged him not to decide finally until
he had visited Ohio to see the officials of the London company
and looked more closely into the merits of the projected enter
prise.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

NEW ORLEANS, LA., Feb. 21, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: Dr. Smith has finished his report
and bill, which though a medley of old and new ideas,
maybe falling within the parable of new cloth in old
garments, I was forced to assent to as the best compro
mise. As it stands, "A Seminary of Learning and Mili
tary Academy," possessed in fact of military organiza
tion, it may (by keeping that idea clear and distinct be
fore you) be made to fulfill your sanguine hopes.

At all events I see no reason why it should not. The
report and bill were to be printed, and as the senate had
dispersed to Thursday I came down to see if I could not
pick up a tailor and shoemaker - and pay up a few small
bills owed here. I have paid the bills but as yet have
not heard of a tailor or shoemaker willing to come. I
must return to Baton Rouge to-morrow, but will in the

i8o SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

meantime continue to look for tailors who do not seem
indigenous to your otherwise fertile soil.

I have also opened communication with Mrs. Sher
man, by telegraph, and she is so strongly in favor of the
London project that I must decide. This is my last day
of grace, and I must, as the case stands, choose the Lon
don project, but as I told you I will do all I can to give
you a successor better than myself, and use any influence
my acquaintance with Bragg, Colonel Taylor, and
others may give to secure to the Seminary all the help
that this legislature can grant. I have in my mind two
gentlemen, one named Trowbridge, who married in
Savannah - resigned and is now in the Coast Survey Of
fice, who graduated head of his class some ten years ago.
Also Captain Stone who is now I fear in Sonora, Mexi
co. I have written to Buell, advising each to apply for
my vacancy, and to send credentials, which however
they need not tender, as their records are perfect.

If the legislature appropriate you should have a
superintendent, but if it make a shabby appropriation
you could so manage this term to save the cost of that
officer. I propose to hold on till you can spare me, but
would like to get off about April i, so that I could spend
a few days in Ohio, before again embarking in the
stormy sea of finance. I confess I make this step in
doubt, and the strong preference of my family is all
that turns the scale in my mind. I therefore announce
to you my determination, and will give you an official
document as soon as I return to the Seminary.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

NEW ORLEANS, LA., February 21, 1860.

. . . I write to General Graham that the day has

arrived, and that as the case now stands I must choose

STUDENT TROUBLES 181

London. I really feel sorry. General Graham s whole
soul was rapt up in the success of this college, and he
seems to feel that I am essential to it. Would I accept
he would make up the difference from his own purse;
indeed he made such an offer to the governor but I
would not listen to it. The success of the institution de
pends on the parents of the boys.

There are many good men to replace me but none
seems to be at hand. General Graham almost associated
a Providence with us, the deep affection for you by his
sister, the confidence in me by his dead brother, united
with the accident of my application made him believe
it, a special Providence; and now he sees that Provi
dence don t control it. But enough of this.

GOVERNOR THOMAS O. MOORE TO G. MASON
GRAHAM

BATON ROUGE, Feb. 21, 1860.

DEAR SIR: ... I have had but little conversa
tion with Major Sherman relative to the Seminary, my
time during the sitting of the legislature being so con
stantly occupied with business in my new sphere, that I
am too much wearied when I get from the State House
to think of anything but rest. The Major has been ab
sent in the city two days, which I did not know until
yesterday. . . I went to the Harney House to invite
him to take a room at my house, as I had a comfortable
one, and would have him with me, where I could talk to
him at my leisure, and will invite him as soon as he re
turns to do so, and will do all I can to induce him to
remain at the head of the Seminary.

I do not feel disposed to make myself responsible with
others for the $5,000 salary, as, if it were necessary for
the Board of Supervisors to give the amount to retain

1 82 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

him, and I should be in favor of it, it might be supposed
or charged that I was so, from the fact that I have guar
anteed to him the amount.

With the amount now on hand and that, that Dr.
Smith hopes to have appropriated, we can afford to give
the Major an additional one thousand dollars which I
trust will retain him, but I would agree to the five
thousand dollars sooner than lose him, and have no
doubt the Board would vote it. . .

P. G. T. BEAUREGARD TO W. T. SHERMAN

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 23, 1860.

MY DEAR MAJOR: Allow me to introduce to you
my nephew, Master Stephen R. Proctor, who desires to
become a member (a distinguished one I hope) of your
Military Academy. If he could be put in a separate
room with my son Rene, his cousin, without any viola
tion of your internal arrangements, I would consider it
a great favor to both of them, as the one would have to
remain silent when the other wished to study. Other
wise may I request you to select him such roommates as
you would give to one of your own sons.

I have written to Capt. G. W. Smith the substance of
our conversation of yesterday, with hope that he might
be willing to become your successor for he would be the
best one that I know of, otherwise he may be able to
recommend one to us whose claims he might be happy
to support, but I must request you not to be in too great
a hurry about carrying out your intention of resigning.

W. T. SHERMAN TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, ALEXANDRIA, March i, 1860.

SlR: As I have advised you in advance I find myself

so placed, as to require me thus to place my resignation

in your possession. That no misapprehension may ever

STUDENT TROUBLES 183

occur, I now assert that I am well pleased at all that has
occurred here, and that I believe this institution must
prosper, as long as the parents of cadets sustain the
authority in the maintenance of good discipline. But I
am offered a most lucrative post at London, which is so
pressed on my acceptance by my family, who depend on
me for support, that I cannot disregard their claims.
For this reason and no other I tender my resignation,
only asking that I may be relieved of duty here about
April i, next. I submit herewith an alternate proposi
tion.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, March i, 1860.

SIR: I send you herewith the resignation concerning
which I have already troubled you too much. Had not
the relations between us become more than official I
should not have complicated this move by an expression
of my private views and feelings, but I believe you and
all are sincere in the many expressions of respect shown
me, and that you are really willing to bear a little with
me, and even overlook an inconvenience that no change
should occur in the organization of the academic staff
at this time.

I therefore admit that personally I should prefer to
remain here trusting that, in the progress of this institu
tion, the Board of Supervisors will do all in their power
to make me and my family comfortable, but I am so far
from them that letters are inadequate to explain these
things to them, and pressed as they are by interested
parties, they remain so urgent that I am in a measure
forced to comply with their claims to my protection.

Yet I have an idea, that if I could go to Ohio, I
might change this naked view of the case. The salary
offered me abroad is so much better than what this in-

1 84 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

stitution can or should offer, that they cannot for a mo
ment make a favorable comparison; but it may be that
by going to Baton Rouge, seeing that the bills reported
are either the law or have sufficient probability of being
so, I might in four or five days reach Ohio, and if pos
sible return with my family by the close of March. In
which [case] I should be most willing to remain and
abide the fate of the Seminary, be it fully successful or
otherwise. On this score I should ask no guarantee or
promise of any kind, but place myself where I now am.

I am fully conscious that I may utterly fail in this
move [because] our people have an utter dread of the
yellow-fever and other epidemics of the South, not so
much for themselves as for children, but I do believe
if my family could stay here a few years, this prejudice
would wear away, and then I could have that conscious
faith that would enable me to devote all my time, energy,
and experience to my real duty here. But you know full
well how disturbing it is to reside in one place, with a
family in another place ever disturbed by fears and anx
ieties however ill founded.

If therefore you in your individual capacity will con
sent to my thus leaving, I will start early next week,
satisfy myself at Baton Rouge of the situation of our
interests there and thence proceed to Ohio. If possible
I will return with expedition bringing my family or I
will send you prompt and emphatic word as to my abso
lute determination - all within March -and in either
event I will return, to turn over my charge here to a
successor. In the meantime you and others could cast
about for a successor or arrange for my final departure.
If this be not entirely, fully, and absolutely satisfactory
I beg you will treat this as private - and put the formal
resignation herewith before the Board for their final
action. I need not add that I could any day close my ac-

STUDENT TROUBLES 185

counts and hand my cash balance to any party appointed
to receive it.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, March 5, 1860.

SIR: Agreeably to the terms of your letter of the first
instant I propose on tomorrow to avail myself of the
permission therein contained, to visit Ohio and
shall . . . proceed to Baton Rouge, satisfy myself
as to the actual state of our business at the capital, thence
to New Orleans, as the speediest mode of reaching the
north, thence without delay by railway to Lancaster,
Ohio, which I expect to reach by the fourteenth instant.
Two or five days at furthest will suffice to come to an
absolutely final decision on the points heretofore ex
plained, the result of which will be telegraphed to Gov
ernor Moore and thence sent to you. In the meantime
it would be well for you and all the supervisors to do all
you deem prudent in advance to select a proper person
to succeed me, in the event of the vacancy occurring.

I herewith enclose you an order on S. W. Henarie
with whom I deposit my accounts current in full to
date. I have also caused an approximate inventory to be
taken of all property, of which in the shape of books,
furniture, etc., there are on hand an abundant supply
for all 1860 and over.

All accounts are paid up, and there are no outstand
ing matters save the clothing, which I am informed by
telegraph would be sent from New York by the first
steamer of March. The bill for clothing will range
from $2,500 to $3,000. I deliver to-day to Professor
Smith $1,221. I have remitted to the Mechanics and
Traders Bank $3,986; amount of check drawn by you
at my request, $2,033, leaving there $1,953.

Therefore there is money enough on hand to pay this

1 86 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

bill. It was my purpose to segregate all items of pur
chase, to see what has been spent for permanent furni
ture, salaries, board, etc., but the writing, day-book,
ledger, press books, and the ten thousand little items of
writing require a vast amount of writing. But gradu
ally I advise this labor to be distributed among cadets.
Thus I have named Cadet Irwin, as acting quarter
master sergeant. Soon we can name an acting sergeant
major who will keep the account of delinquencies, thus
relieving the superintendent and commandant of a large
bulk of labor.

I have endeavored to foresee every possible contin
gency during my absence.

ist. The studies, recreations and military exercises
should be kept as now, for which Professor Smith is
fully competent to control.

and. Any correspondence, answering letters, etc.,
convening Academic Board, and generally the duties of
superintendent devolve on Professor Vallas.

3rd. The three servants can be profitably employed
as now in gardening.

4th. We have a tailor, who agrees to work constant
ly, according to a schedule of prices to be approved by
superintendent, but we have to guarantee him work
amounting to ten dollars a week. We also provide him
a part of the house to the east of the Seminary, and pro
vide him with wood in the rough. He has a wife and
one child, and they appear decent and respectable.

As to further improvements I have studied the
ground, and am satisfied that a rough design, this day
handed Professor Smith, will best fulfill our future, and
will admit of any amount of enlargements. Neverthe
less if the Board of Supervisors prefer, they might in
person examine, and prepare a plan and cause all im-

STUDENT TROUBLES 187

provements to conform thereto. I advise at the earliest
moment a good fence to be made - with two side gates
and two handsome front gates -the whole to embrace
about twenty-four acres of ground. I think for all fenc
ing and lumber to be used, a good bargain could be made
with Dr. Carson who has a sawmill close by, and who
would, I am informed, be willing to exchange sawed
lumber for timber of which we could furnish an abun
dance. Killing two birds with one stone viz: Clearing
our grounds, and procuring lumber without the pay
ment of money. This bargain should be made at once
and the mill started in cutting fencing inch boards -
five thousand feet, one foot wide and ten thousand feet,
six inches wide, cypress or chinquepin posts should be
contracted for four hundred posts - eight feet long, one
or two sawed faces.

I will most certainly return in March, and if I re
sume my duties as superintendent and am charged with
the contemplated improvements, it would be a large
step, to have the foregoing provided in advance. I have
gone over these points fully to Mr. Vallas, and Smith,
and believe that no inconvenience or prejudice can result
to the Seminary during my absence .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

STEAMBOAT HODGES, March 6, 1860.
DEAR GENERAL: . . . We will reach Baton
Rouge by three. I will at once see Dr. Smith and Gov
ernor Moore, and then take post at the wharf boat, cal
culating in my mind the quickest chance of reaching
Ohio - by going to New Orleans or back to Vicksburg.
If I could reach the city by daylight tomorrow I could
be at Lancaster next Saturday- otherwise I will be
caught by Sunday at Cincinnati. I will not attempt to
write you from Baton Rouge unless it be a P.S. to this

1 88 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

letter, taking it for granted that you will hear from there
from other parties.

I was a little disconcerted yesterday by two things -
Jarreau who has heretofore held out to me his willing
ness to board me and family until a house could be built,
told me very frankly that his wife was unwilling, being
fearful Mrs. Sherman would not be satisfied. I then
tried Poussin whose house I visited and found very good,
but he tells me he intends to move in very shortly. The
only other chance is the house of Biossat - now occupied
by McNight. It is rather in a tumble down condition
good enough for summer but calculated to give an Ohio
lady the horrors. Still I won t let trifles bar my present
movements. If I bring my family I may come by way of
New Orleans and bring up all essentials for housekeep
ing, relying on your hospitality till I find other accom
modations. But I do think it would be well in any event
to take preliminary steps to procure the lumber, lime,
etc., for the two professors houses, certain to be built.
I am aware that plans, drawings, specifications and esti
mates should precede any purchases, but still if that saw
mill could get to work at once it would facilitate every
thing. You may rely on my giving you the quickest pos
sible notice of my final determination by telegraph from
Ohio. . .

[P.S.] 8 p.m., Tuesday. Reached Baton Rouge, 4
p.m. Saw Dr. Smith. His bill amended by the House
to embrace fifty-one beneficiaries - and fifteen thousand
appropriated therefor. Our idea of the University all
mistake. In senate the beneficiary opposed on the
ground of giving our institution the character of the in
digent college, but it passed by the casting vote of the
lieutenant-governor, is now the law. I am perfectly
willing. The Arsenal Bill will pass if reached but no

STUDENT TROUBLES 189

appropriation will be made for the present use of arms.
I expect to reach New Orleans by 6 a.m. and to start
north at 7:30 to reach Cincinnati Friday, and home Sat
urday. On Monday maybe will again go to Cincinnati
and telegraph you or Governor Moore by Wednesday or
Thursday. Dr. Smith says I can have the house of
Mrs. - - next Robertson s. If the telegraph announces
my coming with family, I shall depend on you some
what to help me to temporary quarters. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

NEW ORLEANS, March 7, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: . . . Being oppressed with
time, and finding myself snug at my old Commissary
Office, 41 I am forced to bore you again. In the belief
that you may deem it wise and prudent to call the super
visors together to organize under the new law and to
transact other business I will send you with this a dia
gram of the mode in which I recommend the improve
ments to be made. Also a drawing of one style of house,
which would work in all our brick, be comfortable and
within our estimates. On the whole I advise the use of
brick as far as the front buildings are concerned: First
to use up stock on hand - to obviate the necessity of
buying that much weather boarding, and by using slate
a couple of feet above ground it will with good project
ing roofs and porches make the walls dry enough. In
that case porches all round.

I also left with Christy a rough draft of a good look
ing house which is larger than this but designed to be
wholly of wood. On further reflection I think we had
better use the brick. By so doing and by getting Dr.
Carson s mill we could save a big item in building and
lay it out in the embellishment of ground. On this point

41 Where he was stationed from 1852 to 1853. ED.

i 9 o SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I might enlarge a little - where a little vine creeps by
the window side, look for virtue and not vice - where a
taste for beauty and fine scenery is inculcated, look for
the qualities that adorn society and give stability to a
state. I would thus at the Seminary attach much im
portance to embellishment. Not costly gravelled walks,
and artificially trimmed trees, but a general care of the
natural features, with enough art to set it off. Our mili
tary movements being on right angles, force us to rec
tangular fences, and road, but subordinate to them may
in time be planted walks and paths to suit the shape of
the ground. I am satisfied the general group will be
most striking by arranging all in lines of parallelism
with the main building and each having some part fin
ished of the Tudor style of battlement, so as on its face
to connect itself with the center of the picture. Those
general ideas of style explain why I have placed the two
contemplated professors houses symmetrically with the
Seminary and it so happens that each falls on high com
manding sites. It may be that Professor Vallas would
have his a little further back, but I would have it so.
This is a matter of much importance and should be well
studied by the Board and acted on independently of me,
Vallas or anybody else. Only let the decision be made,
so that when I return we may go to work.

The last two weeks of March, 1860, were spent by Sherman
in Ohio. As the supervisors hoped, he decided not to accept the
London position but to return at once to Louisiana. His rea
sons for the change of mind are given in the following letters.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LANCASTER, OHIO, March 15, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: . . . At 5 p.m. of Wednesday,

I was seated in the car, and soon whirled along Pont-

chartrain marshes, out into the pine woods and about 4

STUDENT TROUBLES 191

a.m. was at Canton, Miss. Then transferring to another
train we again whirled along through Mississippi and
at 8 p.m. Thursday we reached Jackson, Tenn., just three
minutes too late for the cars - a failure caused, the con
ductor stated, by the watch of the other conductor; but
my solution was that he wanted us to spend some money
at a friend s hotel there. Next morning, Friday, we
again started at noon were on board the steamboat which
ferries the twenty miles from Columbus, Ky. to Cairo.
By comparing the various railroad programmes we
found our delay at Jackson, Mississippi would cause us
a further delay on the Ohio and Mississippi, but by go
ing round by Indianapolis I found we could save time,
so I adopted that route, and reached Cincinnati at 1 1
a.m. One hour too late -but at 4:40 p.m. I took a
freight train and reached home Sunday morning by
daylight. So in spite of interruptions I made good time.
I find Mr. Ewing is in Washington and Roelofson has
gone to Europe - thus confusing me somewhat -but as
I had made up my mind to treat with one Gibson of
Cincinnati a man of real wealth and business quality, I
went down to Cincinnati on Tuesday, and saw Mr. Gib
son. I found him disinclined to assume any personal
responsibility and anxious to put me off till Roelofson s
return. This I would not do, and put the point to him,
clear of all secondary matters, that I would not vacate
my place in Louisiana [unless] he, Gibson, would pay
me $3,750 cash and secure me the remainder of the
$15,000. I could sell the i/io share put to me for $5,000,
thus making $20,000 for two years work. Although
Gibson was willing to bear his proportion, I am not
willing to treat the affair as a corporation and not a
partnership, by which each partner is liable personally
for all contracts and liabilities. Therefore I notified
Gibson that I would return to Louisiana.

I 9 2 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Mr. Ewing telegraphs me he will be here to-morrow,
Friday, when I will telegraph Governor Moore. My
family are all in good health, living comfortably in a
house which I hired for them last summer ; the lease will
not expire till September, and as I have no place fit for
them in Louisiana I think I will let them remain here
and I will come back myself next week, reaching the
Seminary nearly as soon as this letter, provided it be as
long on the road as letters usually are.

You may therefore drop the idea of my successor. I
will return and will no longer entertain this London
proposition - only for Mr. Ewing s sake I want to see
him, before I finally speak positively - but as soon as he
comes I will so telegraph to Governor Moore and tell
him to write you. By leaving here next Monday or
Tuesday I will be at the Seminary several days before
the close of March, in time to make up all accounts -
and make the first quarterly report. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

S.S. JOHN RAINE, Louisville, Ky., March 21, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: I have already written you that I
have declined the London proposition, and that I retain
my place at the Seminary, withdrawing my proposed
resignation. I am now enroute for Alexandria having
left Lancaster Monday. I might be at Vicksburg by
railroad the day after tomorrow, but I have taken this
boat here and will reach Red River about Thursday
next and, I hope, the Seminary the next day- the reason
of my taking the boat here is that I have with me a val
uable horse that I do not think should or could be safely
conveyed without my being along and I am well as
sured that I am on the swiftest boat going down. The
"John Raine" is the regular New Orleans packet.

I hope the Board of Supervisors will have organized

STUDENT TROUBLES 193

under the new law, that it will have instituted the mea
sures to build the two professors houses and the fencing
so that the summer will find them well advanced. I do
not bring my family because there is no house for them,
and because I think they will be better to remain in Ohio
till Fall. I shall count on remaining in Louisiana all
summer in place of this opportune leave of absence.

I received at Lancaster your letter enclosing the copy
of your correspondence with Governor Moore, which
you will remember you showed me in your letter book
and the Governor s reply. Still these copies were most
acceptable to my friends and show them the strong in
ducements I had for choosing Louisiana in preference to
London. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY of Learning and Military
Academy, Alexandria, March 30, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL : You see I am back, one day behind
time, caused by the boat s delaying that long in picking
up freight along shore. Of course I want to see you,
but Mr. Smith and the Doctor are under engagement to
visit the ladies at Judge Boyce s, and I always encourage
that spirit in young gentlemen.

I have just come from the declamations for this week,
which show fine progress; also the new uniforms look
fine. The young gentlemen are as proud as peacocks
and have hailed my return as though I were their grand
father. I had to make them a speech to-night, which
has filled up the gap of my absence, and I may now
work again. This is the end of the quarter -I must
write to the parent of each cadet, and must settle all ac
counts, etc., so that next week I shall be busy.

Dr. Smith and Mr. Manning were out to-day and told
me that the Board of Supervisors would meet next Sat-

194 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

urday. If you can reorganize on that day I will en
deavor to be ready with all papers and reports they may
call for.

The clothing has come, fifty-one suits of cloth and
fifty-one of flannel, hats, caps, and many spare articles,
amounting to $3,000. Have you that money in New
Orleans? We have here, Smith says, about $1,800 more
than enough to pay all salaries, mess accounts, etc.
Write me on this point also. Did you get my account
current and vouchers left at Henarie s? . . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, March 30, 1860.

. . . I wrote you from Louisville and Memphis.
The boat was elegant and landed me at ten o clock
Wednesday night on the wharf boat at Red River arid
at two o clock same night the boat "Morning Light"
came along, and Clay 42 and I embarked, reaching Alex
andria yesterday at sundown. I rode him out last even
ing. He is, you will be pleased to hear, in fine condition
well pleased with the trip and has no dread of steam
boats. He had a fine opportunity to study steam engine,
and is now familiar with all the parts.

The cadets seemed glad to see me, and in their new
uniforms they looked finely. Everything has worked
well in my absence, and now I can begin to provide for
the future. I shall be pretty busy next week in making
up the accounts and sending the results to parents. The
Board of Supervisors have only awaited my return, and
will soon meet and consider and order the improvements,
enlargements, etc., embracing the new professors
houses. Of course, the style and general plans of these
will rest with me, and I will try and get as good houses
as possible for the money. With tri-weekly mails and

42 A horse brought from Ohio. ED.

STUDENT TROUBLES 195

no telegraphs we are as much out of the world here as a
hermit could desire.

I find the trees in full leaf, the dogwood in blossom,
and the season about a month in advance of Ohio. The
sun is agreeably warm, but the evenings are cool enough
for a small fire.

The wedding of Captain Lindsey and daughter of
Judge Boyce came off some time since and Miss Ann
Patterson is now at the plantation, twenty-four miles
off. She has visited the Seminary and two of the pro
fessors were so pleased with her, that they are going to
ride up tomorrow. I shall avail myself of some oppor
tunity to call when she comes to Alexandria. Mrs.
Isaacs is to start for Washington tomorrow and I will
ride in to see her for a few minutes and as it will afford
me an opportunity to register this letter, I enclose a hun
dred dollar bank bill. I can t get any drafts on the
North here now. This is a risky mode of remitting
money, but I must make it. Give my love to all the
children and folks at Lancaster.

V. THE REORGANIZATION OF THE
SEMINARY

Reorganization under the new law. More work for Sherman. His plans
for his family to come south. Meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Faculty
resolutions on the military system. Dr. Vallas s Memoir. Circular letter to
police juries. "Effort to undermine the military and utilitarian character of
the school." Faculty amusements. House building plans. May Party. Dec
lamations. Sherman s lectures on history. St. Ange cheated in a horse trade.
John Sherman s New York speech. Political matters. Plans for the summer
vacation. Graham objects to the attack on the Seminary policy. Bragg s
apprehensions on account of the Seminary. Student mischief. The Mose
Chicken Case. Difficulty of obtaining supplies. Circulars of information is
sued. National politics in 1860.

Immediately after Sherman s return from Ohio the Seminary
was reorganized under the new law. A new Board of Super
visors was appointed and a new policy was inaugurated, minimiz
ing to some extent the military and scientific work, while empha
sizing the classical. No definite plan of academic government
and no definite curriculum was agreed upon before the end of the
session, and, as the correspondence shows, the uncertainty was
somewhat demoralizing.

GOVERNOR MOORE TO W. T. SHERMAN

BATON ROUGE, April 4, 1860.

DEAR SIR: Yours of the 30th ultimo advising me of
your return to the Seminary was received this morning,
and am sure all concerned are as happy as I am at the
event, and trust we can make it to your interest to remain
and render your family (if they accompany you) com
fortable and happy. . .

Trusting the condition of affairs at the Seminary may
continue to improve, and the result of your labors prove
satisfactory to the whole country, I remain, your friend
and obedient servant.

i 9 8 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

P. G. T. BEAUREGARD TO W. T. SHERMAN

NEW ORLEANS, April 7, 1860.

MY DEAR MAJOR: I have just received the enclosed
letter from Captain G. W. Smith, 43 which speaks for
itself. I agree with him in his observations. In default
of Smith, Lovell 44 would be a very proper man, pro
vided you still intend to resign, but I hope you will con
clude to stay a while longer.

My son seems to be more and more pleased with your
institution, although at times a little homesick, but that
is natural and I expected it. . . When will your sec
ond term commence? My second son will probably
enter then. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY, Alexandria, April 12,

1860.

DEAR GENERAL: I have been pretty busy in obeying
the orders of the Board of Supervisors and of the Aca
demic Board in writing constantly according to their
dictation, and last night learned with some surprise that
I was to continue to act as treasurer, bookkeeper, etc.,
whilst Henarie was to hold the money. I have been in
town all day to find out what is meant. I can t see the
system, though Dr. Smith insists on its being carried out
and expects me to try the system. I can see very well
that all moneys appropriated by the legislature and that
arising from the tuition fees of cadets, should be appro
priated by the Board of Supervisors, and, as it will be
paid in large amounts [it] could be held in the bank at
New Orleans without risk and without cost, whereas as
I now look at it you are to pay Henarie six hundred

43 Later a Confederate general. ED.

44 Mansfield Lovell a graduate of West Point later a Confederate general.

-ED.

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 199

dollars for that whilst I am as heretofore to ask for
money to pay the cadets wants, supply them and keep
the accounts.

Here is a work that employs about a dozen at West
Point, at least three at Lexington, Va., and yet I must do
it all. I can do it all, not thoroughly but good enough,
if the treasurer resides here and relieves me of the ne
cessity of taking care of so many little items of books,
clothing, and every species of things needed by cadets.
If the institution be pressed by want all of us can do ex
tra work, but this six hundred dollars now is absolute
wastage, and negatives the idea of poverty. Still that is
none of my business and from present appearances I see
I will have my hands full.

The atmosphere has changed since I went north, and
I will find out its drift. I think I see where it lies, and
I think I divine your plan of defence. Judging from
the personal nature of your colleagues and their fond
ness of disputation I only say that if their intention be to
submine our regulations, you can by encouraging discus
sion on the earlier passages cause them to desist from a
close examination of clause by clause, and have them
generally adopted as originally agreed on by the com
mittee appointed to draft them. . .

If you can get the regulations substantially adopted,
and adjourn with an order for their publication, and an
agreement as to the arrangements of the terms, I will be
willing to go on keeping the individual accounts of
cadets through this term, but if my powers are substan
tially curtailed, or any overt disposition made to com
plicate matters too much I may have cause to regret my
sudden refusal of the Roelofson proposal. I have abid
ing faith in you - and knowing that you can prevent
their meeting for mischief now, that without you they

200 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

cannot act at all, and that you can command a quorum
always, I will continue to have faith.

I do think the new fence ought to be built to keep out
hogs and cattle, and because I made a distinct point be
fore the committee at Baton Rouge. Were you to make
the want of fences next year a cause of application for
more money it would be detected. Still if you have
postponed it till after June, I will give Ledoux notice
that at the close of April, I will discharge one and may
be two of his negroes, as all wood-cutting and carrying
has ceased, and Henry with occasional assistance can
sweep the galleries and empty the water. I will await the
result of your Saturday meeting, and conform thereto.

Smith tells me you are down on him for gallanting. I
ought to take the blame. At the wedding he appointed
a revisit to the party, and on Sunday at church he asked
my leave to accompany them to Mrs. Flower and Dr.
Bailey. Miss Patterson is the daughter of a particular
friend of mine in St. Louis. I gave Smith permission
because I was glad to see him attentive to that party.
Not an iota of duty was lost. Boyd heard his class. I
drilled and had evening parade and he was home by
tattoo, and if we must conform to every rumor we will
lead a devil of a life here. If we do our work the public
ought to be well satisfied. I think had Miss Patterson
been of Rapides Parish, Smith would not have been
complained of. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY, ALEXANDRIA, April 15,

1860.

. . . This is Sunday. Some of the cadets have
gone to church, some fishing and the balance are walk
ing about. The Board of Supervisors are now sitting in

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 201

a large room only two removed from me, and I hear
them wrangling and quarreling over points of discipline
and instruction which they have been now discussing
for two days.

They have authorized me to make plans and estimates
for the two houses. And I expect a builder to be out any
moment to help me estimate. The Board approve my
selection of the site for the two new houses, and I be
lieve the one selected for ours the best, being on a fine
high point, distant from the college building yet over
looking its grounds. There is a fine spring near by.
The weather continues warm and excessively dry and all
are praying for rain to bring up the corn and cotton
which has been planted for a month.

I have your several letters asking the price of ser
vants, etc., but I cannot answer as all servants here are
scarce and most everybody owns their own. I suppose
ten dollars a month will hire a black woman but it is
impossible to hire a strong man fit for field work at less
than $25 a month and board. If Emily and Gertrude
come with you we will still need a man and maybe a
black girl, as white girls won t work down here long.
Still we can agree to pay them a bonus if they stay a
year. But as I wrote you there is no chance of your com
ing down for a long time, may be November.

Dr. Smith one of the supervisors, a physician of long
standing, says that October and November are the sickly
months. July and August though hot are perfectly
healthy. So that he favors those months as the vacation.
So great is the variation of opinion that I let them fight
it out as it is proper that they who have lived here all
their lives should determine the question. I hope to get
the builders to work in the course of a month but all
such things proceed so slowly here that I doubt if we

202 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

can finish this year. Nobody seems to pay any attention
to time or appointments. . .

Red River too has already begun to fall and soon will
be navigated only by the smallest kind of boats and it
will be next to impossible to procure anything from
New Orleans, the only point where furniture can be
had. The stores in Alexandria contain nothing of the
kind. Indeed California in its worst days had a better
market than this country. There are no farmers here.
The planters produce only cotton and sugar on a large
scale and deem it beneath their dignity to raise anything
for market. Some of the negroes raise a few sweet po
tatoes, corn, etc., which they sell about Christmas time,
but all the year else everything must come from New
Orleans. We are now paying for corn one dollar and
ten cents a bushel and hay costs about forty-eight dollars
a ton. Everything is proportional, so that I doubt if my
four thousand dollars will more than barely maintain us.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY of Learning and Military
Academy, Alexandria, April 17, 1860.

DEAR SIR: . . . The reason I am particular
about this [payment] is that I sent the order for clothing
through a friend of mine in New York to the most re
sponsible clothiers, utter strangers to me, and directed
him to guarantee payment on the receipt of the goods.
I know that New Yorkers are punctilious on such points,
and when this bill is paid our credit must stand on its
own bottom. It would be better to have clothing come
from New Orleans, but as you remarked an order sent to
New Orleans would be sent to New York and we might
as well do that ourselves.

On the supposition that the first bill of books will be

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 203

paid I will send them the measures of our un-uniformed
cadets . . . and limit our efforts at uniform and
military instruction to that number.

I went to town this morning and put into the hands of
the printer, a circular letter, 45 embodying the resolution
of the Board with other parts by myself which sub
stantially covers the points of your letter. . . These
circular letters will be ready Thursday and mailed by
me in town. I have a list of parishes and will prepare the
envelopes before I go in. I think I had better withhold
such circular letters from the police juries to which I
have already written, urging them to confirm the ap
pointees by Governor Wickliffe now here, lest it produce
confusion.

Madame Delahoussaye has already sent the enclosed
paper, which, though informal, evidently is a committal
on the part of the members of the police jury of St.
Mary s. I think I must consider him [her son] as a
beneficiary till the Board act. I will write to her to get
the Board formally to vote in June for her son, to have
the resolution authenticated by president and secretary
and their signatures certified by the parish clerk under
seal.

If the session be as now fixed, and I don t wish to dis
turb it, we will need summer clothing- white jackets,
vests, and pants with straw hats would be neat and be
coming, but a well fitting unbleached linen sack would
be better, and more appropriate, but not as becoming.
Still I will not presume to order anything more with
out positive approval beforehand of the Board of Su
pervisors. I do think that part of the cadets money,
not specially set apart for tuition, board, washing, and
medical attendance should be absolutely under my con-

45 See page 206. ED.

204 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

trol, and a margin left over for a surplus which we
must have on hand. I see Colonel Smith 46 has on hand
eight thousand dollars of stores, and he is within two or
three days of a market whereas we are months off.

I think I had better wait till after your meeting of the
a8th, before I estimate for funds needed to carry them
through August, but I will see that all know the pres
ent resolution that they may write home about it. Rob
ertson assailed me furiously about it in town to-day, and
I had to ward off his blow by telling him that the matter
was absolutely beyond my control, and the act of his
own townsmen. I shall expect you out with the ladies
on Saturday.

There was some opposition in the faculty as well as among
the supervisors to Graham s plan of vesting all authority in the
superintendent, to the military system, and to the emphasis given
to scientific studies. Soon after the passage of the new law by
the legislature the faculty passed the following resolutions which
are explained in part by the extracts taken from a Memoir
written in 1864 by Dr. Vallas.

FACULTY RESOLUTION, APRIL, 1860

RESOLVED: that the Academic Board respectfully ask
the Board of Supervisors to define the true nature of
"The Seminary of Learning and Military Academy,"
according to the recent act of the legislature -whether
it is merely a military institute, designed for the promo
tion of military and scientific knowledge, or shall the
literary department be put on an equality with the scien
tific, with the military department added only for the
sake of discipline and order?

RESOLVED: that the Academic Board respectfully re
quest the Board of Supervisors to define, in general
terms, under the recent law of the legislature, the rela-

46 Of the Virginia Military Institute. ED.

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 205

tions and duties which exist between the superintendent
and other professors.

FROM A MEMOIR BY DR. VALLAS

Of all the professors it was only Professor Vallas who
constantly refused to be assigned to any command, to
teach any military branch or to have any commission.
On account of this refusal, he was often charged with
throwing impediments into the way of the institution,
and had to meet the frowns of the military party.

About the same time an important change took place
in the Board of Supervisors. Up to this time the super
visors were appointed from all parts of the state. The
new Governor Thomas O. Moore took a different course
[and] filled all the vacancies in the Board with his
neighbors and dependents of this parish, and this he did
without regard to qualification ; and by doing so he lay
open the institution to all the untoward influences of a
village neighborhood, which influences soon centered in
a single family.

Two important questions soon turned up and agitated
the faculty and Board of Supervisors during the first
session of the institution. The first was: whether all
the professors stood in the light of military subordi
nates to the superintendent; the second, whether all the
professors should wear a uniform or not. The opposi
tion in the faculty was headed by Professor Vallas, in
the Board of Supervisors by Mr. Manning; and both
questions were decided against the wishes of the mili
tary party. . .

The circular printed below is one sent out to the parish police
juries 47 by Sherman explaining the meaning of the legislation of

47 The parish police jury of Louisiana corresponds somewhat to the Court
or Board of County Commissioners of other states. ED.

206 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

1860, relating to the Seminary. The original is in French. All
official notices and reports of the Seminary were printed in both
French and English.

SHERMAN S CIRCULAR TO POLICE JURIES

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY, April 17, 1860.

SIR: I am directed by the Board of Supervisors to
communicate to you their request that in nominating a
beneficiary cadet for this institution . . . you make
that nomination at your regular meeting in June, with
the understanding that the cadet shall enter this institu
tion at the beginning of next session, that is, the first of
November, 1860, for it is very important that all cadets
enter their classes at the same time. I take this oppor
tunity to say also that it will be well if you will send me
the name and address of your candidate in order that I
may communicate with him in regard to the text books
which he must study and the outfit with which he should
provide himself before coming here. If the nomination
is made in June, the cadet whom you choose will have
time to prepare for admission in November with a better
chance of success in his classes, and since his appoint
ment lasts four years, it makes little difference whether
the appointment dates from June or from November.

The present session will end about the middle of Au
gust. Our classes began on the second day of last Jan
uary and are so far advanced that a young man coming
in now could not successfully keep up with his comrades
nor could the professors do justice to him.

Your candidate should be between fifteen and twenty-
one years of age, should know how to read and write
and should have a knowledge of the fundamental prin
ciples of arithmetic. With that foundation he can, dur
ing the interval between his nomination and the time for
his admission here, easily prepare himself to fulfill the
conditions of admission.

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 207
THOMAS O. MOORE TO G. MASON GRAHAM

BATON ROUGE, April 19, 1860.
DEAR SIR: Your favor . . . was received this
morning, in which you state, "efforts are being made in
the Board which if carried into effect will inevitably un
dermine the military and utilitarian character of the
school." I trust such will not be the case, at least to the
extent which you seem to apprehend, as I have under
stood there would be no opposition to the military
branch of the institution, so it did not interfere with the
other important branches of education. These are my
views. We may differ as to how far the former may
interfere but it seems that some satisfactory and benefi
cial compromise could be made, and I hope will. I
much fear my becoming a member or rather the pres
ident of the Board will not add to its usefulness, as my
experience in such matters, with but a very limited edu
cation, gives me but little confidence. . .

The next letters show Sherman engrossed in routine work,
planning for the erection of a dwelling for his family and finding
amusement in the horse trading experiences of the Gallic pro
fessor, St. Ange.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Saturday, April 21, 1860.
DEAR GENERAL: Pursuant to your emphatic order
(the wit of which has not got through St. Ange s head
yet, which you know is not the clearest of our solons
here), I conveyed it to Major St. Ange, Smith and
Boyd - also Dr. Clarke. Mr. Boyd really has no pen
chant for such things and preferred to stay, and St.
Ange fearing that if Boyd staid and he went an invidious
comparison might be instituted between them, he was
loth to go, but I found that he had a lingering fear that
your emphatic order embraced the payment of twenty-

208 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

five dollars which from former experience he knew to be
the charge for the ladies stand. No poor Major was any
more befuddled than he was, and knowing that fifty
cents was all he had in his pocket I lent Smith twenty
dollars and told him to offer St. Ange ten dollars to buy
a ticket. Of course I understood that you had provided
tickets at the places named.

Well at last Smith, St. Ange and Doctor Clarke sal
lied forth for the races leaving me with the figuring and
Mr. Boyd at his class. The idea of your styling him
major, and being a grave and serious general yourself,
he did not doubt your power to order him to go to the
races and to buy a twenty-five dollar ticket. His little
composure was all gone. When at the ferry, it seems
Smith met some messenger from you with a note in a
lady s hand writing amounting to a countermand. Smith
returned to the Seminary forthwith - the Doctor got
back at 4 p.m. and St. Ange not till 8 a.m. to-day, driving
a new horse in a neat buggy. It seems he disposed of a
little seventy-five dollar tackey and bought horse and
buggy for two hundred fifty dollars. He must have
bought on credit for he had no money.

Mills came out at last. He and I figured on a good
house until we got above our money. We then tried to
cut off here and there but at last abandoned it. We
then settled on two plans - either of which can be made
handsome and good enough for the money - and another
better house admitting of enlargement in case it should
ever become necessary, substituting in lieu of a wing a
temporary frame-kitchen like your negro quarters. I
will try and have three plans for your Board next Sat
urday, and as the committee is absent it might be right
and proper that the Board resume the power thus dele
gated and act themselves. The river is already so low,
that I am of opinion that, in building, this year is lost,

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 209

and that if procrastination and delay are necessary here
that we had better let the matter take its natural course,
and the buildings be finished when they are finished. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY, Alexandria, April 26,
1860.

DEAR GENERAL: I will send as usual for the mail
to-day and I suppose you will expect to hear from me.
There is nothing new. All things move along. We
have a new cadet, No. 61, Cadet Bogan, nephew of
Bogan of Alexandria. I expect the Board on Saturday.
I have made plans and elevations of a very good house
that Mills will undertake to erect by October 15, at
$5,000. As this matter is of much importance and in
terest maybe, if you have room it would be well to pick
him up and bring him out. There are one or two slight
modifications in his plan that I would make and his
assent should be obtained. It will be cutting close to
finish well at our figures. We at one time thought of a
plan that would admit of additions and alterations as we
became better able, but on reflection I concluded it
would be wisest to adhere to the idea of finishing abso
lutely for the money appropriated, as new wants will
arise faster than our means.

As for the treasurership, until you intend to employ
assistants to mathematics and English to whom could
be assigned the duties of treasurer and librarian, I would
prefer to wag along as now, getting Dr. Clarke and the
drummer to help me in posting. I don t think you can
waste a cent on any sinecure office. You know in large
bills, there is no trouble in paying -it is in the small
items which [are] necessarily innumerable.

Some days ago some cadets handed me a subscription-
list for a "May party." I returned it to them because

210 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

the sums were unequal and too large - from one dollar
to five dollars. I explained to a few of the oldest cadets
that I would not oppose a moderate May party on a
Saturday or maybe of a Friday night after the week s
study was over, but all concerned must be equal, and
share alike, and the expense should not exceed a dollar
or dollar and half each, but that no further steps should
be taken till Saturday that I might submit the financial
question to the Board.

Last night Gus Jarreau brought me out a printed copy
of the invitation for Friday next two weeks. They are
crazy to show their uniforms to the girls and as they
have really made good progress in study and drill, and
cannot have a party at examination - midsummer- I
think we had better permit it. I can control the invi
tations and expense, and see they are proper and moder
ate. My opinion is that the studies and military exer
cises being regular and thorough, relaxation and amuse
ment outside thereof will be salutary. I hope the Board
will take this view of it, as it is very important that these
cadets when they go forth should be content and enthus
iastic in favor of our system. Some may think this
wrong but too much study made Jack a dull boy.

Every Friday evening "all hands" attend in the large
section room to declaim. After they are through I gen
erally speak half an hour or so on some interesting piece
of history. They take great interest in it; next Friday
I must in connection with my last, approach and maybe
recount the leading events of the Conquest of California.
Although not liking a critical audience, if you happen
to be here on Friday night, you may be admitted, but if a
critical audience ever comes, I ll produce St. Ange, the
orator of our institution.

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 211

The elegant Black of St. Ange is a "sell." After his
drive to Judge Boyce s and back he struck dead lame.
St. Ange is bound to have a lawsuit because he bought
under warrantee from one Levy of Alexandria and gave
his note, negotiable of course, at six months for two hun
dred fifty dollars. His letter to Levy is a masterpiece -
but I doubt much if it produce any other effect than to
give him time to transfer his negotiable paper. I would
give one hundred dollars to be free to take Levy s case -
put St. Ange on the stand and make him describe his
drive to Judge Boyce s and back - he first described the
journey as enough to kill any horse, but now that his
horse is lame he insists it was a sweet ride and not enough
to hurt a colt. There is plenty of fun in the cause. Tell
the lawyers the case is worth five hundred dollars cash.

To his brother, John, Major Sherman wrote in April ask
ing for a copy of a speech made by the former in New York,
and "if national I will have it circulated." John Sherman sent
the speech stating that it contained "a good deal of bitterness,
natural enough, but which you will not approve." The speech
was not "circulated" but given to the "Southern Rights" mem
ber of the faculty Professor Boyd among whose papers it was
found fifty years later. To his brother and brother-in-law
Sherman usually wrote freely on political matters.

W. T. SHERMAN TO JOHN SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, LA., May 8, 1860.
. . . There is one point which you concede to the
Southern States, perfect liberty to prefer slavery if they
choose; still, you hit the system as though you had feel
ing against it. I know it is difficult to maintain perfect
impartiality. In all new cases, it is well you should
adhere to your conviction to exclude slavery because you
prefer free labor. That is your perfect right, and I was

212 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

glad to see that you disavowed any intention to molest
slavery in the district.

Now, so certain and inevitable is it that the physical
and political power of this nation must pass into the
hands of the free states, that I think you can well afford
to take things easy, bear the buffets of a sinking dynasty,
and even smile at their impotent threats. You ought
not to expect the southern politicians to rest easy when
they see and feel their crisis so long approaching, and
so certain to come absolutely at hand. . . But this
year s presidential election will be a dangerous one ; may
actually result in Civil War, though I still cannot be
lieve the South would actually secede in the event of the
election of a Republican. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO THOMAS EWING JR.

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY of Learning and Military
Academy, Alexandria, May n, 1860.

DEAR TOM: I have received one or two Leaven-
worth papers reminding me of the place, which I have
read with interest, and I see that you and McCook 48 are
still at work. I hope business goes prosperously ; I sup
pose the Democratic Party does not love Kansas or its
memory, and that some pretext will be sought out and
found to keep her out of the Union till after the presi
dential election. The adjournment of the Convention
in Charleston without a platform or nomination looks
like a break up of the Democratic Party, and I have my
fears of the consequences.

I know that our general government has not the moral
or physical power to subdue a rebellion, and should one
be attempted by Alabama, South Carolina or other ex
treme states I fear the consequences. Of course I would
advocate the policy of force, for if a state may at its

48 Ewing and McCook were former law partners of Sherman. ED.

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 213

pleasure withdraw, leaving a gap in the seacoast or
frontier, the government would not be worth preserving.

People here are somewhat troubled, they regard the
Republican Party as hostile to their paramount inter
ests, and their politicians might stir them up to resist
ance in the case of the election of an extreme Republi
can. I hope that party will [not] nominate Seward,
but take up some man as McLean or Bates, who though
Republicans are moderate men. I suppose your poli
tical success being based on the Republican success you
will go in heart and hand to sustain the Chicago nom
inee, be he whom he may. John is of course committed
beyond hope. That the physical and political power
remains with the North is now manifest, but I hope that
moderate counsels will prevail until that fact be more
fixed and conceded.

I am getting along here very well, we have sixty-two
cadets. Vacation is fixed for August 20 to November i.
I think I shall go for Ellen in September and re
turn in October. I have just contracted for a good
house to be built by October 15. Our institution is act
ing up to the expectations of the most sanguine, and the
belief is that next year we will have one hundred fifty
a number about as great as we can accommodate.

Thus far with the exception of a couple of weeks in
April our weather is cool and pleasant. I still wear
woolen clothes and sleep under a pair of blankets, but
this is unusual and the crops, sugar, cotton, and corn are
very backward. . .

The following letters relate to Sherman s plans in behalf of
the Seminary which he wishes carried out during the summer
vacation, and to the fear of Bragg and Graham that the new
Board of Supervisors will reverse the military and utilitarian
policy of the first board.

214 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY, ALEXANDRIA, May 23,
1860.

DEAR GENERAL: . . . Paid for the straw hats,
and all outstanding matters, leaving me enough to carry
me till the new instalments are called for from the par
ents, which I will now take in hand, first having com
pleted "posting" all accounts. Yesterday befell me an
accident, which compels me to ask you for a duplicate
of the check you sent me for my pay for April. I did
not ask for the check as I was waiting for this month to
expire so as to get two months at once. But the check
you sent me is lost, and lest you may suppose me careless
I will explain.

For the first time I succeeded in getting Ledoux to
ride over the road. I put your envelope with the checks
in my pocket - and rode in with Ledoux, examining the
road he wants, which lies to the east and south of his
house. A straight line goes I think full three hundred
yards to the west of his house. Still we rode over it
carefully. I was in town, paid Robertson for hats and
other little bills, put the other check (of course not yet
endorsed) in an envelope along with receipts and came
out at midday taking P. along. We rode along, around
and across Rocky Bayou and I only am thankful that
I got out with any clothes. My horse left hair enough
to mark the trail and among other things lost was this
envelope with contents. I have been thinking all day
to retrace steps and look for it, but think it would be
impossible and therefore I ask simply a duplicate of the
same check. I will write a note to Mr. Davis, who
knows my signature perfectly to caution his cashier
against the original, should it have fallen into wrong
hands, and a forged endorsement attempted.

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 215

You need be in no hurry about this, but as you have
occasion to send to Whittington 49 for other checks, ask
his signature to the duplicate. Be sure to write "Dup
licate" in red ink if you have it across the face of the
check.

Whittington spoke to me about escorting his daughter
north this summer. I don t know that I accepted it
with sufficient vim. It would afford me great pleasure
to do that for him -and there is a fitness in it. Mrs.
Sherman is a particular friend of the Lady Prioress,
your sister.

Lancaster is on the way to Washington and I must go
to Washington to make a strong* quota of arms for 1861,
which I think Governor Moore and the Adjutant-gen
eral Grivot have promised us positively. I have asked
the governor to place in my possession the usual requisi
tions and receipts, or to commission me to receipt for
the quota of arms of 1861 and I will during vacation,
without charge to state or Seminary go to Washington
and try to get them in time for our November opening.
I must go to New York about clothing.

Therefore I can escort Miss Whittington, with per
fect safety and without additional expense. Of course
every step of the journey is as familiar to me as the road
hence to your house - indeed more so. I will not how
ever be able to leave till a week or so after cadets are
gone as I take it then there will be many things for me
to see to, and everybody else will run at the drop of the
curtain. Vallas may be excepted.

G. MASON GRAHAM TO GOVERNOR MOORE

TYRONE PLANTATION, May 26, 1860.
DEAR SIR: . . . As to the "satisfactory and bene-

49 A member of the Board of Supervisors. ED.

* So written in letter. There is evidently an omission here. ED.

216 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

ficial compromise" which you suggest, all compromises
are temporary expedients, and I never have seen a tem
porary expedient resorted to that did not result in per
manent trouble. When a thing is right adhere to it as
right, and you avoid much trouble. In the case under
our consideration, a very full Board, with two dissent
ing voices, determined that this school should be "a lit
erary and scientific school, under a military system of
government, on a program and plan similar to that of
the Virginia Military Institute." The public sentiment
of the state has sanctioned this, the voice of the legisla
ture has ratified it, every application for professorship
in it was made with a distinct knowledge that this was
to be its character; and because this was to be its char
acter, is it right, proper, just, in any sense whatever,
that a constant warfare of side blows should be kept up
against the system adopted, thus forever keeping the
minds of these most intimately connected with it, and
most immediately interested in the institution, in a state
of doubt and uncertainty? If things are to be constant
ly changed, how is there to be any stability? What is
the use of the shadow of anything if there be no sub
stance to it?

The circumstance to which I had most particular ref
erence in my letter of i6th ult. and which incited me to
that letter, was the effort made, and still pending, in the
Board to declare that these professors who do not teach
any purely military branch are not under the military
government of the superintendent, but stand to him only
in the relation of professors to a president of an ordinary
college, coupled with a right of their "instructing" the
superintendent to do a thing, thus creating two kinds
of power, and two kinds of government in one institu
tion.

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 217

I do not apprehend that you and I differ at all in our
"views" as to what shall be taught in the school. I de
sire to have everything taught that is taught at the Vir
ginia School, which comprehends everything necessary
to a useful, practical education. In addition to what
is taught there I would have Spanish taught here, as
being both a utility and an accomplishment, but I would
have neither Greek nor Hebrew taught here (neither
being taught there), at least until the educational wants
of the people of the state require it, because, useful to
but few, they take too much time from studies of greater
utility. There are plenty of other schools where those
can go who desire to acquire a finished classical educa
tion. There is no school in the state, and but few out
of it, of the utilitarian character that we desire to give
to this one, where those arts and sciences shall be taught
which are of practical use in the every day employ
ments of life, together with a fair degree of useful liter
ature.

Still in deference to the wishes and opinions of the
few, the professor of English and ancient languages is
required to teach Greek to those who desire it; yet in an
institution where there is a regular routine of studies,
duties, and hours, optional studies, as a part of the
course, are impracticable. They may be pursued in
private, but uanvoidably throw everything out of gear
if attempted in the course. Hence the Professor of an
cient languages advises that Greek be either made com
pulsory on all alike, or else omitted altogether. Eng
lish and Latin are enough for one man to teach. . .
How many of the boys of Louisiana want to learn
Greek? or will go to an institution at all where they will
be compelled to study it?

218 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

What I am solicitous about, however, is that the clas
sic studies should not be given a preponderance over
the scientific, and that the military system of govern
ment for the institution should be clearly and entirely
maintained. This thing of elevating the standard of
education in our state, giving it a utilitarian character,
and making it attractive and attainable at home, has
long occupied my thoughts - the past five years of my
life have been devoted to it - it has been the subject of a
good deal of study and of considerable correspondence
with me. . .

BRAXTON BRAGG TO W. T. SHERMAN

LAFOURCHE NEAR THIBODAUX, June 14, 1860.

MY DEAR SHERMAN : Your letter has been too long
without a reply, but procrastination steals on us imper
ceptibly. My time at home has been in fragments only
for the whole year, and not having been accustomed to
manage my own business by a proxy it annoys me no
little. Even now I am worrying over matters of detail
so as to have things ready that I may leave home for a
few weeks for my health. A short trip to the moun
tains after five years here is advised for me. By i$th
July I shall be off to be absent two months.

Parts of your letter caused me pain, for I clearly
foresee the downfall of the Seminary if Smith 50 suc
ceeds. All such efforts under abstract theorists have
gone down with the curses of their patrons and a loss of
the endowments. On the contrary I never had a doubt
of perfect success under practical common sense men.
I fear that Smith is backed by Governor Moore, and
though both of them may mean well, neither has any
knowledge of education or mental training ; but they are
governed by abstract theories which no reasoning can

50 Dr. S. A. Smith, who wanted to model the Seminary after the University
of Virginia. - ED.

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 219

reach. Nothing ever brought Smith to yield as far as he
did last winter but down right abuse from some half
dozen of your friends at Taylor s table. Taylor and
Goode both told him plainly they would take active
measures to abolish the whole thing if he did not give up
his University theories.

I pray that you may be successful for your own sake,
and because I believe it the only institution which will
succeed in this country. Friend Graham writes me he
has suggested my name to the governor for the appoint
ment of supervisor. I believe it will not succeed.
Where Dr. Smith got his authority for saying I would
not accept I do not know. Neither to him nor any oth
er man did I ever say so. Upon the contrary, I thought
the governor ought to have offered me the appointment
when the legislature with so much unanimity made it a
"Military Academy." I would then have accepted, in
deed desired it. But no opinion was ever expressed to
anyone on the subject. Nothing could have induced me
to appear in the light of seeking a position of honor.

Now I doubt if I could consistently accept. Hold
ing two offices - trifles it s true - in my parish - Levee
Inspector and School Director - my time is all occupied.

If you yet have any organization or definite regula
tions let me hear. The commencement and end of your
academic year, times of examinations, vacations, if any,
etc. Our police jury gave my young friend Perkins the
appointment from this parish. I don t know that they
will send you any notice. The note I enclosed him is
official from the president of the jury.

I have heard nothing as yet from the old Battery. 51
When in Washington this summer I will see Col. Craig 52
and try to effect the object.

51 Bragg was trying to get for the Seminary his Buena Vista battery. ED.

52 Chief of Ordinance, United States Army. - ED.

220 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

When in New Orleans in May last I met by accident
with our old friend Steptoe. Sadly changed, poor fel
low, and still more sadly situated. He was on his way
home from Cuba, where he had spent the winter nursing
a charming wife, far gone with the consumption and he
is himself a sad victim to the same insidious disease. It
was a sad but pleasant meeting, so unexpected to both
of us. He has resigned.

I will write to Friend Graham soon.

The student outbreak of February did not end such troubles.
Toward the close of the first session Sherman was forced to solve
a problem involving the peculiar student code of honor. There
were no further serious troubles during this session.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY, Alexandria, June 16,
1860.

SlR: It is proper I should announce to you my pro
posed course in relation to the affairs at the spring. The
wasting of water, the ducking the negro, and hiding his
buckets, are small things in themselves, but still if al
lowed cadets will let who pleases them take water and
no body else. Next with regard to stable, houses, wood,
and all other Seminary property. Obstructing the ser
vant was a "violence;" the perpetrators should be pun
ished, but the cadets think it is mean to tell on each other.

Two are dismissed not for that act simply, but be
cause they are in all scrapes and don t tell the truth. I
have come to a new set who won t tell because it is
thought mean to tell on one another. Campbell and
Ringgold now are willing to tell, but I don t want the
facts from them, but first from Stafford, next from Hil-
lan and so on in order. Stafford admits he was there,
knows all about it but won t tell. He is in arrest. There
are no disputed facts, but simply our wheels are locked,

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 221

he will not tell. I have again and again explained to
him the inevitable consequence but he goes farther and
says even if his father advise to the contrary he will not
tell. Unless you order otherwise after giving his father
full notice he too must go. I have given Hillan notice
that unless Stafford tell, he must, that I must know the
truth be it better or worse than I conceive, and that
the perpetrators must bear that measure of punishment
they deserve for obstructing the operations of the Mess
Hall, and for disobedience of orders, in not answering
pertinent questions.

My orders on the 6th of June published on parade
and well discussed in the "Mose Chicken Case" were in
these words : "The superintendent will call on no cadet
to expose the little peccadillos of his fellow, but when
these peccadillos amount to violence, breaking the laws
of the state, and insults to superiors, the case is different
and it should be the pride of every cadet to help and
check these things, for they aim at a destruction of the
institution itself. There is a wide difference in the two
classes of cases. Older and better informed are now
cautioned against being drawn into the custom of con
cealing real wrongs and outrages, because it looks like
tattling. Mischievous cadets will try to establish this
rule, because it will shelter them in their mischief."

The rule is now established, and the question arises
shall it be the rule of this honorable institution that ca
dets may steal and rob, and plunder, trespass on the
premises of neighbors, combined in all sorts of outrages
called by them mischief, and when we trace it to the
very lookers on, they can answer - we saw it, but we did
it not ourselves and are restrained by a sense of honor
from tattling on our fellows. In the case in hand -
Ringgold and Campbell did it not - of course - Stafford

222 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

and Hillan, very intelligent clever boys - yea more, saw
it all, admit it, but no! the cadets think it wrong to tell
on one another.

Now I conceive I am armed with full power to do
right. This is a state institution, we must be above
wrong. The truly penitent shall never appeal to me in
vain, but hypocrisy and falsehood shall, when I can, be
spotted and blotted out. Ringgold and Campbell are
dismissed. Stafford must follow or tell. Same of Hil
lan, and same of all who were there. We have a right
to know the truth and must have it. Tis useless longer
to postpone this issue. Have I your personal and offi
cial sanction?

P.S. All the circulars issued to appointees.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, June 28, 1860.

. . . Last week I dismissed summarily two cadets
of good families and large connexions. One has ap
pealed to the Board of Supervisors who may be weak
enough to yield to such influence. And if they do it
will severely weaken my power and influence and may
shake my faith in my hold on their confidence. They
meet on Saturday. This is Thursday and I will then
see whether I am to govern here or be governed by the
cast off boys of rich planters.

So well impressed are all gentlemen here of the neces
sity of some restraint on the boys, who have been in
dulged at home to an unlimited extent, that I doubt not
they will approve my acts, but like all deliberative
bodies they may take some half way course and recom
mend me to receive them back on their promising refor
mation. I will not do so unless they command me, which
they have a right to do.

We will celebrate the 4th of July by a cadet oration

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 223

and Declaration of Independence, etc., and our examin
ation July 30 and 31 will be celebrated by a large at
tendance.

The weather has been warm but never as warm as at
St. Louis or in Ohio. The summers here are long, but
the proximity to the sea gives us the same air as we felt
off Cuba which I think perfect. Indeed I don t object
to the summers here. All are well and healthy and
there is no apprehension of epidemic. These always
originate in New Orleans and spread by the steamboats
so that here they always have full warning and can take
due precaution. Take the year all round this must be a
healthy place.

The only drawbacks and they are serious are servants
and marketing. All here own their slaves and there are
properly speaking no servants for hire. White girls or
boys will not come from New Orleans though in time
they may. All groceries and meats must come from
New Orleans - the grass is so poor that sheep and cattle
are skeletons and milk exceedingly scarce. Goat milk
will be better. This year the drought has been unbear
able destroying all gardens, but the season is so long that
they can plant two or three times. The soil on the river
bottom is very perfect, here in the pine hills as poor as
poverty itself. Still by care we can make lettuce, pota
toes sweet and Irish, beans, peas and such things when
the season favors. There are no market gardens; the
negro slaves have small patches which they are allowed
to cultivate and sell off -but these are all on the other
side of the river. . .

In June, 1860, the authorities sent out appointments to
scholarships for the next session and at the same time Sherman
framed circulars to be distributed for general information.
These are useful to throw light on internal arrangements at the

224 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Seminary. In the second circular the omitted portions contain
information embraced in the preceding circular.

CIRCULAR OF JUNE 15, 1860

In answer to the very numerous inquiries addressed
to me, I have obtained from the Board of Supervisors
the necessary authority to make this Circular for gen
eral information.

This institution is in part maintained from a fund
held for its benefit in trust by the state, and also by direct
appropriation on the part of the legislature. It is re
quired by law to educate fifty-three cadets, for and on
account of the state, and we are prepared to undertake
the education and training of about one hundred young
gentlemen, other than those before referred to as state
cadets.

The next term will commence on the ist day of No
vember, 1860; and all who present themselves in person
at the Seminary between the 29th day of October and
the ist day of November, with or without the formality
of a previous appointment, will be examined and, if
found qualified, will be assigned to rooms and classes
and at once enter upon their studies and duties. The
conditions of admission are: that each applicant shall
be between fifteen and twenty-one years of age, of good
moral character and free from any infectious or con
tagious disease; he must be able to read and write the
English language well, and to perform, with facility
and accuracy, the operations of addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division, vulgar and decimal frac
tions, and simple and compound proportion.

After admission a printed copy of the regulations
will be placed in his hands, and he will be required to
conform to them strictly. The greatest regularity in all
duties and recitations will be enforced, and every vio-

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 225

lation of the regulations will be punished by marks of
demerits, one hundred of which for a term of six months,
will be punished with dismissal. Any great disorder,
disobedience or other irregularity, endangering the hon
or, reputation or safety of the Institution itself, will be
followed by dismissal. But every facility will be af
forded to the obedient and studious cadet to obtain a
good education.

Each cadet will be expected to bring from his home a
good trunk, seven good shirts, four pairs of drawers,
seven pairs of cotton socks, two pairs of good shoes or
boots, six pocket handkerchiefs, four pairs of white
drilling pants, two pairs of white Berlin gloves, six
towels, one clothes brush, one hair brush, one tooth
brush, and one comb; also two bags for soiled clothing.
All of which should be indelibly marked. He will need
at the Seminary as an outfit to be paid for in cash: i
chair -$1.50, i single mattress - $4, i linen cover to
wrap the bedding- $1.15, 2 straps - $1.00, 2 pairs of
good blankets - $8.00, 2 pairs of sheets - $2.80, 2 pillow
cases - 60 cts., i feather pillow - $2.00, i looking glass -
75 cts., i water bucket -30 cts., i dipper -30 cts., can
dlestick and snuffers -$i, i uniform hat- $8; in all
say -$32. These articles may be brought from home
but will be at the Seminary for sale at cost prices, about
as above. They should last four years with care.

The expenses for a session of ten months are esti
mated as follows :

Board at $12 per month . . . $120.00

Washing at $2 per month . . . 20.00

Medical attendance and medicines . . I5-OO

Rent of fixed furniture . . . 5-OO

Uniform suit of cloth . . . 25.00

Fatigue suit of jeans . . . 17.00

Summer pants, vests, and jackets . . 21.00

226 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Two pairs of shoes . . . 10.00

Straw hat and cap . . . . 5 . 50

Text books and stationery . . . 30.00

Fuel . . . . . 12.00

Candles . . . . . 8.00

Tuition per annum . . . . 60.00

Absolutely necessary expenses . . $348.50

Experience shows that some Cadets will need other
things not enumerated above, such as postage stamps,
letter paper, matches, gloves, etc., but no cadet should
be allowed to spend more than $400 in any one year.
Each cadet should bring with him $35 for outfit, and
$200 for six months expenses in advance. Of this money
an accurate account current will be kept at the Semi
nary, each cadet having a pass book in which his own ac
count will be kept. There is no necessity for pocket
money; yet, if parents desire their sons to have it, they
are requested to advise the superintendent by letter to
allow at his discretion a moderate sum, not to exceed
two dollars per month ; for which a special deposit must
be made.

No cadet will be permitted to have money otherwise
than above, and it is positively prohibited by the regula
tions for cadets to apply for or receive money from their
parents, or to contract any debt whatever. All shop
keepers in this neighborhood are well acquainted with
this rule, and parents are requested never to pay such
bills, as cadets have no necessity to incur any debts in any
manner whatever, without the distinct written permis
sion of the superintendent.

The government of the institution is military, similar
to that at the Academy at West Point; but the course of
study has been selected with great care, and embraces
more of the classic languages and literature than is us
ually taught in military schools.

Louisiana State Seminary of Learning )

AND MILITARY ACADEMY.)

ALEXANDRIA, JUNE lo, 1S60,

SIR: I am officially informed that you have been appointed a State -Cadet in this Institution,
aad I hereby request that you will present yourself here in person, between the 29th and 31st of
October prepared to be examined on the 1st day of November for admission.

The qualifications for admission are: Age from fifteen to twenty-one years, of good moral char
acter, free from any coutageous or infectious disease ; you should read the English Language flu
ently and well, write a plain legible hand, and be able to perform with facility and accuracy the
operations of Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Vulgar and Decimal Fractions, Sim
ple and Compound Proportion ; and indeed to understand all subjects embraced in the ordinary
Books on Arithmetic. That of Davie*? is adopted as our standard, and it would be well for you
to procure it and study it well. You will be examined on the foregoing subjects, and will imme
diately enter on the regular course of study, begining with Davies 1 Algebra (Bourdon,) Geometry
(Xegrfdre) the French Grammar of Noel &lt;k Chapsal, the English Grammar by Noble Butler, and
the Latin Grammar by Rudiman. If these Text Books can be procured at home you will do well
to get them, and study them before coming here, as all such knowledge will be .so much gained,
and will be of marked advantage to YOU in your class.

Bring with you a good trunk, 7 good shirts, 4 pairs of draw
pairs of cotton socks, 2 pairs of good stout shoes or boots, 2 pairs
handkercheifs, 6 towels, clothes brush, hair brush, tooth brush, cc
ing, clothing well marked.

You will need here as an outfit 1 chnir Kl 50, 1 mattrass *4, 1 linen cover to wrap the bedding
in$l 15, 1 pair of leather straps $1, 2 pair of good blankets &s, 2 pair of sheets $2 80. 2 pillow
cases 60 cts., 1 feather pillow 2, ] looking-glass 7-3 cts., water bucket HO cts., dipper 30 cts., candle
stick and snuffers Si and 1 uniform hat &S, in all say 832. These must be paid for in cash, unless
brought from home.

The State will provide vou annually,

.$!20 00

rs of white drill pants, 7

Berlin gloves, fi pocket

bags for t-oiled cloth-

Summer Clotliing.
2 pairs of Sliofts".

Woori 1 j &lt;?.j

Candles ; 8 uO

TOTAL S283 IM&gt;

The appropriation by the Legislature for the two next years, nmcinits to 2*3 per annum for
each State Cadet, and the amount is distributed as above/ It is probable you -,nriy absolutely re
quire more clothing, and also that you should have other minor articles such as letter envelops,
postage stamps, ferry money when you go to church or for such like expenses and if possible you
should deposit with the Treasurer a small sum of moi.ey, say about Hiro, TO be disbursed b) - order
of the Superintendent for your account. The articles enumerated as outfit should hist four years.

No Cadet will be permitted to contract a debt without the written order of the Superintendent,
and parents are earnestly requests:! to recognize no such debts us the ^Merchants here Are well in
formed of this rule, and one of the chief objects of this Institution is to establish habits of order,
system and economy.

As soon as you are examined and admitted you will be placed in a room with three or four
other Cadets, provided in all r^-pects like yourself, a copy of our printed regulations will be

SHERMAN S INSTRUCTIONS TO STATE CADETS

placed in your hands and you will he required to conform to them with absolute strictness. Every
departure even in the slightest degree will be noticed, and will be marked with demerits accord
ing to its degree, and should your .number of demerits exceed one hundred in six months you Trill
tillable to dismission. In like manner any marked disobedience or disorderly conduct calculated
to impair the discipline or bring discredit on the Institution will be followed by a summary dis
mission.

If however yon come with an earnest desire to obtain a good education, you will find your pro
fessors indulgent, patient and forbearing. Your success must depend entirely on yourself, for yoar
teacher can only guide you in the right path to honor and fame.

This is peculiarly a State Institution. The Regulations encourage the practice of true Religion
and Morality, and will aid you in the enjoyment of your religious duties, but there are no Religious
Ceremonies connected with the Institution itself, and none can be compulsory. Ministers of the
Gospel frequently visit it, in which event Cadets are encouraged to attend, but when such is not
the case, the Cadets are permitted under proper restrictions to attend the Church of their choice
in the town of Alexandria, three miles distant. ,

The Cadets are organized into companies and drilled, the first year as Soldiers, and in srl/^cquent
years as Corporals, Sergeants, Lieutenants, Captains and Field Officers. The daily routine of
duties and discipline will be the same or similar to that of West Point, but our course of study
will embrace more of the Classic Languages and Literature than is usually taujjht in Military
Schools, however, this is not designed for professional Soldiers, but to train tip and prepare you
for the high duties of a good citizen.

If you oome, satisfied with this prospect, and are determined to reap the advantages thus afibrded
you by a generous State, you will find your course, though laborious, useful, honorable and pleas
ant, "but if you paint to yourself a less honorable course, you had better change your mind and
save the expense of a journey hither, and the cost of an outfit.
I am, with respect,

Your obedient servant,

W. T. SHEBMAK, Superintendent.

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 231

Daily marks are kept of each recitation. These are
consolidated quarterly, and a report thereof made to
each parent or guardian, with the number of dements
up to the end of such quarter and the state of the money
account.

Before the money deposited with the treasurer is
exhausted, the superintendent will make his requisition
on the parent for the amount needed for the remainder
of the term. It will be seen the institution receives no
compensation other than the $60 charged as annual tui
tion fee - all other moneys are simply held for the ac
count and benefit of the cadet, the institution keeping
an accurate account thereof, subject at all proper times
to the inspection of the cadet, his parent, or guardian.
The annual expenses are reduced to as low a figure as
possible and the actual amount to be expended by any
cadet will depend upon the care which he takes of his
books and clothing.

This is peculiarly a state institution. The regulations
encourage true morality and religion, and aid cadets
in the performance of their religious duties. But there
are no religious ceremonies connected with the institu
tion itself and none can be compulsory. Ministers of
the gospel frequently visit it, in which event, cadets are
encouraged to attend; but when such is not the case,
the cadets are permitted under the proper restrictions
to attend the Church of their choice in the town of Alex
andria, three miles distant.

All cadets are organized into companies and drilled:
the first year as soldiers, and during subsequent years
as corporals, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, and field
officers.

The text books for the first year are Davies s Univer
sity Arithmetic, Bourdon s Algebra and Davies s Le-
gendre s Geometry, Noel and Chapsal s French Gram-

232 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

mar, Noble Butler s English Grammar, Rudiman s
Latin Grammar, and Josse s Spanish Grammar. All
knowledge of these books acquired before coming here
will give a great advantage in the first organization of
the classes. W. T. SHERMAN, superintendent.

In June after hearing of Lincoln s nomination and the threat
ened split in the Democratic Party, Sherman wrote to his
brother John.

. . . Though Lincoln s opinions on slavery are as
radical as those of Seward, yet southern men, if they see
a chance of his success, will say they will wait and see.
The worst feature of things now is the familiarity with
which the subject of a dissolution is talked about. But I
cannot believe any one, even Yancey or Davis, would be
rash enough to take the first step.

If at Baltimore to-day the convention nominate Doug
las with unanimity, I suppose if he gets the vote of the
united South he will be elected. But, as I apprehend
will be the case, if the seceders again secede to Rich
mond, and there make a southern nomination, their
nomination will weaken Douglas s vote so much that
Lincoln may run in. The real race seems to be between
Lincoln and Douglas. . .

Now that Mr. Ewing also is out for Lincoln, and it is
strange how closely these things are watched, it is prob
able I will be even more "suspect" than last year. All
the reasoning and truth in the world would not convince
a southern man that the Republicans are not abolition
ists. It is not safe to stop to discuss the question: they
believe it, and there is the end of the controversy. . .

Of course, I know that reason has very little influence
in this world : prejudice governs. You and all who de
rive power from the people do not look for pure, unal
loyed truth, but to that kind of truth which jumps with

REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY 233

the prejudice of the day. So southern politicians do the
same. If Lincoln be elected, I don t apprehend resist
ance; and if he be, as Mr. Ewing says, a reasonable,
moderate man, things may move on, and the South be
come gradually reconciled. But you may rest assured
that the tone of feeling is such that Civil War and an
archy are very possible. . .

VI. THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST SESSION

Announcement of the annual examination. Braxton Bragg on Seminary
matters. Fourth of July celebration. Plans for closing exercises. Wine on
the professors tables. Politics and slavery again. Beauregard s plans for his
sons. Attempt to secure Bragg s Buena Vista battery and a supply of cadet
muskets. Rumor that the Seminary is a godless institution. The South would
prefer the devil to a Black Republican. Poor food at the Seminary. Sher
man demands control over professors and cadets. Professor Boyd placed in
charge for the vacation.

The correspondence of the last month of the session related
mainly to local matters. Sherman has less to say in letters to
relatives about politics and the negro question. Some rather im
portant matters relating to student discipline, the authority of
the superintendent, and the future policy of the Supervisors were
being discussed. The appointment of Supervisors opposed to the
view s of General Graham seemed to indicate a reversal of policy
which might embarrass Sherman. The latter, however, insisted
upon one thing only that he, as superintendent be vested with
authority over students and professors. This question was not
settled before the close of the session. The correspondence also
mentions preparations for the public exercises on the Fourth of
July and at the annual examination, plans for the vacation, and
matters relating to the Seminary finances, supplies, etc.

In the south it was customary to close the session of a school
or college with a formal public examination, which in its social
features corresponded to the present day commencement. The
following program for the Seminary examination w r as published
on June 23, 1860.

ADVERTISEMENT IN THE RED RIVER AMERICAN,
ALEXANDRIA, LA., JULY 7, 1860

ALEXANDRIA, June 23, 1860.

The annual examination of the Cadets at this institu
tion will take place on Monday and Tuesday, July 3Oth
and 3ist proximo.

236 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

The order of exercises each day will be as follows :
from 8 to 1 1 a.m., examination in mathematics ; from 1 1
a.m. to i p.m., examination in French and Spanish ; from
3 to 5 130 p.m., examination in English and Latin.

There will be a drill at 6:30 p.m., each day, terminat
ing with the usual dress parade at sundown.

From 8 to 1 1 in the evening there will be speeches,
declamations, and compositions.

The meals of the cadets will be served at the usual
hours, and one hour thereafter, viz: 2 p.m. and 7:45
p.m. dinner and supper will be provided by the stew
ard for all visitors who will give him previous notice.
The ferry boat at Alexandria will run till midnight, af
fording a good opportunity to all to honor us with their
presence at the evening exercises.

The parents, families and friends of the cadets and
the public generally are most respectfully invited to at
tend. W. T. SHERMAN, Superintendent

BRAXTON BRAGG TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LAFOURCHE, Thibodeaux, P.O., June 27, 1860.
MY DEAR GENERAL: Since yours of April I have
heard nothing from the Military Academy except from
one of the cadets. Yet I have hoped you were working
on smoothly and successfully. Much, indeed all, de
pends on an organization which will give a proper
working Board of Supervisors, near the institution, and
even then, a large discretion must be allowed your
superintendent and Academic Board. Discipline to
amount to anything must be firm, decisions prompt, and
their execution immediate and irrevocable, except in
very extraordinary cases. Hard cases arise under all
laws, and it is better to do some injustice than to break
down from laxity. This duty is the more difficult and

CLOSE OF THE FIRST SESSION 237

trying from the very loose system which prevails in our
southern society, and which has reduced parents to a
subordination to children. But you have a man in
Colonel Sherman who is admirably suited to initiate
and carry out such a system, at the same time that he will
temper it with good sense, moderation, and the best ad
vice. And I venture to predict that he will secure a
hold on the affections of his cadets which will make
obedience easy, and the discharge of duty a pleasure.

Not having heard the result of the election of vice-
president, I feel anxiety for your success - for, candidly,
I have no confidence in the capability of our friend Dr.
Smith. That he wishes success to the institution, I do
not doubt, but his notions are so crude, so impracticable,
so prejudiced, and he withal so ignorant of how to carry
them out, that failure must be the result of any power
placed in his hands. Last winter things were forced
through the legislature in spite of him, w r hen in reality
he considered himself the special champion of the cause.

In a few days I shall visit Baton Rouge on business,
and hope to see the governor. But I fear he is too much
of a friend of Smith to allow me any influence. The
only conversation I can recollect with Dr. Smith on the
subject of a Board of Visitors, was simply to advise
what I had already suggested to Governor Moore, the
appointment, or invitation of some "influential gentle
men from different parts of the state to attend the ex
aminations." I neither said nor intimated anything in
regard to myself, nor would I ever do so to any one in
regard to any office. I have done my share of public
duties in this life, and seek no more of them for honor
or profit. Yet I am always ready to do my share in the
advancement of a good cause and to fill my station as a
good citizen.

238 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I regret that I shall not be able to attend your first ex
aminations, as I leave for the Springs soon after my visit
to Baton Rouge. I predict that every unprejudiced
observer will acknowledge greater progress in the same
time, with the same means, than has ever been known in
the state.

If defeated in your place of administration, don t
give up. It must succeed in the end, and no one can do
as much as yourself for its ultimate triumph, or deserves
so much the honor of success. Remember me kindly to
Colonel Sherman. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

July 4, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL : My supply of official paper is run
ning low, and I take this sheet to tell you in a private
way that our celebration to-day passed off perfectly well.
The march by platoons from our usual parade ground to
the stand was handsome, arms were stacked, and cadets
seated. I had chairs enough for all ladies of whom the
attendance was really very fine.

The marshal, Taliaferro (vice Spencer quit), per
formed his part with modesty and propriety, the Dec
laration was read by Cushman in a clear, manly voice,
and the oration delivered by Cornelius gave general
satisfaction. Boyce 53 wants it for publication. At first
I thought best to advise adversely, but of course I knew
the speech before it was delivered and see no impro
priety in its publication. I think I will prevail on Cor
nelius to have it published. Of course I know full well
these are the mere ephemera of the hour, and next
week will seem stale, but it will be an advertisement, and
if good may spread beyond the circle of the Red River
American.

53 Editor of the Red River American. ED.

CLOSE OF THE FIRST SESSION 239

I will now set about for the examination. I know the
expectations of the public are too high and you must
wink at any little stage play. The professors must favor
their pupils at the examination, leaving us to grade them
honestly and strictly according to our knowledge of
their real progress.

As the Board has invited a public orator for the occa
sion, I want to know his name as soon as possible that I
may advise with him as to his preference. Public speak
ers are as fickle as young ladies. They prefer sometimes
out of doors to speak, some the length of the room, some
across the room, etc. As to the cadets I will study to
arrange for them to the best advantage. By a little man
agement to-day we have made a decided hit. I have the
regulations nearly done, amended pretty extensively.
If the Board want to revise them they must act, for
if they devolve on me any duty, my rule is to do it,
though I do it wrong. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, July 6, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL : I have received your note of yester
day with Colonel Bragg s letter which I have read with
great satisfaction. I had written him some ten days ago
urging him to come up if possible at our examinations.
I had no knowledge of course that he had been invited
to deliver an address. I think that will tempt him. He
writes, as you know, well and can speak his thoughts
clearly and with emphasis, the best kind of oratory, still
I don t think he has an ambition to be styled an orator.

Still if he do accept I will be more than pleased.
Though it will not be reasonable to expect too much of
us at our first examination, yet if the professors will use
some little discretion I have no doubt we can satisfy all.
As you will have learned our 4th passed off well. Not a

240 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

particle of noise, disorder, or confusion. Everyone
played his part modestly and well.

As our examinations will consume two whole days
and nights and as our benches have no backs, I have
taken the liberty to order twelve dozen chairs not to
cost more than twelve dollars the dozen, from New Or
leans. I could not procure with any certainty the hide
bottoms and have ordered wood bottoms - similar to our
mess hall chairs, which have lasted well, not one broken
yet. These chairs will do to sell to cadets next term. I
am fully authorized to do this by a resolution of the
Board, yet I should have procured your sanction first;
but I was not convinced of the pressing necessity till I
experienced the necessity. I will have them in time for
the examination.

I have never been to Bayou Robert since my first ar
rival and propose to-day to go down to visit Governor
Moore, Colonel Chambers, Mr. Ransdell, General
Bailey, etc., start this p.m. and return to-morrow. Gov
ernor Moore sent a fine lot of cake for the cadets and a
basket of wine for the professors. The former was
added to their stock and enabled them to set a nice table
for the ladies. The wine is untouched and I hardly
know how to dispose of it. I think it prudent we should
exhibit as little wine as possible in our rooms or table.
I have always paid and advised the professors to pay
largely toward the general hospitality, and thus far we
have done so without wines, except claret. Work on
house, fence, road, etc., progressing fast and I hope you
will get notice of the appropriations for houses and ap
paratus before examination.

I send you Bragg s letter and would write him again
if I thought his time would admit of his receiving my
letter. But he will have decided before I could get my

CLOSE OF THE FIRST SESSION 241

letter to him. If he do not speak, some member of the
Board [must speak]. I have official notice of twenty-
five state cadets, none from New Orleans yet.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, July 10, 1860.

. . . I feel little interest in politics and certainly
am glad to see it realized that politicians can t govern
the country. They may agitate, but cannot control. Let
who may be elected, the same old game will be played,
and he will go out of office like Pierce and Buchanan
with their former honors sunk and lost. I only wonder
that honorable men should seek the office.

I do not concieve that any of the parties would ma
terially interfere with the slavery in the states, and in
the territories it is a mere abstraction. There is plenty
of room in the present slave states for all the negroes,
but the time has come when the free states may annoy
the slave states by laws of a general declaration, but that
they will change the relation of master and slave I don t
believe.

All the congresses on earth can t make the negro any
thing else than what he is; he must be subject to the
white man, or he must amalgamate or be destroyed. Two
such races cannot live in harmony save as master and
slave. Mexico shows the result of general equality and
amalgamation, and the Indians give a fair illustration
of the fate of negroes if they are released from the con
trol of the whites. Of course no one can guess what the
wild unbridled passions of men may do, but I don t be
lieve that the present excitement in politics is anything
more than the signs of the passage of power from the
southern politicians to northern and western politicians.

The negro is made the hobby, but I know that north-

242 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

ern men don t care any more about the rights and hu
manities of the negroes than the southerners. At present
negroes work under control of white men and the con
sequence is the annual yield of $200,000,000 of cotton,
sugar, and other produce that would not be without such
labor; and so long as that is the case, I don t fear a
change in this respect. . .

P. G. T. BEAUREGARD TO W. T. SHERMAN

NEW ORLEANS, July 10, 1860.

DEAR MAJOR: ... I should like much to be
able to accept your kind invitation to attend your ex
aminations but my occupations and this intolerably hot
weather will not permit me to do so. I have no doubt
however that the result of these examinations will do
credit to your institution and be satisfactory to yourself
and assistants.

Not wishing to send money by mail and supposing
you would, for a like reason, prefer a check, I send one
herewith for $50 on the Bank of Louisiana, of which
one half is for my son, less the amount due by him or for
him and the other half for Mr. Reid s son for the pur
pose of bringing them home. Should young Proctor
have need of any I will send him some, for his father and
family have gone to the Virginia Springs for the sum
mer, where he is to go to meet them.

I have just succeeded in getting off from the superin-
tendency of West Point, where I was to have been or
dered this summer. The thing is delayed for one or
two years longer. 54

I am going to send you my youngest son Henry in
October next to be prepared for West Point; he will
stay with you two years nearly. I want him to do credit
to himself and honor to your Academy. So you must

54 Beauregard became superintendent of West Point for a short time in 1861.

-Eo.

CLOSE OF THE FIRST SESSION 243

have an eye on him. He has been appointed in Rene s
place a state cadet from the Parish of St. Bernard.
Rene will go back as an ordinary cadet. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY of Learning and Military
Academy, Alexandria, July 16, 1860.

DEAR SIR: ... I have had some correspond
ence with Cadet L s father, and have assured him
that I would lay before the Board his letter, asking that
his son be allowed to resign, instead of being reported
"Dismissed" or "Deserted." I explained to him the dif
ficulty as other cadets were similarly placed and the rule
must apply to all. It was by threatening Cadet L
that I obtained the constitution of the marauders, but he
knew full well that he was in no danger of dismissal for
the bucket affair. I suppose you have already been
troubled too much about it. Still I enclose along with
his letter the notes made by Mr. Boyd of the long con
versation that preceded L s going away. Of course I
shall oppose no resolution for clemency, only the truth
should be made "manifest."

I also enclose you a letter received last evening from
Colonel Bragg. I guess to secure that battery 55 we
must get an act of Congress. I have General Grivot s 58
promise but they forget promises sometimes and I will
again write to him. Governor Moore said to me that he
was satisfied we needed the muskets, and a resolution of
the Board now will be too late, as after the resolution
passes I will have no time to follow it up, for unless I
can get the official requisition I should not ask Colonel
Craig 57 to transfer to Baton Rouge the cadet muskets.

55 Bragg s Buena Vista battery. - ED.

56 Adjutant-general of Louisiana. ED.

57 Of the Ordinance Bureau. War Department. - ED.

244 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Cadet muskets you know are scarce and I doubt if
they are to be found except at Springfield, Mass. Now
we will need one hundred and fifty in December or
January next year, and that is the reason why I thought
it best to go to Washington, to get Colonel Craig to
transfer them south in advance.

Bragg tells me that the rumor that I oppose religious
observances here has found its way to his place. I am
not surprised when Mr D 58 himself takes upon him
self to advise gentlemen on steamboats not to send their
children here, if they value religion. He told me him
self he had done so. Now I have strictly adhered to the
rule we laid down, and have never denied a cadet the
privilege and facility of going to Alexandria every Sun
day, although I know some of them habitually abuse it.
But I will not argue the case with you, for I know that
this is one of the difficulties we have to contend with in
the future, and any rule the Board will lay down I will
execute honestly and fearlessly. I write to Bragg more
fully on the subject to-day. Of course all the professors
have been told that under the old and new regulations
they must ask of the Board of Supervisors leave of
absence. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO THOMAS EWING JR.

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY, Alexandria, July 22,

1860.

DEAR TOM : . . . The fact that Congress did not
admit Kansas must be a disappointment to you all, but
the certainty of her giving a Republican vote was too
much for a Democratic Congress, with the almost cer
tainty of the election going into the House. Down here

58 An Episcopal clergyman who was disappointed because Doctor Vallas,
also an Episcopal clergyman, was not allowed by the supervisors to preach
regularly in assisting D. at Alexandria and Pineville. - ED.

CLOSE OF THE FIRST SESSION 245

no one thinks of Lincoln. The struggle will be between
Douglas and Breckenridge ; the latter will win. . .

If Lincoln should win I don t know but that some
thing would turn up to my liking, but it won t do for me
to say Lincoln down here. The devil himself would be
a more welcome guest than a Black Republican, yet I
have no fears myself of the election of anybody; if our
form of government will not endure any man as presi
dent it is not a fit machine and should break up ; but of
course I know that no man would now disturb property
in slaves; as to the limitation of its sphere, that is com
paratively a small matter. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY, Alexandria, July 23,
1860.

DEAR GENERAL : Charles whom we sent for the mail
has just returned without the mail, but had your Sunday
letter which I have just read with great satisfaction.
The idea of our first examination without your presence
would have been truly the play of Hamlet without the
Prince, but as it is I am satisfied. I had already made
all the checks except that for Mr. St. Ange, who did not
apply for it because I suppose I told him I wanted all
persons to pay the Seminary their dues to the stores,
which in his case will take a good part of his month s
pay. I may be too severe a stickler in finance, but as I
view the case clothing, being sold without profit, is cash
and should not be allowed to stand on our books like a
store account.

I have every cadet s account made up to the cent. All
orders are stopped and this cash balance cannot be
changed. In actually paying Jarreau in checks I ex
ceeded your authority, but his bill necessarily entered

246 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

into all the cadet s accounts, and it was important these
accounts should thus be closed before the hurly-burly of
the examination. In two hours of Wednesday I can pay
every account and dismiss all hands. Whilst the exami
nation progresses the Board of Supervisors can pass a
few formal resolutions. One authorizing the publica
tion in Alexandria or New Orleans of three hundred
Registers. There is already a resolution authorizing
me to compile and have printed one thousand regula
tions. Professor Smith at my suggestion wrote his
uncle 59 and ascertained the cost of two thousand regula
tions to have been in Richmond $250. Ours is less in
volume, and ought not to exceed for one thousand copies
say $150, yet this expenditure had better be left blank.
I think a more compact volume would be neater and
more appropriate.

I have the regulations done in manuscript and bound
ready for the printer; would like you to examine it
though a large task; but it must be in print next No
vember for it is wrong thus to hold young men to
obedience to rules, imperfectly understood. Both Hil-
lan and Spencer want to come back in the fall, and we
might receive them on the ground of being "minors"
whose acts are incomplete without the ratification of
parents, and their parents both roundly disapproved
their course.

I have so written to Spencer s father, but said I could
not commit the Board, who might prefer a more strin
gent rule. I want you to frame some word - less harsh
than "deserted" or "dismissed" for such cadets, who
have simply quit. I am at a dead loss. "Deserted" is
all the word I know that tells the story, but it may be too
severe for this condition of things.

Very many of our cadets have diarrhea, owing they

59 F. H. Smith, superintendent of Virginia Military Institute. ED.

CLOSE OF THE FIRST SESSION 247

say to fritters and molasses for supper. They complained
so much of the melted butter, that Captain Jarreau
agreed to give fritters and molasses. These and melons
and fruit are causes enough. We have ordered toast and
tea for supper, and will discourage stale fruit and mel
ons. I hope they will recover this week. Otherwise
they may make a sorry appearance. I bear in mind your
suggestion to get Dr. Smith to have a resolution passed,
asking for the quota of [arms for] 1861. The govern
or s silence and that of his adjutant-general look to me
ominous.

I try to write plain, but it is no use. For so many
years I have had clerks to copy my letters hastily and
illegibly written that the habit is fixed, and I trust you
will not think my seeming haste is an intentional tax on
your sight and time. Where hard to read you can skip,
with the knowledge that you lose nothing.

The busy time of the annual examination is not described in
the letters. The session closed on July 30-3 1 with public exami
nations and a ball. Professor D. F. Boyd was then placed in
charge of the Seminary and Sherman went to his home in Lan
caster, Ohio, for a short visit before going to Washington and
New York on Seminary business.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

ALEXANDRIA, Aug. 2, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: I came in this morning with the
register complete and it is now in the hands of the
printer, with a promise that it shall be done on Satur
day ready for proof. I will be in again on Saturday to
prove the sheets, when there will be no further cause for
my delay, and therefore I will be ready to start north
next Tuesday.

I have had an interview with Mr. Manning and we
have gone over the regulations together. As Colonel, of

248 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

course I command in a military sense all commissioned
officers and cadets of the institution; as superintendent
also I should have equal control or command over every
person including the professors at the institution, sub
ject always to the resolutions of the Board of Super
visors. Else I cannot be responsible. This is the only
real point in which I find I differ with Mr. Manning,
and this radical difference must be solved by the Board.
Mr. M. tells me he has applied to the governor to call
the Board together.

I can leave the regulations to be forwarded to me at
Lancaster and I will have them printed at Cincinnati,
or you can have them done by Bloomfield and Steel in
New Orleans. But the regulations must be printed by
November i or I am done, for in every circular I have
made, this assurance was given that a copy should be
placed in the hands of every cadet on arrival. It was
my intention to have furnished one hundred suits of uni
form clothing and all those things, like paper, blank
books, etc., that I know will be needed next session, to
be here Nov. i, to be paid for out of the cadets money.

But the Board misunderstood my purpose. I have no
business at New York. To go there would cost me $150,
but I feel so desirous to start next session fair and well
supplied that I was willing to incur that expense. I
shall enclose all the requisitions of the several professors
for text-books, stationery, etc., with my statement of
articles required at the outset next session, to be by you
laid before the Board of Supervisors, that they may
make the necessary arrangements for the purchase. I
have been foiled in every attempt heretofore made to
get supplies of books and clothing here or at New Or
leans, but the Board of Supervisors better experienced
in such things may be more successful.

CLOSE OF THE FIRST SESSION 249

I beg to recall such part of my letter as refers to going
to New York, as it would be superfluous. I will never
theless go to Washington and try to secure the quota of
arms for 1860.

If you think my presence here necessary, I can delay
my departure, and I know you fully agree with me that
this question of supplies is far more important than is
generally supposed. All the professors look to me to
procure their supplies and I have so estimated that pro
fits just about cover the excess on hand. Cadets on ar
rival will need instantly near $8,000 of clothing, books,
stationery, and bedding. None of these need be paid for
till the cadets make their deposit, and the Seminary is
only out the surplus - and the profits of say ten per cent
ought to cover that.

Still this plan was the only one I could adopt. The
Board has never approved or disapproved and I have
gone on controlling the purchases and issues. I think
now the matter ought to be done formally. Resolve that
I shall do it, or that Robertson shall fill the estimates.
In the divided state of feeling in this country, it is best,
that business be done formally. Those views are ex
pressed to you that they may be communicated to the
Board which meets Aug. 13 by order of Governor
Moore, as I see by the letter sent to Mr. Manning after
I began this hurried letter.

I shall write more from the Seminary, to-morrow,
and will be here Saturday and Monday. I doubt if I
should leave before the Board meets, but my young folks
are most crazy and they are now looking for me. Still
duty first. If you think you can manage, it might be
well for me to be away, but I must have control over
professors. That is the point at issue.

250 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY, Aug. 5, 1860.

SIR: By virtue of authority vested in me by resolu
tion of the Board of Supervisors, I hereby delegate to
you all the authority and power thereby conveyed to me,
for the purpose of protecting and guarding the build
ings, fences, trees, grounds and property of all kinds
and descriptions belonging in any wise to this institution.
I beg you will enter into charge of the same and do all
things deemed by you proper to secure the end in view.

In the first place I hereby leave with you in checks
and money the sum of $780.42, being my exact cash bal
ance this day, as per cash book already deposited with
you.

The merchandise book, styled journal, has an inven
tory of merchandise on hand. The Seminary owns a
mule and cart, which with slave Henry, should be prof
itably employed in gathering firewood for the coming
session. Two boys, Dick and Manuel, can be em
ployed in cutting wood when not otherwise engaged.

This period of vacation is designed as the time for re
furnishing the building; as we have gone over it in per
son and noted down in writing the exact number of
tables, bookcases, and clothes presses needed, and as the
carpenters are actually employed in their manufacture,
I think I need say nothing further than that it would be
well to see that they keep well up to time, so that they
will surely be able to finish all in October.

The work under stairway should be well done.

All the boys are paid up to Aug. i , except Dr. Smith s
boy, and I will leave an amount and check for him.

I design to order merchandise from New Orleans
and New York, but will be here myself when it arrives.
Still should I be delayed, or should any come prema-

CLOSE OF THE FIRST SESSION 251

turely, store it in this large room, near the south end,
leaving this office end clear.

All cadets articles of furniture should be in the
Chemical Academy, and should be looked to occasion
ally, as thieves might rob them very easily.

The fact is your own judgment will be better than
mine in all things that may arise. All letters open - if
private, up to Oct. i, send me at Lancaster, O. ; if public,
answer, and copy your answers. Though your summer
stay here will be lonely, I hope it may be one of health
and comparative comfort, and surely I will remember
in the future your sacrifice to enable us to visit our
friends and families this summer.

VII. THE VACATION OF 1860: OHIO,
WASHINGTON, NEW YORK

Sherman goes to Ohio, Washington, and New York. His correspondence
with General Graham and Professor Boyd. Plans to bring family to Louisi
ana in October. Instructions as to work on the Seminary buildings. Politics
in Ohio. Arms and equipment for the Seminary secured at Washington.
National politics. The Seminary regulations are revised. Graham resigns.
Sherman disapproves of the changes. Books and instruments ordered in New
York. Graham criticises the conduct of Manning and Smith in Seminary
affairs. Professor Boyd s work at the Seminary. Boyd s views of politics.
A press notice of the Seminary. Preparations for the second session. Ship
ment of goods from the North. Difficulty of getting supplies to the Sem
inary. Shortcomings of the steward s department. Sherman explains his
objections to the revised regulations. White laborers from the North cannot
be obtained. Louisiana politics. Life in Ohio. End of the vacation. Sher
man returns to Louisiana.

The closing exercises of the Seminary attracted wide attention
in Louisiana and the authorities were well pleased by the favor
able impression created. The students were now dismissed to
their homes, the members of the faculty scattered, and Sherman
went north.

In his Memoirs [vol. i, 178] Sherman gives a brief ac
count of his movements during the early part of his vacation pe
riod.

Major Smith and I agreed to meet in New York on a
certain day in August, to purchase books, models, etc. I
went directly to my family in Lancaster, and after a few
days proceeded to Washington, to endeavor to procure
from the general government the necessary muskets and
equipments for our cadets by the beginning of the next
term. I was in Washington on the ijth day of August,
and hunted up my friend Major Buell, of the adjutant-
general s department, who was on duty with the secre-

254 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

tary of war, Floyd. I had with me a letter of Governor
Moore s authorizing me to act in his name. Major
Buell took me into Floyd s room at the war department,
to whom I explained my business, and I was agreeably
surprised to meet with such easy success. Although the
State of Louisiana had already drawn her full quota of
arms, Floyd promptly promised to order my requisition
to be filled, and I procured the necessary blanks at the
ordnance-office, filled them with two hundred cadet
muskets, and all equipments complete, and was assured
that all these articles would be shipped to Louisiana in
season for our use in the fall. These assurances were
faithfully carried out.

I then went on to New York, there met Major Smith
according to appointment, and together we selected and
purchased a good supply of uniforms, clothing, and text
books, as well as a fair number of books of history and
fiction, to commence a library. When this business was
completed, I returned to Lancaster and remained with
my family till the time approached for me to return to
Louisiana.

From Ohio Sherman corresponded with General Graham and
Professor Boyd. To them he writes in detail of his trip to the East
to secure Seminary supplies, of the political situation in the North
as it appears to him upon closer view, and of the striking contrast
between North and South as to crops and general agricultural
conditions. Boyd wrote to Sherman of conditions in Louisiana.
Graham s memorandum gives his view of the change of policy
which, it is evident, gives trouble to Sherman, whose authority
is considerably curtailed by the revision made in the regulations
after he left Louisiana.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LANCASTER, OHIO, August 12, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: I left Alexandria in the stage on

Tuesday morning, reached the wharf boat [at the

THE VACATION OF 1860 255

mouth of Red River] that night at i o clock, waited till
4 p.m. of Wednesday, when the fine boat William M.
Morrison came along in which we proceeded to Vicks-
burg by Thursday at 3 p.m., when we took cars to Jack
son [and] Cairo, reaching Cincinnati Saturday morning
at 7 130 o clock. It so happened that the train connected
with a railroad taking its departure at 7:45 from a de
pot west of the city, whereas the daily train of our Lan
caster road leaves the depot at the eastern end of the city.
Therefore we had no time to traverse the city in time
and I took my young charge 60 to the Burnett House.

Then I began a series of inquiries as to the quickest
and best mode of [reaching] my home, when I found in
the same hotel Mrs. Ewing, the old lady and her son
P. B. Ewing. After discussing the subject in all its
bearing I concluded to leave Miss Whittington at the
Burnett House, in the protection of Mrs. Ewing, to
spend this Sunday there and come here by the morning
quick train of Monday. Miss Whittington had been
travelling two nights in the cars and readily consented,
so I came up last night in the freight train arriving here
about day-light and finding all my people well and
hearty. They have been hanging on me all day, and I
have had them on horseback and chasing ever since din
ner, and have only stolen away for a few minutes to
write you this.

I am amazed at the change from the pinewoods to
this. I never saw such crops of corn, fruit, and vege
tables. Mr. Ewing says in his whole experience, which
goes back to the first settlement of Ohio he has never seen
such plenty. Orchards which had been barren for
eight years are now loaded with fine fruit, peaches,
grapes, melons, everything in wasteful abundance.

60 Miss Whittington, daughter of one of the supervisors. She was on her
way to Georgetown, D.C., to school. ED.

256 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Wheat and small grain are gathered and safe. Corn is
as fine as possible and beyond danger of any contingency.
Hay of all kinds will be so abundant that it must go
away for a market. This is not only true of Ohio, but
of all the states east of the Mississippi. May it not be
providential? May it not be one of the facts stronger
than blind prejudice to show the mutual dependence of
one part of our magnificent country on the other. The
Almighty in his wisdom has visited a vast district with
drought but has showered abundance on another and he
has made a natural avenue between. This is a grievous
fact- true it may advantage one part at the expense of
the other, but next year it may be reversed.

I find as much diversity in sentiment here in politics
as in the South - I shall keep aloof - only asserting that
whoever is elected, be it the devil himself must be en
dured for the time being. Nobody will be rash enough
to disturb slavery where it exists, and its extension is now
only a theoretical not a practical question.

In Cincinnati I found a publishing house that will
print us one thousand copies of our regulations for $105.
When the manuscript is revised I will send it down, and
follow it ten days thereafter to prove. I will bring them
along with me.

Miss Whittington will be here to-morrow, I will take
her to Georgetown [D.C.] on Wednesday. In Wash
ington I will see about arms, equipments, and munitions.
I will then go to New York and purchase books and
clothing on a credit payable after November - and have
them at Red River by Oct. 15. When I will meet them.
If the river be navigable all right -if not, such as are
absolutely necessary must be wagoned up and the rest
kept in store till navigation opens.

I will not bring my family till I know that the house

THE VACATION OF 1860 257

is done, and that Mrs. Sherman can bring with her from
Cincinnati carpets, curtains, and furniture complete.
Better this delay than the privation and confusion of a
house ill supplied. It is our duty to foresee necessities
and provide for them in advance. After my return
from New York I will write in full what I have done.
Mr. Ewing has just called to take me to ride and I must
close. He is as active now as forty years ago and I
would not be astonished if he would visit Louisiana next
winter when my family comes down.

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

LANCASTER, O. (Monday), Aug. 13, 1860.

MY DEAR FRIEND: I arrived here yesterday morn
ing, and found my family well. I left Miss Whitting-
ton in Cincinnati with Mrs. Ewing to rest over Sunday
and to come here to-day. On Wednesday I will go to
Washington, and on Saturday to New York, and as soon
as I make up my catalogue of books I will send it to you.
My chief idea in going to New York is to elect some one
person of good credit who can buy for us . . . such
books as any of us want. My only acquaintance with
booksellers now is of that general character that is
formed by dropping in and buying a single or couple
[of] volumes. This time I will come to clear distinct
terms as to purchase, commissions, credits, etc., same
with clothing, and same for hats, caps, and shoes. But
your five hundred dollars of books shall be purchased
absolutely, paid for and shipped in all September, and
I advise you to have prepared a case of shelves. The
textbooks must also be bought on a credit, and then they
can remain in their own boxes till issued and sold to ca
dets - same of clothing, shoes, hats, etc.

Now Red River will not be navigable by October 15,

258 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

and I foresee trouble, but trouble only stimulates my
endeavors. I will arrange that all purchases go to New
Orleans; if Red River be navigable October 15, then
these things to be shipped, if Red River be dry, then I
will want to hire five wagons at or near the Seminary, so
that on my arrival there I can conduct them to Snaggy
Point, or even the Mississippi River, and haul up those
things, such as bedding, textbooks, etc., which must be
on hand to the hour. Therefore, if about October i the
river be as now, unreliable, see Coats, or Baden the
cooper in Pineville, or some other of that class, and tell
them on my arrival October 15 I will want to hire five
wagons, and for them to be prepared for an offer.

Keep the carpenters well at the tables, bookcases, and
wardrobes, the woodcutters to their work, and I foresee
a plain easy beginning to our critical session.

It is utterly impossible to conceive of a wider contrast
than exists between the Pinewoods and where I now
am. Since the first settlement of Ohio, there has been no
season of such prolific yield as the present: wheat, oats,
hay, fruit, corn, everything have been or are perfect. I
never saw such corn fields; not a stack missing, high,
strong and well-eared. If I could transfer the products
of this county to Natchitoches I would prefer it to all
the mines of California. Horses and cattle roll with fat.
I hear this is the condition of things in all this region,
and God grant it may be one of the many causes to teach
men of prejudice and fanaticism of the beautiful rela
tion that should exist between parts of the same country.

The same diversity of opinion in politics exists here
as elsewhere, but Lincoln will doubtless carry this state,
partly from the diversion caused by the nomination of
the three adverse candidates, Douglas, Breckenridge,
and Bell. Mr. Ewing tells me he was consulted about
the organization of the Union Party. He advised it, but

THE VACATION OF 1860 259

against the nomination of a candidate- intending to
hold their strength in reserve, to be cast in favor of the
most national of the candidates of the adverse party. He
thinks this sentiment forced the Republicans to reject
Seward and take Lincoln, of whom he speaks in moder
ately favorable terms. My brother John is in the north
of this state, where a more violent anti-slavery feeling
prevails, and where a moderate conservatism would be
styled Dough-facism. Therefore he is radical. I shall
see him this summer, but can not expect to influence him.
Still, I know that even if Lincoln be elected, he will not
dare do anything hostile to any section. Political ma
jority has passed to the North, and they are determined
to have it. Let us hope they will not abuse it.

I saw Roelofson in Cincinnati, and though not entire
ly satisfied at my not going to London he had to say that
I had a right to be cautious of all new financial schemes.
He will go himself to London. I hope the Board of
Supervisors to meet at Alexandria to-day will not modi
fy materially my plans, but even if they do, I will exe
cute their plan another year, and if we find the mixed
system too weak for success, I feel assured they will
yield. If, however, they devise some impracticable
scheme I will be disposed to hesitate to risk my comfort
and reputation in a doubtful result. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sunday, Aug. 19, 1860.
DEAR MR. BOYD: I wrote you from Lancaster. I
left there last Wednesday reached here Thursday even
ing deposited my charge, Miss Whittington, in the con
vent same day, and have been two days well employed
here. I have a large acquaintance here, and was there
by enabled promptly to succeed in my undertaking of
getting arms for our institution - orders are already is-

260 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

sued for the shipment to Alexandria of 145 cadet mus
kets, making with 55 on hand 200- 10 long range min-
nie rifles, with sabre bayonets - 10 pistols for belts - 200
cartridge boxes, bayonet scabbards, belts, etc., for 200
cadets - 10 sergeant s swords and belts, 10 musicians
swords and belts and a whole lot of extra springs, screws,
etc., to keep all in repair. This will give us a good outfit
for 210 cadets, a number as great as we can hope for
some years to come. I did want ammunition but this is
not allowed by law, and I may provide some at New
York, wherewith to teach the practical use of these
modern long range weapons.

Of course politics here are on every tongue, but I keep
aloof. I notice a few facts, which to me are far more
convincing than any political platform or dogmas. All
the public buildings here are being built in a style of
magnificent proportions and development, which looks
like increasing rather than diminishing the proportions
of our country. All the hotels are cleaning and painting
ready for the usual winter influx of politicians. There
is no diminution in the price of property, rents, or even
of negroes.

You know that money is as sensitive as the mercury
and in Europe an ugly remark of Louis Napoleon will
affect stocks. So would any political event here, if peo
ple believed it -but nobody believes in a secession,
though they talk and write of it. Lincoln s chances of
election were very good, but two events have just tran
spired which to me look important. In New York the
Bell and Douglas parties have fused - and have made a
joint elective ticket, which can cast the vote of New
York for Douglas or Bell, as events may make neces
sary. Again Seward at Boston made another of his
characteristic speeches in which he renewed his asser-

THE VACATION OF 1860 261

tion of the irreconcilability of slave and free labor.
Now if Lincoln remains silent as he doubtless will, the
moderates will accuse him of thinking as Seward does,
whereas if he does, as he should, announce his belief that
our government as framed is harmonious in all its parts,
he will lose the Seward wing or faction.

There have been magnificent crops made in all the
Northern and Middle States and they will have in
abundance, corn, hay, flour, bacon, and those thousand
and one things needed at the South, and as this commer
cial dependence and exchange should, they no doubt
will have a good effect, in showing the mutual depend
ence of all the parts of this vast and magnificent country,
the one on the other. Whilst Lincoln loses strength in
the way I have stated, Breckenridge has lost vastly by
the vote of his own state, being so overwhelming against
him, and the press is gradually settling into identifying
him with a secession faction. Bet\veen this faction of
the South and Lincoln of the North, Bell or Douglas if
united as they have done in the New York may be elect
ed by the people and that gives us four years of peace,
during which I trust this ugly feeling of suspicion may
subside, a consummation devoutly to be wished. . .

To-morrow I will commence the purchase of books
and will fill out your list first. I will then see to cloth
ing and make such arrangements that in the future we
can order as we need and have the means of payment. I
wish you would keep me advised at Lancaster, Ohio, of
the progress of things. In boxing up the space under
the stairway, have a double bolted door made to fasten
to an upright stancheon, which can be taken out -this
will be necessary, as we must store there large boxes,
which will require a large opening. Please also have
the space E of the hall boxed up for a guard room. We

262 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

will need that for storage at first. In all November we
will have a good many stores to receive, distribute, and
issue. Your book case you will need in October, as I
will direct the shipment of books in September.

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

LANCASTER, OHIO, Aug. 30, 1860.

MY DEAR FRIEND : I am just in receipt of your letter
of 1 8th and Mr. Manning s enclosing the amended regu
lations, which I have just put up for the publisher in
Cincinnati. I must send them off at once, and follow in
ten days to prove them. Your experience with the reg
ister will show you that it is no easy task and it will take
a slice off my visit home. One reason why I wanted
them with me was because I was in New York a week,
during which I could have had them printed and
proved. Whereas now after traveling three weeks at
heavy personal expenses, I must allow for a week at
Cincinnati.

Of course I submit to a decision of the Board of
Supervisors with as good a grace as possible because
they have a right to govern according to their judgment.
I think they mistake in giving the Academic Board, in
its capacity as such, the trouble, labor, etc., of a stand
ing court, because this in time might easily and well
have been devolved on Assistant Professors or even ca
dets, to take and record testimony. Whereas now on
every little muss the whole Academic Board must sit.
As to limiting my power, at the same time it limits my
responsibility, and I can let things slide and take care of
themselves. But the truth is that these changes are made
not for the good of the institution, but because there is
a scramble for the honors supposed to be coming out of
its success, and in that scramble they may lose the prize
itself. Well I will have the regulations printed and

THE VACATION OF 1860 263

will do what I can to enforce them, but of course my
interest is materially lessened in its success.

I bought your books in New York and paid five hun
dred dollars. I had some bought in paper and will have
them bound in uniform style. There will be over four
hundred volumes, and substantially cover your list. I
made such arrangements that we can order other books
as we need them, the price to be governed by catalogue
and discount according to time of payment. New York
is booming full of people, and I got away lest I should
be tempted to run hopelessly in debt. I could have spent
fifty thousand dollars in books easier than five hundred
dollars. I will enclose with this a list of books bought
for you. Smith was there and made arrangements so
that when Red River rises he can buy his books and
chemicals and have them sent out.

I did the same for my books and instruments, but
your books and all text books I ordered to be shipped by
October i, and if need be they must be hauled up from
Red River mouth. I don t mind Frank s 61 running off -
he can easily be replaced, though I do want to econo
mize by having the drummer as clerk, for it is physically
impossible for me to do the writing- though it will
have to be as large again as last year. My brother John
will be here to make a Republican speech tomorrow
and will spend Sunday with me. From him I shall
learn the secrets of their party, of course they will
carry Ohio, as the Republicans have made the question
very narrow, strong, and no slavery for the territories.

I could tell you a thousand little things of interest
here but truly I have been a little troubled with the re
flection that I have another year of doubt and uncer
tainty before me. I know that you are so full of zeal to

61 An employee at the Seminary ED.

264 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

enlarge the sphere of your duties, that you will not be
disposed to bother yourself with the duties of others, but
you know others are not so well disposed.

I will surely return, but feel some scruples about my
family, as it will involve a good deal of expense. Gra
ham s ceasing to be vice-president will also make it more
difficult for me, as the Board does not act in reason to
me. Whenever I act and any family is offended they
effectively reverse me. They yield to any outside pres
sure - and yet relieve me from none of the duties of
treasurer, clerk, quartermaster, storekeeper, and general
drudge, for which I was not employed. This is true
and yet Manning writes me of the great confidence they
have in me officially and individually. They feel that
they can use me as they choose. Maybe - excuse this
growl - I ll write you a letter from the sunshine and rich
fields of Ohio in a day or two.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LANCASTER, OHIO, Aug. 30, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: I wrote you and Mr. Whittington
from Washington of my entire success in procuring a
full and ample supply of arms. Thence I w r ent to New
York, where Smith joined me from Norfolk and there
I purchased clothing for next term, books for Mr.
Boyd s library, text-books, and very little for my de
partment of engineering. These will not be needed for
some time, so I confined myself to selecting instruments,
books, etc., with prices so that I can order them, with
a foreknowledge of cost. I left New York on Sun
day arrived here Tuesday and yesterday, Wednesday,
received from Mr. Boyd the budget of regulations
amended.

I was in hopes that the Board would forbear another
year, and if we had failed to realize our promises, that

THE VACATION OF 1860 265

then the change would be applied, whilst admitting our
entire success, they clip my wings, and make me occupy
the unhandy position of servant to the Board of Super
visors, and Academic Board at the same time. I know
well your opinion, but regret that you saw proper to
resign the vice-presidency, because the Board will con
fer it on some one else, who may still further complicate
two incompatible systems into one, and make a hotch
potch that may not only defeat the original design, but
bring reproach on all connected with it.

Nevertheless I will have these regulations printed
and will come down in October. I feel more embar
rassment on the score of the removal of my family. I
shall not attempt it till I know that Red River is navi
gable, for I must procure furniture and supplies for the
new house. These will cost me near two thousand dol
lars, a sum I cannot afford to risk at this era of my life.

Manning s letter to me expresses great confidence in
my administration, but you know that a simple para
graph of the regulations changed may initiate an im
practicable system 62 that no one man can enforce, and
that sooner or later may result in my downfall. Of
course as a prudent man I ought to look ahead as far as
possible. I doubt if the cadets would submit to Val-
las s government, though some native of Louisiana
could steer the middle channel now adopted better than
I can. Vallas has a way of hinting and insinuating
that is peculiarly offensive, and I doubt if Smith will
teach a class under him. If Vallas has no assistance,
and Smith refuse to teach a class under Vallas, we will
be at a dead lock the first day of our next session.

62 The regulations were amended for the purpose of giving the faculty more
independence of the superintendent as well as a voice in the control of academic
affairs and in matters of discipline. Dr. Vallas was the principal advocate of
this policy. ED.

266 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

My wife and children are all well and comfortably
placed, and I hate to move them, though Mrs. Sher
man having despaired of my ever living here at Lan
caster is willing to go south. . .

The following memorandum or rough draft of a letter or
speech was found among General Graham s papers after his
death. It gives his views of the changes which Sherman mentions
in the letters printed above. It was probably written when the
amendments to the regulations were being considered.

MEMORANDUM BY G. MASON GRAHAM

[Summer of 1860]

Mr. Manning s whole course of conduct, his verbal
profession to the contrary notwithstanding, shows a deep
rooted hostility, embittered by personal pique, to the
military government and character of this school. To
the superintendent he seems to have a badly concealed
personal, sectional, political antipathy. I have tried
to shut my eyes to this, and to think differently, but the
conviction is irresistible. The sneering tone and manner
in which he said to me last winter, when I submitted to
his inspection my draft of an act for the organization
and government of the Seminary as a State Military
Academy, "he is to be a Colonel, is he!" was alone
enough to satisfy me of this, without the one thousand
other evidences that he has given.

How inconsistent with the dignity, gravity, caution,
and circumspection which should surround him in his
character, as a member of the Board of Supervisors, is
his boasting declaration in the Board, that he had ad
vised Dr. Vallas orally, and in writing, to disobey an
order of the superintendent, thus striking at the very
roots of all government, of any kind whatever, in the
institution ! And then telling us that he had that morn
ing insulted Dr. Vallas for not following his advice.

THE VACATION OF 1860 267

His added remark that now that he had found he was
wrong he must apologize to Dr. Vallas is no palliation
for so total a want of every attribute becoming a mem
ber of the Board of Supervisors. His declaration that
he was ignorant of the existence of the regulation under
which the superintendent issued the order to the pro
fessors which he advised Dr. Vallas to disobey, is no
palliation.

It is his duty to know the regulations. He had the
regulations in his possession for more than a month last
winter, when he took advantage of my courtesy and con
fidence in placing them in his hands for his perusal, and
refused to deliver them up when I wrote to the super
intendent to call on him for them for the purpose of
taking them with him to New Orleans . . . to have
printed ready for the use of the school on ist January
last.

So far from apologizing to Dr. Vallas, as he had
said in the Board he should have to do for speaking to
him so insultingly as he said he had done in the fore
noon, I am informed by gentlemen who were on the
outside of the hall, that on the night of 3ist July that he
spoke to both Dr. Vallas and the superintendent in re
gard to matters pending before the Board in a most im
perious and dictorial tone and manner, amounting in
the whole to a prohibition to them to take any further
step in regard to those matters in opposition to his wish,
although all that they had done was simply in compli
ance with instructions to them from the Board of Super
visors. But as Mr. Manning was not present at the ses
sion of the Board at which these instructions had been
given they had not received the imprimatur of his sic
volo, sic jubeo.

As to Mr. Manning not understanding the impro-

268 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

priety of his course towards Dr. Vallas until after he
was in the session of the Board on Tuesday afternoon, he
was first met on his arrival there on Monday forenoon
by another professor to whom he expressed his surprise
at seeing him in his uniform. That professor explained
to him the authority of the superintendent for issuing
the order to the professors to wear their uniform at the
examination, and the propriety of their doing so. Mr.
Manning and myself had had a similar conversation at
his office several days before. So that he understood
the whole thing [before] he met Dr. Vallas, and before
he came into the session of the Board on either Monday
or Tuesday afternoons - and it all only strengthens my
conviction that the whole thing was only intended as a
lever with which to impair the authority, influence, and
usefulness of the superintendent with a view to produc
ing as soon as possible a dissolution of his connection
with the institution, and the overturning of its practical,
utilitarian, and military character, and establishing on
its ruins a high sounding program for a grand university
of empty halls, for that programme requires a larger
acquaintance with Latin and Greek before a young man
can enter it, than the most of our southwestern young
men have acquired when they leave college.

Dr. Smith has never concealed his opposition to the
military character of this institution, but only relaxed
it under the influence of a conviction of its popularity.
He has said openly "it will break down in a year or two,
and then we ll take hold of it and make something out
of it." The fullest meeting of the Board that we have
ever had has after ample discussion, declared with only
two dissenting voices that this shall be "a Literary and
Scientific Institution under a Military System of Gov
ernment on a Programme and plan similar to that of the

THE VACATION OF 1860 269

Virginia Military Institute at Lexington." The people
of the state have sanctioned, and the legislature has rati
fied it.

Doctor Smith and Mr. Manning have both admitted
to me that they believed it was the popular idea. Is it
right in them then - shall they be permitted to continue
to pursue this step-father course towards this institution
of undermining it in this stealthy manner by giving it
every side blow that their position enables them to inflict
on it? For I warn gentlemen now, who desire to main
tain the present character of the school, but yet who may
be carried away by other considerations to vote for these
measures, that that will be the inevitable result of them.
Let them not then say hereafter that they would not
have voted for them if they had thought that such would
be the result. I tell them now that these are but the
entering wedge, blow after blow on which will be struck,
until the present superintendent of the institution is
driven from it, the friends of its present form of govern
ment around this Board either entirely withdrawn, un
der the influence of that power behind the throne which
is so manifestly anxious to have itself considered greater
than the throne itself, or else reduced to so helpless a
minority as to form no obstacle to the designs of its step
fathers on this institution. .

But I have too much confidence in the present govern
or of the state not to hope and believe that he will not
countenance any measures calculated to frustrate the
wish of the people, or to impair the usefulness to them
of this institution. I claim as much right to speak to
and of the present governor as any other man in the
state - all my interests are in it - my manhood s life has
been spent here, my children are born here -what of
property I possess has been acquired here. On another.

270 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

but in my estimation inferior, score I claim to stand in
that respect on a footing of perfect equality with any
other citizen of the state. I voted to place him in his
present position, and I recommended every other man
that I could to do the same thing. I have known him
longer, with one exception, than any other member of
this Board -for thirty-one years I have watched his
course with kindly interest, and there is no man in the
state who feels less unpleasantly than I do at the success
and prosperity with which a kind providence has re
warded the exertion of his energies. I repeat then that
I have too much confidence in the present governor to
believe that what I am satisfied are the misguided de
signs of Dr. Smith and Mr. Manning in regard to this
institution, will meet with his approbation, and I trust
that the members of this Board will not suffer them
selves to be influenced by any outside considerations to
vote for measures of so fatal a tendency to the success
and the usefulness of this institution. . .

Professor Boyd who was left in charge of the Seminary dur
ing the vacation made frequent reports to Sherman. The fol
lowing letter is selected as typical.

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY of Learning and Military

Academy, Alexandria, Aug. 30, 1860.
SIR: . . . Altho nothing new has transpired
here, still I had better drop you a line to say that every
thing is going on well. Floyd has nearly finished the
tables, and I think there is no doubt of his making, in
proper time, all the shelves or presses, and also fixing
the stairway. He has worked faithfully since you left.
I will see, too, that Mills fixes the partitions. He is
now busily at work at the professors houses, and though
he seems a little behindhand with them, he can still com-

THE VACATION OF 1860 271

plete them in time. You know that carpenters have had
a poor chance to get lumber this summer, as the drought
and scarcity of water have stopped what St. Ange calls
the sewing machines.

I have kept the negro boys constantly getting wood,
within your Seminary enclosure. A good deal has been
cut and hauled, but the timber is so heavy that you can
scarcely miss it. I have perhaps had cut down more of
the pine trees than you wished, and I believe it would
be well to cut them all down at once. In the winter we
occasionally have some terrific blows, and when once a
pine forest has been thinned out, it is so easy for those
left standing to come down. Ledoux and Poussin of
fer to hire a boy apiece. What say you? I think they
might be profitably employed.

Cooper has not yet put up the chimneys, as you direct
ed, but he makes such a fair promise that they will be
fixed soon, that I am inclined to wait with him a little
longer. Have no fears about them, for either he shall
fix them or they shall be run up with sheet iron.

I have bargained with a carpenter to put up my book
case, and it shall be ready. By the way, we have com
menced begging for books, maps, etc., for a library.
Can t you do something in Ohio? How do you think
it would do to have a circular letter printed and sent
over the state, calling on the public to send us all books
and specimens of minerals and fossils that they can
spare? If you write a short letter to that effect in your
capacity as superintendent, I think I could get it printed
in Alexandria free of charge, and it might meet with
much success.

Politics is beginning to wax pretty warm. Bell s
prospects are brightening fast, and there is no doubt of
his carrying this state. My own impression is (and I

272 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

am sorry to say it) , that Breckenridge will carry but one
Southern State, and that is South Carolina. Nor would
he carry that state if the vote were submitted to the peo
ple. Bell s party is very strong all over the South, and
even Douglas has many more supporters than the blind
advocates of Breckenridge can see. Whilst I deprecate
the unfortunate split at Charleston and Baltimore, and
think the territorial question entirely illtimed, still as
the issue has been thrust upon us, and I believe Breck-
enridge s views to be correct although they may never
meet with a practical application, I shall vote for him.
If we who approve his views fail to support him, then
the people of the North would say that the South disap
proves those views, when really a large majority of us
think it hard that there should be any law which either
expressly or impliedly denies us equal rights with our
northern brethren to the common property of the whole
union. We don t wish to appear on the statute books as
inferiors.

I am beginning to think that Lincoln will not be elect
ed. If he should be, there is no telling what trouble we
may have. I do not believe any state will formally
secede, but disunion might be brought about in many
ways. In many places in the South, whoever accepts or
hold office under Lincoln will be lynched. He (Lin
coln) will of course attempt to enforce the laws; that
attempt will be resisted, and once the strife is begun
God only knows where it will stop. What is the use
of that Republican Party? As you say, slavery will
always go where it pays, in spite of Sewardism, and it
will never go where it does not pay, in spite of Yancey-
ism. Let the law of nature say you shall not take your
slave here or there, but let not a clause of the Consti
tution, or an enactment of Congress, say it. It then

THE VACATION OF 1860 273

becomes a threat hurled by one section at the other, and
threats ill-become the people of a union. But whatever
be the result of the election, let us hope there will be no
disunion. Rather, like Governor Wise, radical as he is,
let us settle our troubles in the union and not out of it.

The burning of the towns in Texas has produced much
excitement here, and a negro was arrested near Nacog-
doches, Tex., who said that among other towns to be
burnt soon was Alexandria, La. ; consequently a guard
is stationed to watch for the coming incendiary, and no
doubt Bootjack (Biossat) and Co. 63 will be much disap
pointed if he doesn t make his appearance. . .

I have received several letters making applications
for admission of cadets, and others asking for informa
tion. General Graham s unfortunate publication last
fall - that only five could be admitted from each sena
torial district - is still injuring us ; and we have no money
with which to advertise, I begged Boyce to publish in
his paper next Monday an article enlightening the pub
lic on that point, muskets, etc., with the request that all
the city and parish papers publish it, and he promised
to do his part. . .

[P.S.] The crops here are almost a total failure.
Very little corn and sugar, and only about one-third the
usual crops of cotton will be raised. Suppose there is
disunion, will they keep all the corn north of Mason s
and Dixon s fence? . . . Don t think of the river
being in boating order in October. I will see to the
wagons.

From the Alexandria [La.] Constitutional, September, 1860,
the following notice is taken. It was written by General
Graham who prepared most of the press notices of the Seminary.

We are informed that Col. Sherman has succeeded

63 Editors of local newspapers. ED.

274 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

in procuring at Washington a large number of minnie
rifle-muskets made especially for the use of cadets, to
gether with other arms and accoutrements, so that he can
now fully equip a corps of two hundred and fifty cadets.

That looks like getting the sons of Louisiana ready for
any emergency of Civil War or servile insurrection that
may arise; the thanks of the people of the state are due
Colonel Sherman for his promptness and efficiency, not
only in this important matter, but in everything that
pertains to the good of the Seminary.

We also learn that steps are being made to secure
Bragg s famous "Buena Vista Battery," which gave the
Mexicans "a little more grape," and the presidency to
General Taylor. Colonel Bragg generously offers to
purchase it for the Seminary if the authorities at
Washington can be induced to part with it. 64

While speaking of the Seminary, we should correct
a wrong impression in regard to the admission of cadets
for next session. It is generally believed that no one can
be admitted who has not obtained, before the beginning
of a session, a special appointment from the superintend
ent; this is not so. The session commences the first of
November, and anyone between fifteen and twenty-one
years of age, with a knowledge of the primary English
branches, who presents himself in person at the Semi
nary may be received as a cadet. . .

We will also warn the public not to judge of the course
of study by that of any other military institution, where
very little attention is paid to literary studies. The
Board of Supervisors of the Seminary being firmly of
the opinion that a thorough study of language is the one
of the best means of mental discipline and development,
has determined that every facility shall be given for lit-

64 The battery was not obtained. ED.

THE VACATION OF 1860 275

erary culture. Hence there will be taught a very ex
tensive course of ancient and modern languages. . .

The regulations as revised by the Board of Supervisors were
sent to Sherman who had them printed in Cincinnati. The sup
plies purchased in the East were sent by water to New Orleans
for transportation shipment up the Mississippi and Red Rivers.
The correspondence of September and October relates mainly to
the preparations being made for the approaching opening of the
second session.

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

LANCASTER, O., Sept. 7, 1860.

DEAR BOYD : I am still here, but already a little tired
at "nothing to do" and therefore for want of better em
ployment I begin to imagine all sorts of troubles to be
encountered and overcome the coming year. I will en
deavor to meet the books and clothing in New Orleans,
and if the river be navigable, all right; if not, I will
bring them up to Snaggy Point, or even the mouth, and
then arrange to haul. The bedding will be bulky, books
heavy, and clothing so so, and if all reach New Orleans
when I calculate we can make good load.

The regulations are in the hands of the publishers in
Cincinnati and instead of pitching in, they, of course,
write back for some minor instructions about eight dol
lars and twelve dollars. The result will be I must go
down and stay there during the printing.

I have heard a good deal of political speaking, and the
conclusion at which I have arrived is that whoever is
elected will be installed and forthwith will be renewed
the war of secession. The nigger is a blind, and though
all the politicians pretend to believe in a crisis, they
know it is all humbug.

I was over yesterday to see Blondin walk his rope in
a neighboring village. There was an immense crowd

276 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

and Blondin walked his rope, eight hundred feet from
steeple to steeple, right over the housetops and streets.
At Cincinnati or Orleans I will try and get a succes
sor to Frank but I suppose we had best train some
darkey, because boys are restless and overestimate their
importance. I could get a host of them here, but if acci
dent befall them as was the case with some I took to New
Orleans in 1853, the parents [would] have a feeling
against me.

F. W. SMITH TO D. F. BOYD

NORFOLK, September 9, 1860.

MY DEAR BOYD : Your letter was received today and
though much of its news has been anticipated by ad
vices from Sherman . . . I think if I did not intend
giving myself the pleasure of a charming drive this af
ternoon, with a still more charming young lady, I would,
for want of nothing else to do, work myself up into a
muss. But that would rumple my shirt collar, so I will
even answer you very coolly, viz :

Your kind proposition about assisting Vallas your
self, I cannot allow myself to entertain for one moment.
In the first place, you would transfer part of your class
to me and thus break that unity of mode of instruction
so necessary to those in the same class. And really too
I am but little prepared to conduct any but your lower
classes. Indeed I thank you very much and appreciate
the disinterested kindness of your offer ; but I think your
other idea far preferable. I would therefore pre
fer ... that, if the Board deem that the finances
of the institution do not justify the employment of an
assistant to Vallas, and if they deem it right that I should
take some class or other, that they will, for the coming
session, attach to my chair the "Branch of Natural Phi
losophy." This branch will be confined to those of last

THE VACATION OF 1860 277

year s class who will be passed to the third class of 60-
61. This will give me, in connection with my duties
as commandant and a barely possible chance of a small
chemistry class, fully my share of work. If further
assistance is still needed, I will take any class, which the
Academic Board may see fit to give me. I will not
specify what that class may be. The Academic Board,
as fixee of the course of study, should best determine.
Please do not let General Graham make this proposition
to the Board as coming from me; he may state, if he
pleases my concurrence in it. My reason for not offer
ing any assistance is simply this : I have no official right
to know that my services will be needed, as at the time
I left the Seminary, it had been decided that two assist
ants should be appointed, the only question being as to
their mode of appointment. Our weather cock board
has changed all this since I left, and I do not choose to
let my services or my offer of such follow their vagaries.
General Graham and yourself both know my willing
ness to assist the Seminary in any proper way. I have
assisted Vallas, I would cheerfully and willingly assist
you, I have helped Sherman. I even offered to help St.
Ange until he informed me that he was Professor of
Tongues. . . I am only repeating my willingness to
do what I can, though I do not profess to say that I
prefer doing that to confining myself to my own depart
ment. You can let General G. see this letter, and he
may do what he thinks best. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

LANCASTER, OHIO, Sept. 16, 1860.

MY DEAR FRIEND: I came up from Cincinnati last

evening, whither I had gone to prove the sheets of our

regulations of which I will have one thousand copies

fifty of which with a blank leaf at the end of each arti-

278 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

cle, so that amendments may be made and noted as they
arise. I will not have them bound but covered with
stiff paper. I doubt if I can send any till about the ist
of October when or soon after I will have all boxed
and shipped from Cincinnati to New Orleans, where
about October 15 I will meet them and our other stores.

By the way on my arrival last night I found your let
ter of September 3, which put me in possession of a cor
rect knowledge of the status of things on that day, ena
bling me to prepare: the bedding, 80 mattresses, cases,
etc., 500 volumes of books, 1000 of text-books, arms, ac
coutrements, etc., about 8 boxes of 150 Ibs. each, etc., will
have to be transported up before November i. The
clothing can follow. If Red River be dead low as you
say and on my arrival at New Orleans my information
confirm it, I will write you to hire from four to five
wagons under one leader if possible, to meet me at the
mouth [of Red River] on a certain day say about the
2Oth, with my horse all saddled, when I can load the
wagons and conduct them to the Seminary. See Coats
and agree on a price per hundred pounds, but don t close
a bargain till the last moment. Baden who has the
crapshop in Pineville has a fine team and wagon, the
very thing for a load of mattresses.

We have hit on an unfavorable year- low river, un
defined powers, unfortunate political crisis, unlimited
expectations on the part of the community, but all these
must only stimulate us to more strenuous exertions. I
know this year will decide our fate, another the fate of
the institution confided to us, and I will give it all my
best energies and experiences, but I confess the combin
ation of ill influences are calculated to damp my ardor.

I cannot take my family from their present comfort
able and bounteously supplied home, for those desolate

THE VACATION OF 1860 279

pine woods, but I will try and cause the coming session
to pass off as smoothly and harmoniously as the past,
which can only be done by making the studies and duties
flow in an uninterrupted current, from the first to the
last day of the session.

J. has not the requisite energy and I fear he will be so
cramped with debt as to impair what little efficiency he
does possess. His department is all important, but as I
regard it, he is independent of me. He is steward by
lawful appointment. I am only as superintendent or
kind of supervisor. "Supervision" is the word, and if
any failure occur in his department, I shall claim to be
absolved from all responsibility. By a personal intro
duction to my personal friend in New Orleans, I gave
him credit, which I fear he has abused, and it shall not
occur again. I cannot incur personal liability in that
manner again.

I think the three boys can get out enough wood for the
winter and if the fallen timber encumber the ground too
much we can make heaps or burn it up, so as to be ready
next spring for embellishment. I will try to have one
or two white boys for drummer and fifer who can clean
the section rooms, tend the lamps, and do some writing.
I have not got them yet but will try at Cincinnati and
New Orleans on my way down. I could get them here,
but I feel a delicacy in taking white men from here lest
they should excite undue suspicion.

I admit I am uneasy about political causes or rather
local prejudices. Reason can be combated, but suspicion
cannot. Here I must resist the opinion that the South
is aggressive, that they have made compacts of compro
mise of 1821 and 1850 which are broken and slavery
made national instead of local - in the South that the
North are aggressive endangering southern safety and

2 8o SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

prosperity, both factions argue their sides with warmth
and an array of facts, that is hard to answer and I must
content myself with awaiting the result.

I send you a speech made by my brother John in
Philadelphia a few days ago. I heard him here and
had much talk with him, and he told me he should pre
pare his speech for Philadelphia with care and stand by
it. Therefore this speech is the Republican view of this
section of the Confederacy.

An unexampled prosperity now prevails here and it is
a pity that so much division pervades the Democratic
Party, as it enables the Republicans to succeed. Even
Bennett s Herald admits the probability of Lincoln s
success. But I would prefer Bell to succeed because it
would give us four years truce, but I fear it is not to be.
But I am equally convinced that Lincoln s success would
be attended with no violence. He is a man of nerve, and
is connected by marriage and friendship with the Pres-
tons of Kentucky and Virginia, and I have no doubt he
will administer the government with moderation. No
practical question can arise, whereby men of the South
would be declared on the statute book as unequal to their
northern brethren. There is now abundant slave terri
tory and we have no other land fit for it, but Texas, and
that is all slave territory by treaty.

If we go to Civil War for a mere theory, we deserve
a monarch and that would be the final result, for you
know perfectly well the South is no more a unit on that
question than the North - Kentucky and Carolina have
no sympathy. I heard Leslie Combs speak at Circleville
a few days ago, and his language would have been Re
publicanism in Carolina. He has been elected clerk by
twenty-three thousand majority in Kentucky.

In Ohio here we have all sorts of political parties and
clubs, but it is admitted that it will vote the Republican

THE VACATION OF 1860 281

ticket. My brother has no opposition at all in his dis
trict, and is therefore helping others in Pennsylvania
and New Jersey. He resides at Mansfield, seventy-five
miles north of this. I will go up to visit him and my
sister in about ten days ; but as to modifying his opinions
further I cannot expect it.

I wanted him to repudiate openly the "irrepressible
conflict" doctrine - but he has not done so, though he
made a left handed wipe at Seward and Giddings as ex
tremists. These men represent the radicals of that party
but John laughs at me when I tell him in the nature of
things that class of men will get control of his party. He
contends that they - the Republicans - are the old Whig
Party, revived solely by the unwise repeal of the Mis
souri Compromise. Of course you and I are outside ob
servers of political events, and can influence the result
but little, but this is no reason why we should not feel a
deep and lively interest in the development of a result
that for better or worse must interest us all.

At Cincinnati I attended the U.S. Agricultural Fair.
Joe Lane was there and I esteem him a humbug, from
his Mexican War reputation; other notorieties were
there, among which fat hogs, calves, pumpkins, apples,
etc., competed for prizes, and I think on a fair unbiased
opinion the pumpkins were entitled to the first premium
over vain conceited men.

I wish however we had Cincinnati near us at the
Seminary. We should not then be troubled to get pro
visions, books, or furniture. If Red River were navi
gable, and I would find a boat for Alexandria or Shreve-
port direct, which often occurs in season, I would buy a
full outfit of everything for my house at a blow. As it
is I now must wait, as transportation by wagon must be
out of all reason.

282 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Think of corn fifteen to twenty-five cents a bushel,
hay at two dollars and fifty cents a ton, etc. Beautiful
horses from one hundred and twenty-five to two hun
dred dollars. Though no gourmand I will turn with
regret from the apples, pears, vegetables, meats, and
luxuries of Ohio to the poor bread and poor meat of the
pine woods. It does seem to me our lot is cast in the re
motest parts of the present civilized world. Your letter
is two weeks old - by twelve each day I get the Cincin
nati papers here, published one hundred and twenty-five
miles away, and containing news from all the world.
Even John Sherman s speech was telegraphed entire.

Tell Mills I shall not bring my family and he may
finish Vallas house first. Whitewashing the fence is
not necessary till next spring. Gates should be done at
once - same of chimneys, spring cleaned out well - cis
tern full of water and pump in good order. Am glad
Floyd progresses with tables, etc., let tables, presses, and
shelves be distributed to the rooms, shovel and tongs and
andirons to each room. Try a black board as an experi
ment on the wall of your recitation room, where in case
of failure it can be covered by a map. Have the spaces
to right and left of hall partitioned off so as to be used
for storage - Vallas next his section room and the other
for storage, afterward a guard room.

I know and appreciate your loneliness, and hope at
some future time to have it in my power to signalize my
appreciation of your sacrifice by some act of favor.
Have heard from Smith lately at Norfolk, but not a
word of the Doctor [Clarke]. . . Send me some
money if you can as I will be hard up - must pay one
hundred and ten dollars of my own money for the
regulations. . .

THE VACATION OF 1860 283

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

LANCASTER, OHIO, Sept. 20, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: ... I did regret and do still
regret that under the circumstances you thought it your
duty to your own feelings to vacate the position of vice-
president and I will further venture the expression of
my earnest hope that you will do nothing to show the
public that you have lost confidence in the government
of the Seminary. Your acts and your power have never
been contravened, but I admit that at the last session the
opponents to the military feature of our institution made
a home thrust, more at my power than anything else.
You know that many of my acts have been virtually re
versed and now I am made to fill an office requiring me
to carry out the resolves of the Board of Supervisors and
of an Academic Board.

I certainly do not covet power, but if the public and
my friends look to me personally to do certain things,
they will misjudge me when my acts must be a zigzag
course between the indefinite opinions of two delibera
tive bodies. Were you vice-president, I would still [act
on my own responsibility] whenever occasion arose, but
it may be different in case a less reliable occupies that
vacant place. The Board of Supervisors mistake much
in supposing that cadets will be safer under the Academ
ic Board than under a Board ordered by me, whose acts
I could revise, restrain, and even veto. The more I re
flect the more convinced am I that the Academic Board
should not be trusted exclusively with the enforcement
of discipline, but it is now done and the next session
must pass under the new system, and I must needs try
the experiment, only I want it to be universally known
that I will not compromise my military reputation by a

284 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

seeming assent to a system of government that has ever
failed, and must fail in this instance.

I wish to be distinctly understood as not complaining
at the personal application of reducing my power to a
mere "supervisory" power -a right to complain to the
Board of Supervisors - instead of what ought to be a
right to control. If the cadets find out that my wings
are clipped won t they make it rather uncomfortable to
me? Still I have had little experience in these matters
and may be mistaken, and will try another session. I
will leave my family where they are and come to Alex
andria by way of New Orleans. . .

I feel uneasy about Jarreau. Still as my power is now
merely "supervisory," if he utterly fail in his contract I
am in no wise responsible. I never mentioned to you
that last November I introduced Jarreau to my friends
Kennett and Co. of New Orleans, enjoining the latter in
all cases to supply good articles of groceries. Jarreau
bought of them to the extent of some $ i ,300 without pay
ing one cent. They wrote to me and at my instance he
sent down one of his monthly payments of $800, leaving
still $500 due. I feel that Kennett looks to me for that
and I don t know but I am liable. Jarreau is too careless
about such things and it may be said too that I was too
careless in incurring such a liability, after my recent
business experience.

I have several letters from Mr. Boyd, giving me rea
sonable assurance that the items of work devised for the
summer will be substantially done. Frank s desertion
did not much surprise me - you mistake in saying my
"favorite Frank." I got out of him all sorts of work for
which we could not afford to employ help - clerical or
other- he never had charge of anything subject to lar
ceny, except may be some blankets and I could readily

THE VACATION OF 1860 285

have detected that. I employed Wright. In my ab
sence Smith discharged him and Frank fell in because
no body else was at hand and as the boy was willing we
used him for "all work." I think if he has stolen noth
ing more than Mr. Boyd reports his account is not much
over. When I left he had $3 due him and had in his
room (paid for) some $20 of merchandise.

I could get hundreds of intelligent young men here
who would go with me for moderate wages ; but a drum
mer or clerk, the only posts I ought to fill, must from
the necessity of the case be subject to the command of
others, who would order them about in a style and man
ner to which Ohio boys are not used to, and the result
would be "off." So I discourage all who apply. One
young fellow - a good musician but neither drummer or
bugler, says, he is going south anyways, but he must go
at his own cost and risk. Smith at my suggestion ap
plied at Old Point Comfort to my personal friend Cap
tain Ord who says he can supply us. Smith writes about
road expenses, and wages and I feel a little doubtful
now, whether I have a right to make a bargain without
the ratification of the Board. There is a resolution to
"furnish" the building and to provide in advance the
stores, but nothing about drummer and fifer. An army
drummer and fifer would suit us better than boys picked
up as we picked up Wright and Frank. Still I can not
afford pecuniarily to run the risk of these private bar
gains of hire. Still I think I will write to Smith that if
Ord will recommend a drummer and fifer, both willing
to work either as clerks, storekeepers, and sweepers of
halls, lighters of lamps, etc., that I will agree to em
ploy-expenses up from New Orleans to be paid by
Seminary, to New Orleans by himself and myself joint
ly until the Board ratify. The family recommended to

286 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

you by Captain Maynadier were of too delicate health
to suit the present period of our establishment. All
must work in some sphere or other.

Mr. Boyd says that the drought prevented the deliv
ery of lumber, so that the roofs are not yet on - still even
if done I would not bring my family now. I have writ
ten to finish Mr. Vallas house first.

To a mere looker on the political game of our country
is funny. In the South you are struggling between Bell
and Breckenridge. Here their names are hardly men
tioned, and the orators are noisy only for Douglas and
Lincoln. Political majority has passed to the North
and power must follow. Sooner or later the North will
control, and the only question in my mind is, will she
abuse it? Nobody now can say she will or she will not.
I know some Southrons say they won t await the chance.
I think they will and should. Even the wide-awake
Republicans here say they don t mean interference with
slavery. They opposed the repeal of Missouri Compro
mise and the events connected with Kansas, but of course
I don t look to word for meaning. I am satisfied no
president in power will weaken the country over which
he presides.

Of course I keep aloof from all political cliques and
knots, and only express an opinion occasionally to the
effect, that there are many men of action and ability at
the South, who will act with prudence and decision
when the time comes, but that danger does exist from
the growing suspicion and distrust, between the two gen
eral sections of one country. My wife and family are
well. Mrs. S. begs that I will thank you for your re
peated offers of hospitality - but she ought not to budge
from here till she can move straight into a house of her
own.

THE VACATION OF 1860 287

D. F. BOYD TO W. T. SHERMAN

September 27, 1860.

. . . I am much obliged to you for the copy of
your brother s speech. It is an able production and
marks him, as he had already proved himself to be, a
deep thinker and a strong reasoner. I regret very much
that he is on the wrong side - his premises I do not grant
him. I believe he designs no other injustice to the South
than to keep slaves out of the territories, and since the
Supreme Court says that under the Constitution they
can be carried there, the mere agitation of that matter,
f ree-soilism (not abolitionism) , is not sufficient cause for
the South to attempt to break up the Union; but I am
afraid Seward and many others will never rest till they
attempt the abolition of slavery in the states, and when
that comes, then "let the Union slide" (according to
Governor Banks) .

As long as Seward is the acknowledged leader of the
Republicans, has not the South reason to fear that the
abolition of slavery in the Territories is but the entering
wedge to overthrow it in the States? I think, and hope,
that your brother will yet openly renounce Seward s
"irrepressible conflict" doctrine. But I must say, I like
to read Seward s speeches. I have learned more politics
of him lately than from all the rest of the politicians put
together. However false his position, he talks more like
a philosopher than any of them. There is nothing of the
humbug about him; he is honest in his views, and for
that very reason, he is the more dangerous enemy, first
to the South, and finally to the whole Union.

However unpleasant it is to be separated so much
from your family, I think you have acted wisely in not
bringing them down to Louisiana. If you could see the
Pinewoods now, after they have been burnt so bare that

288 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

there is hardly a sprig of vegetation to be seen, you could
not help exclaiming, What a picture of starvation ! And
it is reported that some poor devils are actually starving
in Natchitoches; but I suppose they are of the "rosin
heel" tribe, and are really too lazy to live. . .

Bell will certainly carry Louisiana. Poor Breck! I
am afraid he will only carry S. S. Prentiss s "Harry
Percy of the Union," South Carolina, and, maybe, he
is not ultra enough for the Fire-eaters. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

LANCASTER, OHIO, Sept. 30, 1860.

MY DEAR FRIEND: ... I am much obliged to
your letters which have kept me easy. Time now begins
to approach the season of action, and I see no better
cause for me to pursue that what I have heretofore des
ignated. . . By the way all the books, text and li
brary, are already en route to Converse, Kennett and
Co., New Orleans, from New York, and the regulations
ought to be done and shipped to-morrow. So that by or
before October 15 everything we need will be there.

My orders are to ship to Pineville if possible and by
the Picayune I see that occasionally a boat gets up to
Alexandria. But if on my arrival there I find all our
things I will promptly write to you to send to me at
mouth of Red River four or five wagons and my horse,
that out of the whole I may select the books, bedding,
and hardware necessary and leave the balance to follow
when navigation opens. The arms will be delivered at
Alexandria by Uncle Sam, and if freight is excessive we
don t care.

My own preference is that our cadets should not ex
ceed one hundred and fifty in number and I doubt if we
can do them or ourselves justice if in greater number.
Tell Manning if he or Smith intend to engineer the

THE VACATION OF 1860 289

Seminary through, they must look well to this question
of number. Have new mess hall tables made, same
width as the others but four feet shorter, because four of
the present length in a row make too close a fit. Tell
Manning that I hope the mere manner of appointment
did not defeat the assistant professor of mathematics.
Such an officer should be there the very day we begin.
Even if his qualifications are limited to arithmetic. Our
teaching must be practical and adapted to the capacity
of the cadets, and all hands must recite daily in mathe
matics, and it is a physical impossibility for Vallas to
hear all or half. I have been quite sick, bad cold and
some of the bilious that was in me all spring, but I feel
better now, though my face is much broken out with
four blisters.

This week is a busy one for our village - fair, races,
etc. This country has thirty thousand people, town six
thousand, the finest farms in the world, and such horses
and cattle as would do you good to see. We have men
here who can afford to own such stock as "Fashion,"
and one of our men imported an eight thousand dollar
English horse, "Bonnie Scotland," which is a beauty.

At this instant the Prince of Wales is in Cincinnati.
Some of the ladies wanted me to go down one hundred
and twenty miles to see him, but I begged off and they
got other escort. He is having a jolly good time and
enjoys his trip exceedingly, as he should, for he makes
his progress during fine weather and when fruits are at
perfection. I would like to see the youth, but will trust
to the newspapers for a description.

My brother John continues to circulate, making Re
publican speeches and everybody says that in case Lin
coln be elected he will have a high seat in the synagogue.
Judging from the mere local clamor here, and remem-

290 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

bering the wild and foolish schism in the Democratic
Party it is more than probable that Lincoln will be
elected. But there is so wide a difference between the
Seward Republicans and Corwin Republicans that in
case of success the party will break into flinders worse
than the old Whig Party used to do - and then will be
gin the war of the Roses.

Which wing of the Democratic Party is the Simon
pure? That seems now the only effort of the Democrats
north - is to try and see which wing of the party shall be
construed as the true heir to the rights and glory of the
old Democratic Party. Douglas here is the Democrat
ic but in the South Breckenridge is.

The truth is that the present territories - Utah, New
Mexico, Arizona, and the desert -ain t worth quarrel
ling over, and practically nobody can be tempted to go
there except as governor, marshal, judge, etc., of sup
posed future states. No sensible man with liberty of
choice would think of taking his slaves there. Conse
quently all this clamor about rights in territories is a
theoretical one, but as you say it involves a principle
and therefore is contended for.

If any calamity should befall our country in this
question, the future historian would have the pleasant
task of chronicling the downfall of the Great Republic,
because one class of - - would not permit theoreti
cally another class of - - to go, where neither party
had the most remote intention to go, for I take it
that no sensible man except an army officer who could
not help himself ever went to Utah, New Mexico, or
Arizona, or even proposes to do so. And as our domin
ions now reach the Pacific, and our frontiers are all "rec
tified" we have no further necessity of taking in any
more "worthless Mexican waste land."

THE VACATION OF 1860 291

I hope therefore that the result of this angry contro
versy will be no more extension of territory, but that all
states will confine their efforts to perfecting and improv
ing their internal resources. You can readily under
stand that I am sick of this war of prejudice. Here the
prejudice is that planters have nothing else to do but
hang abolitionists and hold lynch courts. There, that
all the people of Ohio are engaged in stealing and run
ning off negroes. The truth is they both do injustice to
the other; and if all would forget and mind their re
spective interests, it would be found that slave and all
other property in the United States are now at a most
prosperous standard.

Yesterday I was out all day with my boys gathering
nuts. I had a single horse spring-wagon and filled it
with black walnuts and chestnuts - and what with roast
ing, boiling, and eating chestnuts there is no peace in
the house. When I began the young ones had gone to
church but they are back now, and it requires more
nerve to write in the midst of their noises than if a regi
mental band were in full career.

Mrs. Sherman has put up for me an amount of cur
rant jelly, quince jelly, and marmalade and all sorts of
preserves - but I doubt if I can take them down. If Red
River were navigable I would send them down to New
Orleans from Cincinnati to Kennett and have him re-
ship them. I am trying to stop smoking. It and bad
food had reduced me to a skeleton, and I am still thin.
I was fifteen pounds lighter than ever before in my life
when I reached home. I had paid no attention to it and
Mrs. Sherman thinks I am so careless of what I eat, that
she really believes we are starved down there. I don t
know what she will think when she has to depend on
Schwartzenberg and Alexandria for her daily supplies.

292 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I know they are well off here and therefore shall leave
them statu quo till I send for them, but in the meantime
will myself occupy the house built for me, though I still
think Vallas house should be plastered and painted first,
and Mills can do so. I take it the plastering will all be
done before I arrive and that one and may be two coats
of paint on.

The moment I arrive at New Orleans I will write you
whether I want the wagons sent to the mouth of Red
River. The distance is sixty-five miles, time three days,
load say two thousand pounds for two yoke. Total time
of trip one week - about twenty dollars a load which
would be three dollars a day -or better one dollar the
hundred, about that. There will be fourteen boxes of
books, eighty rolls of bed and about six hundred weight
of sundries. Keep your mind on four or five wagons.
Wagons should have covers.

Write me very fully by the i2th October care of Ken-
nett, Blood and Co., New Orleans, on these points -
that I may act with the greatest chance of economy and
certainty. Only make a written charter party, and al
low for lay days at a price at the mouth. If you have
one of those two hundred dollar checks left or any means
of drawing send me some by letter as I shall be hard up
on arrival at New Orleans ; let me know also then who is
vice-president. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

LANCASTER, O., Oct. 3, 1860.

MY DEAR FRIEND: ... It is all-important the
bedding, stationery, and textbooks, [and] your library
books should all be on hand November i . If Red River
be at all navigable I will stick to it, but otherwise I must
depend on wagons, and it is unsafe to judge of this be
forehand. I will be much influenced by what I hear

THE VACATION OF 1860 293

from you on arrival at New Orleans. I have knowledge
that everything will be there in readiness by the end of
next week. I will surely reach New Orleans by Satur
day, 1 3th instant, and hope to be en route hence by Oc
tober 15 or 1 6. If Red River be navigable I can come
right along, otherwise I must wait at mouth of Red
River till wagons come down.

I send you a copy of the printed regulations. I have
twenty-five with me and one thousand are now enroute
for New Orleans, where I will take them up - it was im
possible to have them done before. I did not have them
bound, as these one thousand copies will last us three
years, by which time a new edition will be certain.

The weather here is cold and raw, and it is time for
southern birds to take flight. Nothing new in politics,
but the election of Lincoln is still regarded as quite cer
tain here. The truth is New York and Pennsylvania
control this result, and they are always uncertain.

ADVERTISEMENT OF THE SEMINARY IN THE
LOUISIANA DEMOCRAT, OCTOBER, 1860

The second session of this institution will commence
ist November and continue, without vacation, till aoth
August, 1 86 1.

TERMS OF ADMISSION: the applicant must be between
fifteen and twenty-one years of age, of good moral char
acter, and well versed in the primary English branches.

EXPENSES OF THE SESSION: tuition, board, washing,
lights and fuel -$220; uniform clothing, texts books,
stationary, medical attendance and rent of fixed furni
ture -$120. A deposit of $200 must be made first of
November.

Each cadet must bring with him bedding [and] the
minor articles of room furniture, or purchase them at
the Seminary at a cost of $30. He must also bring a sup-

294 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

ply of under-clothing. For further information apply
to Col. W. T. Sherman, superintendent, Alexandria, La.

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

ST. CHARLES HOTEL, New Orleans, Monday, Oct. 15,
1860.

DEAR BOYD : I arrived yesterday. This morning find
that a part of our bedding has been shipped per "Elea
nor." Hardware all ready except some buckets and
brooms, and these will be ready by Wednesday, when I
think I will ship per "Era No. 7" twenty-nine boxes of
books, text and library. One [box of] regulations and
some ten of Vallas are here, and I will send all per "Era
No. 7" if in meantime a better boat do not come. I will
either come up in the "Era" or the stage. I w r ould leave
to-morrow and reach Alexandria Thursday, but Jar-
reau wants me to get him two servants to wait on his
table, and I want a drummer, if possible, vice Frank,
deserted.

Tell Jarreau that Kennett was not willing that any
more groceries should be sent him, as there is a balance
due them of six months standing; but as I know these
groceries will be wanted, I have agreed with Kennett to
be responsible. I hope Mr. Vallas has his assistant en
gaged. We must start November i to the minute. I
find Ruddiman s Grammar could not be had. Andrews
and Stoddard has been substituted. No prefixes and suf
fixes- it is a book published solely for West Point and
is not for sale.

VIII. THE SECOND SESSION. THE COM
ING OF SECESSION

The opening of the second session. Political conditions in Louisiana.
Sherman s account of his course. Beauregard plans a course of study for his
sons. Examinations for admission. St. Ange objects to the methods of classi
fication. Sherman is advised to vote in the presidential election. He de
cides not to vote. Evidences of coming secession. Views of the faculty on
state rights and secession. Governor Moore calls a special session of the leg
islature. Disorder among the cadets a reflection of the political situation.
John Sherman advises his brother to leave Louisiana. The latter predicts
that secession will fail. Condemns the hesitation of the Washington govern
ment. Vigilance committees in control of Louisiana. Ammunition for the
Seminary. Sherman declares that he will not go with the secession movement.
His opinion on the situation in South Carolina. Christmas at the Seminary.
Sherman s annual report. Graham opposes secession. Lawlessness the real
trouble. Sherman says too much democracy. Hope of Reconstruction.

Upon returning to Louisiana in the fall of 1860 Sherman was
surprised to find the people in a disturbed state of mind over the
political situation. Nor was he prepared for the swift movement
toward secession that followed the election of Lincoln. Of such
vital concern to him were the political happenings of the time
that in his letters he has little to say of the internal affairs of the
Seminary, but much of the drift toward secession and Civil War.
His own views are clearly exhibited in his letters. From the
Memoirs [vol. i, 179] is taken the following summary account
of the happenings in Louisiana in the early fall of 1860.

Reaching Alexandria early in October, I pushed for
ward the construction of the two buildings, some fences,
gates, and all other work, with the object of a more per
fect start at the opening of the regular term November
i, 1860. About this time Dr. Powhatan Clarke 65 was
elected assistant professor of chemistry, etc., and acted

65 Doctor Clarke was elected during the first session to take Doctor Sevier s
place. - ED.

296 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

as secretary of the Board of Supervisors, but no other
changes were made in our small circle of professors.

November came, and with it nearly if not quite all our
first set of cadets, and others, to the number of about one
hundred and thirty. We divided them into two com
panies, issued arms and clothing, and began a regular
system of drills and instruction, as well as the regular
recitations. I had moved into my new house, but pru
dently had not sent for my family, nominally on the
ground of waiting until the season was further ad
vanced, but really because of the storm that was lower
ing heavy on the political horizon.

The presidential election was to occur in November,
and the nominations had already been made in stormy
debates by the usual conventions. . . Bell and Ever
ett, a kind of compromise [were] mostly in favor in
Louisiana. Political excitement was at its very height,
and it was constantly asserted that Mr. Lincoln s election
would imperil the Union. I purposely kept aloof from
politics, would take no part, and remember that on the
day of the election in November I was notified that it
would be advisable for me to vote for Bell and Everett,
but I openly said I would not, and I did not.

The election of Mr. Lincoln fell upon us all like a
clap of thunder. People saw and felt that the South had
threatened so long that, if she quietly submitted, the
question of slavery in the territories was at an end for
ever. I mingled freely with the members of the Board
of Supervisors, and with the people of Rapides Parish
generally, keeping aloof from all cliques and parties,
and I certainly hoped that the threatened storm would
blow over, as had so often occurred before, after similar
threats.

At our Seminary the order of exercises went along

THE COMING OF SECESSION 297

with the regularity of the seasons. Once a week, I had
the older cadets to practise reading, reciting, and elocu
tion, and noticed that their selections were from Cal-
houn, Yancey, and other southern speakers, all treating
of the defense of their slaves and their home institutions
as the very highest duty of the patriot. Among boys
this was to be expected ; and among the members of our
board, though most of them declaimed against politi
cians generally, and especially abolitionists, as pests, yet
there was a growing feeling that danger was in the
wind.

I recall the visit of a young gentleman who had been
sent from Jackson, by the governor of Mississippi, to
confer with Governor Moore, then on his plantation at
Bayou Robert, and who had come over to see our
college. He spoke to me openly of secession as a
fixed fact, and that its details were only left open for
discussion. I also recall the visit of some man who was
said to be a high officer in the order of "Knights of the
Golden Circle," of the existence of which order I was
even ignorant, until explained to me by Major Smith and
Dr. Clarke. But in November, 1860, no man ever ap
proached me offensively, to ascertain my views, or my
proposed course of action in case of secession, and no
man in or out of authority ever tried to induce me to
take part in steps designed to lead toward disunion. I
think my general opinions were well known and under
stood, viz., that "secession was treason, was war;" and
that in no event could the North and West permit the
Mississippi River to pass out of their control. But some
men at the South actually supposed at the time that the
Northwestern States, in case of a disruption of the gen
eral government, would be drawn in self interest to an
alliance with the South.

298 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

At the beginning of the second session, Major Beauregard
sent both sons to the Seminary. One of these was Sherman s
adjutant and also assistant teacher of French. Braxton Bragg in
his correspondence showed hearty interest in the prospects for the
second session. Other correspondence of this time relates to
Seminary routine, to politics, and to the prospect of war.

P. G. T. BEAUREGARD TO W. T. SHERMAN

NEW ORLEANS, October 27, 1860.

DEAR COLONEL : I send you according to promise my
two sons Rene and Henry, the latter being a state cadet
from the Parish of St. Bernard. . .

Rene, I think, is now prepared to enter your third
class, but should he not be so in mathematics I hope he
will be permitted to enter that class in all his other
studies for he is very well prepared in them. Should he
be appointed assistant teacher of French I hope he will
be excused from his own French recitations, so that he
may devote as much time as practicable to his other
branches of studies. I do not desire that he should
study Greek, as I wish him to receive, more especially
a commercial education. I hope he will be considered
worthy of the appointment of sargeant major, which he
is anxious to obtain.

With regard to Master Henry, I desire having him
thoroughly prepared for West Point, especially in
mathematics and drawing, he is to enter there in June,
1862, and I wish him to do honor to your institution and
to his name ; hence I have particularly to request that he
should not learn Latin and Greek but devote that time
to the study of mathematics, drawing, English, French
and Spanish, which I know from experience will be as
much as he can accomplish in eighteen months appli
cation to his studies.

I hope he may be able to room with his brother, but
should he not be able to do so, I hope he will be put with

THE COMING OF SECESSION 299

well-behaved and studious room-mates. I have to make
the same request for his two cousins, young James Proc
tor and Charles Reggio - the latter is from the parish of
Plaquemines - and I recommend them both also to your
especial care as well as Master Clement Labarre of this
city.

As I feel very solicitous about the health of my sons,
I hope you will do me the favor to apprize me of the
fact should they become seriously unwell, that I may
come up or send for them and I sincerely hope that Mr.
J. will do better with his department [the mess hall]
than he has done heretofore as otherwise it may become
a serious drawback to the success of your institution, for
parents generally attach more importance to the health
of children than to their intellectual developments. . .

BRAXTON BRAGG TO W. T. SHERMAN

AT HOME, near Thibodeaux, La., October 25, 1860.
MY DEAR SHERMAN: It is long since we last com
muned, but both of us have been travelers, and that sel
dom conduces to correspondence. . . When in Vir
ginia I had a long letter from my old friend Graham,
dated just after the examination, giving me most agree
able information of the general success of our bantling
(the Seminary), and especially of my young protege,
Perkins. Intermingled with this was the unpleasant
controversy in the Board of Supervisors, and a result in
jurious, I fear, to the permanent prosperity of the Acad
emy. Yet we must not despair or cease our exertions in
the right direction. Our popularity is growing daily
with the influential people of the country, and I believe
with perseverance we shall conquer all opposition. In
deed, I don t know but it is better for us to have it. We
should never labor to accomplish our object with half
the zeal or determination but for this very ignorant

3 oo SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

prejudice. But let me beg of you not to compromise
your position by actively espousing either cause. Gra
ham is able to fight the battle on our side, and your opin
ion will have more weight and influence when drawn
out, as it must be, than if you were an active party in the
controversy.

I hope our anticipations may be realized in having a
full attendance at the opening of your session next week.
I gave a letter this morning to a young man. . . I
hope you may work him into some corner left open by
non-attendance. I am told he has been a headstrong,
willful, and lazy boy, hard to keep at any school. But
his father has great hopes in the military enthusiasm,
your system of regularity and accountability and in
Fred s influence. Fred [Perkins] has just called to bid
me goodby. From being a thin, sickly, sallow boy, he is
grown ruddy, erect, and manly in appearance. And by
this great physical change and his admirable deport
ment since his return home, he has done much in this
community to call favorable attention to the Academy.
It is a source of no little pleasure to me, and your heart
would be delighted to see the just pride of his good old
white-headed mother as she admires her baby. He is
her youngest, and born after his father s death. I trust
he may still continue to deserve the commendation of
his superiors.

When north I had no opportunity of seeing anything
about that old battery. But I do not see that anything
can be done except in the way you propose - a donation -
by the general government, and I see no reason why this
may not succeed. Governor Moore told me it should
have his cordial support. I could easily get the approv
al of the Senate, I suppose, through Mr. Slidell and my
brother. What say you to a memorial from the Board

THE COMING OF SECESSION 301

of Supervisors headed by the governor? It would be
indelicate for me to move in the matter, and may be ego
tistical for me to do even the suggesting. But I should
feel a pride in your success and believe it would benefit
the Academy. For a precedent you have only to see the
donations to Missouri of guns captured by Doniphan in
the affair of Sacramento. Guns do not cease to be na
tional trophies because they may be entrusted to the
keeping of a state, and a proviso might be added requir
ing their return whenever the state should cease to use
them as proposed. Make a point, too, of their being
"worn out" and no longer of any intrinsic value. But
my sheet is full and egotistical garrulity must cease. . .

The correspondence during the months of November and
December deals almost wholly with political matters. Sherman
is uncertain whether it is better to bring his family to Louisiana
or in expectation of secession and Civil War, to prepare to leave
the state, but finally decides to leave them in Ohio until the re
sult of the elections is known.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 3, 1860.

. . . This is a Saturday evening and I am seated
at the office table where the Academic Board has been
all week examining cadets. We have admitted in all
some eighty; and rejected about a dozen for want of the
elementary knowledge required for admission. To
night, Saturday, we close the business, and on Monday
recitations begin. Still many more will straggle in, and
I expect we will settle down to about a hundred and
twenty, less than we had reason to expect, but quite
enough for comfort. . .

People here now talk as though disunion was a fixed
thing. Men of property say that as this constant feeling

302 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

of danger of abolitionism exists they would rather try a
Southern Confederacy. Louisiana would not secede, but
should South Carolina secede I fear other Southern
States will follow, and soon general anarchy will pre
vail. I say but little, try and mind my own business and
await the issue of events. . .

The country is very poor and nothing can be bought
here but stewed beef and pork, vegetables are out of the
question save potatoes at about five dollars the barrel.

W. T. SHERMAN TO E. BERTE ST. ANGE

ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 4, 1860.

SIR: Yours of 3rd inst. is before me having been re
ceived last night just after the Academic Board ad
journed, having awaited your attendance one hour.

The duty of classifying cadets either of a new or old
class belongs to the Academic Board, voting by a ma
jority. The Academic Board yesterday after a patient
sitting arranged all the cadets now present into two
classes, third and fourth, lists of each being recorded in
the proper book.

This classification must not be disturbed by any pro
fessor. It is your duty to arrange your sections, subject
to that classification and I specially require that you
make no list of cadets, for recitation in French, except
the classification fixed by the Board. Were you to pub
lish a list of sections, styling any cadet as a member of
the Fourth Class, whom the Academic Board has ad
judged a member of the Third Class, you must see plain
ly that you would be treating the Academic Board with
contempt. And would introduce disorder and confu
sion, where system must prevail.

In all bodies where a majority rules, there must be a
minority; and for a member of the minority to say he is
treated with contempt he must show marks of contempt

THE COMING OF SECESSION 303

other than a bare fact that the majority thinks different
from him. Now you remember that every member of
the Board assured you repeatedly of their personal re
spect, called on you to suggest a remedy for the difficulty
that surrounded us, and even adjourned one hour for
thought and deliberation. Even then you could not sug
gest a remedy and the Board proceeded on their con
sciences and honor to arrange the Third Class. If some
cadets in that class are below the standard you think
requisite, it is no fault of yours. You are not respon
sible for it, but the blame is justly chargeable to the
Academic Board, whose clear duty it is to "classify"
cadets (see par. 10) . The mode of imparting instruction
is left to the professor by par. 7. But that is a very dif
ferent matter from "classifying" the cadets which is
clearly the prerogative of the Academic Board.

You should have attended the session of last night,
and if confusion in the recitations of tomorrow result
therefrom it will be clearly traced to you. . .

G. MASON GRAHAM TO W. T. SHERMAN

TYRONE, Nov. 5th, 1860.

DEAR COLONEL: In a conversation with Mr. San-
ford yesterday afternoon, w r e came to the conclusion to
advise you that in case any other of the professors vote
in the election to-morrow, you would do so also, if you
are entitled to vote, lest cavillers should impugn your
motives for refraining from voting, and say that you did
so because there was no ticket here that suited you. We
think too that the manifestation of independence in vot
ing, provided any other professor vote, will have a good
effect.

Your right to vote will depend on whether you were
within the limits of this state on the ^th day of last No
vember. The polls open at 9 a.m. and close at 4 p.m.

304 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 10, 1860.

. . . We have had a week of cold rains but it has
cleared off, and to-day is bright and warm. I am go
ing into town today and will leave this at the post-office.
The election came off on Tuesday and resulted in Alex
andria in a majority for Breckenridge, next Bell, next
Douglas. Of course there were no votes for Lincoln.
Indeed he has no ticket in this state.

I received a note from a friend advising me to vote.
I thought the matter over and concluded I would not
vote. Technically I was entitled to a vote as I entered
Louisiana just a year ago, but I thought I ought not to
vote in this election, and did not. I would have preferred
Bell, but I think he has no chance, and I do not wish
to be subject to any political conditions. If I am to
hold my place by a political tenure I prefer again to
turn vagabond.

I would not be surprised to learn that my not voting
was construed into a friendly regard for Lincoln, and
that it might result in my being declared a public enemy.
I shall however rest under a belief that now as the elec
tion is over all this hard feeling will subside and peace
once more settle on the country. We have no returns
as yet. Maybe the mail tonight will bring some returns
from New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, those large
states that determine this election, but I do not count on
any clear knowledge till next Monday.

We began our recitations last Monday, and things
have settled down into order and system. . .

No matter which way we turn there arise difficulties
which seem insurmountable. In case Lincoln is elected
they say that South Carolina will secede and that the
Southern States will not see her forced back. Seces-

THE COMING OF SECESSION 305

sion must result in Civil War, anarchy, and ruin to our
present form of government. If it is attempted it would
be unwise for us to be here. Still I hope for quiet. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 23, 1860.

. . . We are having a cold raw day and I avail
myself of it to do a good deal of indoor work. I was
out for some hours directing the making of the fence
around our new house, but the work within proceeds
very slowly indeed. Our house is all plastered and the
carpenters are putting in the doors, windows, and cas
ings. Also the painter is tinkering around, but at pres
ent rate the building will not be ready before Christ
mas. I now have all arrangements made for your com
ing down about that time, but prudence dictates some
caution as political events do seem portentous.

I have a letter from the cashier that he sent you the
first of exchange, the second I now enclose to you for
two hundred ninety dollars. But by the very mail
which brought it came the rumor that the banks are re
fusing exchange on the North, which cannot be true;
also that goods were being destroyed on the levee at New
Orleans and that the Custom House was closed. I also
notice that many gentlemen who were heretofore mod
erate in their opinions now begin to fall into the popu
lar current and go with the mad foolish crowd that
seems bent on a dissolution of this confederacy.

The extremists in this quarter took the first news of
the election of Lincoln so coolly, that I took it for grant
ed all would quietly await the issue ; but I have no doubt
that politicians have so embittered the feelings of the
people that they think that the Republican Party is bent
on abolitionism, and they cease to reason or think of
consequences.

3 o6 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

We are so retired up here, so much out of the way of
news, that we hear nothing but stale exaggerations; but
I feel that a change is threatened and I will wait patient
ly for a while. My opinions are not changed.

If the South is bent on disunion of course I will not
ally our fate with theirs, because by dissolution they do
not escape the very danger at which they grow so fran
tically mad. Slavery is in their midst and must con
tinue, but the interest of slavery is much weaker in Mis
souri, Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland than down
here. Should the Ohio River become a boundary be
tween the two new combinations, there will begin a new
change. The extreme South will look on Kentucky and
Tennessee as the North, and in a very few years the same
confusion and disorder will arise, and a new dissolution,
till each state and maybe each county will claim sepa
rate independence.

If South Carolina precipitate this Revolution it will
be because she thinks by delay Lincoln s friends will
kind of reconcile the middle, wavering states, whereas
now they may raise the cry of abolition and unite all the
Slave States. I had no idea that this would actually
begin so soon, but the news from that quarter does look
as though she certainly would secede, and that Ala
bama, Georgia, Florida, and Texas would soon follow.
All these might go and still leave a strong, rich confed
erated government, but then come Mississippi and
Louisiana. As these rest on the Mississippi and control
its mouth I know that the other states north will not
submit to any molestation of the navigation by foreign
states. If these two states go and Arkansas follows suit
then there must be war, fighting, and that will continue
until one or the other party is subdued.

If Louisiana call a convention I will not move, but if

THE COMING OF SECESSION 307

that convention resolve to secede on a contingency that
I can foresee, then I must of course quit. It is not to be
expected that the state would consent to trust me with
arms and command if I did not go with them full length.
I don t believe Louisiana would of herself do anything;
but if South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi
and Texas resolve no longer to wait, then Louisiana will
do likewise. Then of course you will be safer where
you are. As to myself I might have to go to California
or some foreign country, where I could earn the means
of living for you and myself. I see no chance in Ohio
for me. A man is never a prophet in his own land and
it does seem that nature for some wise purpose, maybe
to settle wild lands, does ordain that man shall migrate,
clear out from the place of his birth.

I did not intend to write so much, but the day is
gloomy, and the last news from New Orleans decidedly
so, if true. Among ourselves it is known that I am op
posed to disunion in any manner or form. Prof. Smith
ditto, unless Lincoln should actually encourage aboli
tionism after installed in office. Mr. Boyd thinks the
denial to the southern people of access to new territories
is an insult to which they cannot submit with honor and
should not, let the consequences be what they may. Dr.
Clarke is simply willing to follow the fortunes of the
South, be what they may. Vallas and St. Ange, for
eigners, don t care, but will follow their immediate self
interests.

Thus we stand, about a fair sample of a mixed crowd ;
but tis now said all over the South the issue is made,
and better secession no\v when they can than wait till
it is too late. This is a most unfortunate condition of
things for us, and I hardly know how to act with de
cency and firmness, and like most undecided men \vill

308 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

wait awhile to see what others do; if feeling in South
Carolina continues they must do something, else they
will be the laughing stock of the world, and that is what
they dread. For of all the states they can least afford
to secede, as comparatively she is a weak and poor
state. This on the contrary is destined to be a rich and
powerful one. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 26, 1860.

. . . I commenced writing a letter last night to
Minnie, but a friend sent us out a newspaper of New
Orleans, November 22 which had come up from New
Orleans in a boat. For some reason the papers come
to us very irregularly. The stage whenever it has pas
sengers leaves behind the paper mail and only brings the
bags when there are few or no passengers. Well, of
late though letters come about as usual our papers come
along very straggling. This newspaper so received
brings intelligence, how true I know not, of a panic in
New York, Baltimore, Virginia, and everywhere. Of
course panics are the necessary consequence of the mam
moth credit system, the habit of borrowing which per
vades our country, and though panics transfer losses to
the wrong shoulders still they do good.

But along with this comes the cause, the assertion that
South Carolina will secede certain. Georgia ditto.
And Alabama. Mississippi will of course, and with
her Arkansas and Texas. This will leave Louisiana
no choice. If these premises be true then indeed is there
abundant cause for panic, disorder, confusion, ruin and
Civil War. I am determined not to believe it till to
withhold belief would be stupidity.

The paper also announces that Governor Moore has
called the legislature together for December 10, and

THE COMING OF SECESSION 309

specially to consider the crisis of the country and to call
a convention. You know that the theory of our govern
ment is, as construed by the southern politicians, that
a state, one or more, may withdraw from the Union
without molestation, and unless excitement abates Louis
iana will follow the lead of her neighbors.

You will hear by telegraph the actions of the conven
tions of South Carolina and Alabama. Should they
assert their right to secede and initiate measures to that
end, then you may infer that I will countermand my
heretofore preparations for a move. Then it would be
unsafe for you even to come south. For myself I will
not go with the South in a disunion movement, and as
my position at the head of a State Military College
would necessarily infer fidelity and allegiance to the
state, my duty will be on the first positive act of disunion
to give notice of my purpose.

December 10 the legislature meets. It is hardly pos
sible a convention will be called before January and
until the convention acts the state is not committed. Still
I think the tone of feeling in the legislature will give me
a clew to the future. I confess I feel uneasy from these
events, and more so from the fact that the intelligence
comes so piecemeal and unsatisfactory. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 29, 1860.

. . . This is a holiday, thanksgiving and prayer,
but holidays and Sundays are my worst days, as then
the cadets are idle and mischievous.

Governor Moore has issued his proclamation calling
the legislature together for December 10, and the proc
lamation is couched in ugly language, different from
his usual more conservative tone. It is manifest to me
now that the leading politicians of the state have con-

3 io SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

ferred together and have agreed to go out of the Union,
or at all events to favor the new doctrine of secession.
The legislature will determine the call of a convention,
and the convention will decide very much according to
the other events that may occur in the meantime. This
imposes on us a change of purpose, and it will not do for
you or any one to come south unless the state of feeling
changes. I know the governor and believe him an ex
cellent thermometer of the political atmosphere of
Louisiana. I hear that business is dead in New Orleans,
all of which is evidence that the abolitionists have suc
ceeded in bringing on the "Inevitable Conflict."

I am sick of this everlasting subject. The truth has
nothing to do with this world. Here they know that
all you have to do in Ohio is to steal niggers, and in
Ohio though the people are quiescent yet they believe
that the South are determined to enlarge the area of
niggers. Like Burton in Toodles I say, Damn the nig
gers. I wish they were anywhere or be kept at their
work.

I observe more signs of a loosened discipline here.
Boys are careless and last night because the supper did
not please them they smashed the crockery and made a
riot generally. Pistols were fired, which scared Joe
very much - his education has been neglected, but I
think he will get used to it. We have dismissed five
cadets and others must share their fate. I fear the in
stitution is in danger from causes which arose after I left
last summer. The alterations made after I left were
wrong in principle, causing General Graham to resign,
and since then he will take no interest in our affairs.
Governor Moore is intent on politics, same of Dr. Smith,
so we are left to the chances of the caprices of a parcel
of wild boys. Still this is a small matter susceptible of

THE COMING OF SECESSION 311

remedy, but the secession movement underlies the very
safety of everything. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO JOHN SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Dec. i, 1860.

DEAR BROTHER: . . . The quiet which I thought
the usual acquiesence of the people was merely the pre
lude to the storm of opinion that now seems irresistible.
Politicians, by hearing the prejudices of the people and
running with the current, have succeeded in destroying
the government. It cannot be stopped now, I fear. I
was in Alexandria all day yesterday, and had a full and
unreserved conversation with Dr. S. A. Smith, state
senator, who is a man of education, property, influence,
and qualified to judge. He was during the canvass a
Breckenridge man, but, though a Southerner in opinion,
is really opposed to a dissolution of our government.
He has returned from New Orleans, where he says he
was amazed to see evidences of public sentiment which
could not be mistaken.

The legislature meets December 10 at Baton Rouge.
The calling a convention forthwith is to be unanimous,
the bill for army and state ditto. The convention will
meet in January, and two questions will be agitated:
Immediate dissolution, a declaration of state inde
pendence, and a general convention of Southern States,
with instructions to demand of the Northern States to
repeal all laws hostile to slavery and pledges of future
good behavior. . .

When the Convention meets in January, as they will
assuredly do, and resolve to secede, or to elect members
to a general convention with instructions inconsistent
with the nature of things, I must quit this place, for it
would be neither right for me to stay nor would the gov
ernor be justified in placing me in this position of trust;

3 i2 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

for the moment Louisiana assumes a position of hostility,
then this becomes an arsenal and fort. . . Let me
hear the moment you think dissolution is inevitable.
What Mississippi and Georgia do, this state will do
likewise. . .

JOHN SHERMAN TO W. T. SHERMAN

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 9, 1860.

. . . I am clearly of the opinion that you ought
not to remain much longer at your present post. You
will in all human probability be involved in complica
tions from which you cannot escape with honor. Sep
arated from your family and all your kin, and an object
of suspicion you will find your position unendurable.
A fatal infatuation seems to have seized the southern
mind, during which any act of madness may be com
mitted. . . If the sectional dissensions only rested
upon real or alleged grievances, they could be readily
settled, but I fear they are deeper and stronger. You
can now close your connection with the Seminary with
honor and credit to yourself, for all who know you speak
well of your conduct, while by remaining you not only
involve yourself but bring trouble upon those gentlemen
who recommended you.

It is a sad state of affairs, but it is nevertheless true,
that if the conventions of the Southern States make any
thing more than a paper secession, hostile collisions will
occur and probably a separation between the free and
the slave states. You can judge whether it is at all prob
able that secession of this capital, the commerce of the
Mississippi, the control of the territories, and the nat
ural rivalry of enraged sections can be arranged without
war. In that event you cannot serve in Louisiana
against your family and kin in Ohio. The bare pos
sibility of such a contingency, it seems to me renders

THE COMING OF SECESSION 313

your duty plain, to make a frank statement to all the
gentlemen connected with you, and with good feeling
close your engagement. If the storm shall blow over,
your course will strengthen you with every man whose
good opinion you desire ; if not, you will escape humilia
tion. When you return to Ohio, I will write you freely
about your return to the army, not so difficult a task as
you imagine. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO HIS DAUGHTER MINNIE

ALEXANDRIA, LA., Dec. 15, 1860.
DEAREST MINNIE: I have been intending to write
you a good long letter, and now I wish I could send
you all something for Christmas, but I thought all along
that Mama and you and Lizzie, Willie, Tommy, and
all would be here in our new house by New Year s day.
The house is all done, only some little painting to be
done. The stable is finished, but poor Clay 66 has been
sick. . . In the front yard are growing some small
oak trees, to give shade in the hot summer days; now
however it is raw and cold, the leaves are off and it
looks like winter, though thus far we have had no snow.
Maybe we will have some snow at Christmas. In the
back yard I have prepared for a small garden, but the
soil is poor and will not produce much, except early
peas, lettuce and sweet potatoes. The house itself looks
beautiful. Two front porches and one back, all the
windows open to the floor, like doors, so that you can
walk out on the porch either upstairs or downstairs. I
know you would all like the house so much - but dear
little Minnie, man proposes and God disposes -what I
have been planning so long and patiently, and thought
that we were all on the point of realizing, the dream and
hope of my life, that we could all be together once more

66 The horse given to Sherman by Mr. Ewing. ED.

3 i4 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

in a home of our own, with peace and quiet and plenty
around us. All, I fear, is about to vanish, and again I
fear I must be a wanderer, leaving you all to grow up
at Lancaster without your Papa.

Men are blind and crazy, they think all the people of
Ohio are trying to steal their slaves, and incite them to
rise up and kill their masters. I know this is a delu
sion - but when people believe a delusion, they believe
it harder than a real fact, and these people in the South
are going, for this delusion, to break up the government
under which we live. You cannot understand this but
Mama will explain it to you. Our governor here has
gone so far that he cannot change, and in a month maybe
you will be living under one government and I another.

This cannot last long, and as I know it is best for you
all to stay in Lancaster, I will not bring you down here
at all, unless some very great change takes place. If
this were only a plain college I could stay with propri
ety, but it is an arsenal with guns and powder and balls,
and were I to stay here I might have to fight for Louis
iana and against Ohio. That would hardly do; you
would not like that I know, and yet I have been asked
to do it. 67 But I hope still this will yet pass away, and
that our house and garden will yet see us all united here
in Louisiana. Your loving papa, W. T. SHERMAN.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

December i5[?], 1860.

. . . I started to write a letter to Minnie but got
drawn into this political strain that is not for her but
you. Read her so much of the letter as you please and
the rest to yourself.

Governor Moore has assembled the legislature in

67 This probably means that he was asked to stay as a neutral in case of
\var. Sherman s later letters indicate that such a proposition was made. ED.

THE COMING OF SECESSION 315

extra session at Baton Rouge and I have seen his mes
sage which is positive on the point of secession. You
will doubtless have the substance of it before you get
this; and I observe such men as Dick Taylor, the gen
eral s son, are in favor of immediate secession. I have
scarce room now to doubt that Louisiana will quit the
Union in all * January. The governor recommends the
establishment of a large arsenal here. We now have a
limited supply of arms.

I have announced my position; as long as Louisiana
is in the Union I will serve her honestly and faithfully,
but if she quits I will quit too. I will not for a day or
even hour occupy a position of apparent hostility to
Uncle Sam. That government is weak enough, but is
the only thing in America that has even the semblance
of a government. These state governments are ridicu
lous pretences of a government, liable to explode at the
call of any mob. I don t want to be premature and will
hold on to the last moment in hopes of change, but they
seem to be pushing events ridiculously fast.

There is an evident purpose, a dark design, not to
allow time for thought and reflection. These southern
leaders understand the character of their people and
want action before the spirit subsides. Robert Ander
son commands at Charleston, and there I look for the
first actual collision. Old Fort Moultrie, every brick
of which is as plain now in my memory as the sidewalk
in Lancaster, will become historical. It is weak and I
can scale any of its bastions. If secession, dissolution
and Civil War do come South Carolina will drop far
astern and the battle will be fought on the Mississippi.
The Western States never should consent to a hostile
people holding the mouth of the Mississippi. Should

* "In all January" means "all in January." Sherman made frequent use
of this peculiar construction. ED.

316 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I be forced to act promptly I will turn up either at St.
Louis or at Washington. T. knows full well where I
am, but he is angry at me about his charge against Ohio
of nigger stealing. You remember my answer from Lan
caster. I am very well. Weather cold and overcast. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Dec. 18, 1860.

. . . I cannot remain here much beyond January
23, the time set for the state convention to dissolve the
connection of this state with the U.S. The legislature
only sat three days and passed unanimously the bills for
arming the state and calling a convention. That con
vention has only to decree what has already been re
solved on and proclaimed by the Governor, that Louis
iana cannot remain under a Black Republican president.
The opinion is universal that disunion is resolved on,
and the only open questions are what states will com
pose the Southern Confederacy.

I regard the failure of Buchanan to strengthen Maj.
Anderson at Ft. Moultrie as absolutely fatal, as the evi
dence of contemptible pusilanimity of our general gov
ernment, almost convincing me that the government
is not worth saving. No wonder Gen. Cass forthwith
resigned. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Dec. 23, 1860.

. . There certainly are symptoms of a general
breaking up or dissolution of all government every
where. The people of the parish on the other side of
Red River have constituted themselves into a kind of
vigilance committee with power to execute their own
sentence on suspected parties. These are the best gen
tlemen of the country and though I can never approve

THE COMING OF SECESSION 317

of organizations that may as easily be adopted by the
evil disposed as the well disposed, yet they show the
tendency toward a general anarchy here as well as all
over the United States.

I take it for granted South Carolina has "seceded"
and that other Southern States will follow and that
Louisiana will be precipitated along. Her convention
meets Jan. 23 and I will await patiently her action. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, Christmas, 1860.

DEAR GENERAL: They [the cartridges] are a most
appropriate present, and I hope they may all be used
for holiday salutes, or mere practice. As you request
I will not put them on my returns. Else they would
have certainly gone on the books. When did you get
cartridges? I could procure none in Washington or in
New Orleans, and when the Parish Jury appropriated
two hundred fifty dollars for ammunition to be stored
here, I invested the money in twenty kegs of powder,
lead, and fifteen thousand percussion caps : and now wait
for the return of the Rapides for balls and buck-shot,
intending if necessity should arise to use our powder
flasks and pouches till we have leisure for making car
tridges. The mere fact of our having here these arms
and munitions will be a great fact. Still, should unfor
tunately an occasion arise I could leave a strong guard
here, and with a part of the cadets could move prompt
ly to any point.

I have to Governor Moore, to Dr. Smith, and to the
magistrate of this precinct defined my position. As
long as Louisiana is in the Union and I occupy this post
I will serve her faithfully against internal or external
enemies. But if Louisiana secede from the general
government, that instant I stop. I will do no act,

3 i8 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

breathe no word, think no thought hostile to the gov
ernment of the United States. Weak as it is, it is the only
semblance of strength and justice on this continent, as
compared with which the state governments are weak
and trifling. If Louisiana join in this unhallowed
movement to dismember our old government, how long
will it be till her parishes and people insult and deride
her? You now profess to have a state government and
yet your people, your neighbors, good, intelligent, and
well-meaning men have already ignored its laws and
courts, and give to an unknown, irresponsible body
of citizens the right to try, convict, and execute suspected
persons. If gentlemen on Rapides Bayou have this ab
solute right and power to try and hang a stranger, what
security have you or any stranger to go into these pine
woods where it may become a popular crime to own a
good horse or wear broadcloth?

My dear General, we are in the midst of sad times.
It is not slavery - it is a tendency to anarchy everywhere.
I have seen it all over America, and our only hope is in
Uncle Sam. Weak as that government is, it is the only
approach to one. I do take the [National^ Intelligen
cer and read it carefully. I have read all the items you
call my attention to, and have offered them to cadets
but they seem to prefer the [New Orleans] Delta.

I do think Buchanan made a fatal mistake. He
should have reinforced Anderson, my old captain, at
my old post, Fort Moultrie and with steam frigates
made Fort Sumpter [sic~\ impregnable. This instead of
exciting the Carolinians would have forced them to
pause in their mad career. Fort Sumpter with three thou
sand men and the command of the seas would have en
abled the government to execute the revenue laws, and
to have held South Carolina in check till reason could

THE COMING OF SECESSION 319

resume its sway. Whereas now I fear they have a con
tempt for Uncle Sam and will sacrifice Anderson. Let
them hurt a hair of his head in the execution of his
duty, and I say Charleston must [be] blotted from ex
istence. Twill arouse a storm to which the slavery
question will be as nothing else I mistake the character
of our people.

Of course I have countermanded my orders for Mrs.
Sherman to come south, and I feel that my stay here is
drawing to a close. Still I will not act till I conceive
I must and should, and will do all that a man ought,
to allow time for a successor. Smith and Dr. Clarke
are up at Judge Boyce s, St. Ange lives in Alexandria.
Boyd and I are alone. I have provided for a Christmas
dinner to the cadets. Still your present to them is most
acceptable, and what was provided by Jarreau can be
distributed along. . .

BRAXTON BRAGG TO W. T. SHERMAN

BATON ROUGE, LA., Dec. 26, 1860.

MY DEAR SHERMAN : The decision you have formed
does not surprise me; indeed, I do not see how it could
be otherwise under the circumstances in which you are
placed; and you will yet do me the justice to believe it
is most painful to realize the necessity. You are acting
on a conviction of duty to yourself and to your family
and friends. A similar duty on my part may throw us
into an apparent hostile attitude, but it is too terrible to
contemplate and I will not discuss it.

You see the course of events - South Carolina is gone,
nothing can recall her. The Union is already dis
solved. Mississippi has just elected a convention all the
same way. Alabama the same. There will be a strong
fight in this state. The city delegation will probably
control the convention, and both parties are making

320 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

great efforts there. But it all amounts to nothing; the
Union is already gone.

The only question now is; can we reconstruct any
government without bloodshed? I do not think we can,
and the question is momentous. Yet we find a few old
political hacks and barroom bullies are leading public
sentiment, and will in many cases represent us in con
vention. They can easily pull down a government, but
when another is to be built who will confide in them?
Yet no one seems to reflect that anything more is neces
sary than to "secede." Such a chaotic mass to work on
has never presented itself to my mind, and I can see
nothing but confusion to come of it.

We have had a preliminary meeting of our "Military
Board," and laid down a plan for the formation of
military companies. We have five thousand stands of
arms - muskets ; are to proceed to New Orleans to-mor
row to see what can be done in enlarging it. All re
ceived from the government so far are gone - issued
to volunteers companies and thrown away without the
slightest accountability. Unless brought into service
and kept under discipline how are we to prevent the
same thing again? A regular force is the only alter
native.

I shall still continue to hope, though without reason,
that Providence will yet avert the great evil. But
should the worst come we shall still be personal friends.
What are we to do to keep up our Bantam? 68 Is either
of your professors fit to take your place? Can we get a
suitable man elsewhere? Confer freely with General
Graham on the subject. We all have full confidence
in your judgment, and it will go far in deciding our
course if you leave.

68 The Seminary. ED.

THE COMING OF SECESSION 321

The trouble about your salary 69 was an oversight in
not amending the estimates after the bill was passed.
No appropriation was made. There can be no diffi
culty in getting it through the next session. I will try
and get it done early in the session. Whenever a sup
ply of arms are sent to you the board will employ a
man as armorer or authorize you to do it, for their
preservation.

The following report to the Board of Supervisors, of which
only the French version has been preserved, was the last official
report made by Superintendent Sherman. It explains in detail
the conditions of the Seminary at the close of his administration.

ANNUAL REPORT OF SHERMAN, JANUARY, 1861

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY of Learning and Military

Academy, Alexandria, January i, 1861.
To THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD of Supervisors, Alex
andria:

SIR: I have the honor to submit this, my Annual
Report. Accompanying it you will find,

i st. Balance sheet, exhibiting the state of all accounts
for 1860.

2nd. An Inventory of articles on hand for sale to
cadets, classified as "merchandise," such as text books,
clothing, bedding, etc.

3d. An inventory of property belonging to the Sem
inary, charged to expense account, but remaining on
hand and in daily use.

4th. A return of arms, accoutrements and ammuni
tion stored here, for the Central State Arsenal.

5th. A list or catalogue of all professors, cadets, and
other persons belonging to the Seminary.

69 At the session of 1860 a law was passed making Sherman superintendent
of the State Central Arsenal, but the author of the act neglected to have the
provision for the salary inserted in the appropriation bill. - ED.

322 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

6th. An exhibit, giving the approximate cost of
maintaining a "state" and "pay" cadet.

These contain all the information I am required to
give at this time, but I am satisfied you will expect of
me a more full exhibit of our financial prospects.

By an examination of the Balance sheet, marked i,
you will observe that we begin the new year with:
[$56,056.02]. . .

I estimate our expenses for this current year to be:
[$43,746.42]. . .

Deducting this from the former sum and we should
have a cash balance at the beginning of next year, of
$12,310.60, of which balance the sum of $10,502.97 will
belong to the "State Cadet Fund," and must be held
sacred. Deducting this from the former balance, leaves
the sum of $1,807.63 over and above all the estimated
expenses, which are full and liberal. From our iso
lated position, however, we must expect always to keep
on hand a pretty large stock of merchandise for sale to
cadets; and this will require a moderate capital to be
retained in hand.

All other accounts, such as wood, tuition, furniture,
and tailors, are self supporting.

The two professors houses are now substantially done,
and will be occupied within a fortnight. The old rail
fence has been removed, and a plain board fence con
structed, so as to enclose the buildings in a rectangular
field of about twenty-eight acres. The small balance of
the appropriation for roads and fences, $243.06, will
soon be expended on the main road, within the Seminary
limits, and in connection with the road now under con
struction by commissioners of the parish.

It would be well, at this time, to demolish the old,
dilapidated log cabin which stands by the east tower

THE COMING OF SECESSION 323

of the Seminary, as well as the shanty occupied by the
tailor s family, and to construct, in more retired locali
ties, two plain but neat cottages, one for the servants
employed about the Institution, and the other for the
occupation of the tailor. These would not cost over
seven hundred dollars, a sum that the very favorable
condition of our finances will warrant. With these
small changes, I do not see that any more buildings will
be called for till the number of cadets exceed one hun
dred and sixty.

CENTRAL STATE ARSENAL. By the act of your Gen
eral Assembly, approved March 14, 1860, was estab
lished here, in connection with this Military Academy,
an Arsenal under the above title. We then had on hand
only fifty-five muskets and fifty sets of rifle equipments,
and it appeared to me of some importance that a better
supply should be procured before the opening of the
present term. On my application, the adjutant-general
of the state, M. Grivot, and Governor Moore, placed in
my hands a requisition on the ordnance department of
the United States, for the quota of arms due Louisiana
for the year 1861. Availing myself of the August vaca
tion, I went to Washington, at my own expense, had a
personal interview with the secretary of war, Gov.
Floyd, w r ho promptly and courteously gave the neces
sary orders for advancing these arms before the time
they could be claimed under existing laws. Colonel
Craig, chief of ordnance, promptly filled the requisi
tion, so that we are now in possession of a complete sup
ply of the very arms and accoutrements needed by this
institution. The arms are of the newest and best pat
terns. The jury of the parish, at its December meeting,
appropriated the sum of two hundred, fifty dollars for
the purchase and deposit here of powder, balls, and per-

324 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

cussion caps. By an inspection of the return herewith
you will see a complete list of them all.

To afford a proper and safe place of storage for these
arms and ammunition, I enclosed the space under the
main stairway, in such a manner as greatly to strengthen
them, and to afford a magazine easy of access, easy to
guard, and where the powder is remote from any walls
containing fireplaces or flues.

It was my purpose to give in detail the history of
events which attended our progress during the past year ;
to have explained the character of discipline, of instruc
tion, and all things that would be calculated to assist you
in your duty report to the legislature. But I find all
these things so well described by your late vice-presi
dent, General Graham, in his report of April 28, 1860,
that I have nothing further to add.

The rules and regulations for the government of us
all, professors and cadets, have been so thoroughly can
vassed, and adopted and printed for general use and cir
culation, that nothing remains but to give them a fair
trial. Should, in their application, any defects exhibit
themselves, I shall not hesitate to point them out, and
at the very start I cannot withhold the expression of my
earnest conviction that, in our course of study and array
of text books, we have imposed upon the cadets a load
they cannot bear, and that it is calculated to make im
perfect and superficial scholars. In adding to a full
scientific course of study a most complete classical one,
we are apt to appall the mind of ambitious youth who
contemplates the task he has assumed.

Our standard for admission is low, but not too low.
The majority of applicants come to us very badly pre
pared, and with every disposition possible to yield to the
wishes of parents, the Academic Board was constrained
to reject twelve applicants at the beginning of this term.

THE COMING OF SECESSION 325

All these things can be safely left to time, and, in the
meantime, by adhering closely to the system which has
been well begun, by maintaining a pretty severe disci
pline, and more especially, by keeping the classes of
cadets constantly employed, at their studies and recita
tions, we can, beyond the probability of doubt, complete
the work so auspiciously begun, and make this to rank
among the first institutions of our country. A result in
which I feel assured all, professors and cadets will con
tinue to exhibit a pride and zeal worthy the cause.

I have the honor to be your ob t servant,

W. T. SHERMAN, superintendent.

After the New Year the people of the state hurried on to
secession. For the most part Sherman was a passive spectator
declaring that in case Louisiana should secede he would resign.
The seizure of the arsenal at Baton Rouge and the consign
ment to him of the arms there captured decided him to resign
his position at once, since he regarded the seizure of the post as
an act of hostility against the Federal government.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

[January, 1861.]

. . . Louisiana will surely secede this month, but
no hostile movements will take place for some time, and
about the 4th of March the plots and counterplots of the
politicians, who save the people of this country the
trouble of government, will become manifest; then
something must be done or all this confusion will be
come a farce.

I happened to stumble on an article in the papers say
ing that Mrs. Anderson had appealed to the president
in behalf of her husband. Her appeal would have
moved any man of feeling, I know that well. Ander
son is the very man for the place, and will do his duty,
and if communication be opened to the sea, the war may

326 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

be narrowed down to that point as it should. Other
wise it may spread all over the country. We must wait
as patiently as possible. . .

G. MASON GRAHAM TO W. T. SHERMAN

TYRONE, Friday Night, Jan. 4, 1861.

DEAR COLONEL : Your Christmas letter came duly to
hand, and I beg to make you my acknowledgements for
it, although it added fuel to the flame of the sad thoughts
and feelings with which I am now constantly oppressed.

First of all, I thought of your little circle at Lancas
ter and felt provoked that instead of being absorbed in
the enjoyment of their society you should have no better
occupation on that day than in writing to me.

Then the already almost realized certainty that we
shall lose you, for I feel as confident as I possibly can
of any event not yet transpired, than an ordinance of
secession will be rushed through the convention with
breathless haste. The tone of the Louisiana Democrat
ever since the presidential election has satisfied me of
that -its last issue confirms it. Less than four weeks
ago I proclaimed from the steps of the post-office, to an
unusually large crowd awaiting the opening of the mail,
that "I stood by the Union, that secession was treason,"
and no man in the crowd opened his mouth affirmatively
or negatively, although I saw men there - lifelong Dem
ocrats, too - who, I knew, felt and thought as I did
about it. A few days afterward a man who was in that
crowd, and whose breath smells of whatever Governor
Moore chews, told me that he was opposed to sending
men of extreme views either way to the convention on
Dec. 26. The same man said in my presence in Alex
andria that he would not vote for any man for the con
vention who would not pledge himself beforehand to
put the state out of the Union before the 4th of March.

THE COMING OF SECESSION 327

And what men are we to vote for to that convention!
So far as the talent and ability requisite for the occasion
are concerned I look upon both tickets as sphinxs, having
a common head. I shall vote for the courthouse sphinx,
because that was made publicly in open day, by the peo
ple, w r here everybody had a chance to take a part-
whilst the dark lantern sphinx was made nobody knows
by whom, nobody knows where, but popped on to the
Democratic stage by Locofoco jugglery.

The course you have marked out for yourself I had
anticipated. There is none other left for you. In the
event of the convention passing an ordinance of abrupt
secession, I do not see that there will be the slightest
obligation on [you], or propriety in your allowing time
for a successor. Where is he to come from at this time
except temporarily out of the present Academic Board?
Some of our friends will be apt to think that they have
accomplished more than they ever contemplated, and
may come, possibly, to the conclusion that there are
more things between heaven and earth than were ever
dreamt of in their philosophy.

Having no papers or letters by yesterday s mail, I
am very much in a mist in regard to Bob Anderson s sit
uation (in Fort Sumter) . I have heard that Mr. Floyd
has resigned because he was not allowed to reinforce
him. Am looking with intense anxiety for the mail of
to-morrow night. I really think that Mr. Van Buren
would have made longer strides after Gen. Jackson than
poor old Buck.

I have been greatly engrossed during the Holy
Days ( ?) . The overseer for "Forked-Deer" 70 has only
now arrived, having been to Mississippi for his wife,
and I have no overseer at Tyrone yet, though almost

70 One of General Graham s plantations. ED.

328 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

hourly pestered with applications - so that I have the
cares and troubles of both plantations on my hands, for
it will take several days yet to get rid of "Forked-deer."
Onze Heurs, et mes yeux beaucoup fatigues.

To-morrow I must work to get all the votes I can for
the courthouse sphinx. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

ALEXANDRIA, Jan. 5, 1861.

SlR: I have not acknowledged the receipt of the
four kegs of cartridges. They are old, unserviceable,
and much decayed. The powder is all caked and even
the balls are partially damaged by the corrosion of the
nitre.

Still these balls can be used for our practice in the
spring, provided the parish jury will assent to the use
of some of the powder which I have on hand purchased
with their money.

I have made my annual report accompanied by state
ments of finances, property, etc., all of which I know
will interest you much. I went to Alexandria on Thurs
day to deliver them to Dr. Smith, but he had gone up
to Mr. McNutts and I left them with Mr. Manning. If
you go to Alexandria, and have leisure, I would be
pleased to hear you have given them a careful perusal.
My report may seem to you rather short. I did feel
much tempted to avail myself of that opportunity to
point out the inconsistent parts of our regulations and
also to demonstrate that we have taken a course of study
so voluminous as to result in superficial education, but
our country is so agitated by political questions calcu
lated to break down all governments, that these things
might seem out of place.

My duty here is plain, simple, but not so easy as one
would suppose. I think by keeping our studies and

THE COMING OF SECESSION 329

duties progressing without pause or interruption, that
I will do my share to sustain the principle of govern
ment that is fast giving away all over the land, the only
principle that can save us from a general anarchy. My
only hope for the salvation of the constitution of the
country is in the army. The law is or should be our
king; we should obey it, not because it meets our ap
proval, but because it is the law - and because obedience
in some shape is necessary to every system of civilized
government. For years this tendency to anarchy has
gone on, till now every state and county and town
through the instrumentality of juries, either regular or
lynch, make and enforce the local prejudices as the law
of the land. This is the real trouble, it is not slavery,
it is the democratic spirit which substitutes mere pop
ular opinions for law. But I know you have bores
enough to trouble you - and I wont add my share : but
you will do justice to the difficulties that envelop me
in my private relations.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY of Learning and Military

Academy, Alexandria, Jan. 5, 1861.
. . . I have finished my report and placed all the
papers in the hands of Dr. Smith the vice-president. I
walked into town the day before yesterday, poor Clay
being dead and buried. Dr. Smith was away and I only
remained a few hours. Alexandria at best is not a cheer
ful town, but now r decidedly the reverse. Everybody
naturally feels the danger which envelopes us all in one
common cause. I have had nothing said to me at all,
and I discuss the questions of the day freely with my
equals, and try to keep my peace with loungers about the
street corners and ferry-boat landing, I always say
what is my real belief, that though the slavery question

330 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

seems to be the question soon it will sink into insig
nificance.

Our country has become so democratic that the mere
popular opinion of any town or village rises above the
law. Men have ceased to look to constitutions and law
books for their guides, but have studied popular opin
ion in bar rooms and village newspapers, and that was
and is law. The old women and grannies of New Eng
land, reasoning from abstract principles, must defy the
constitution of the country, the people of the South not
relying on the federal government must allow their peo
ple to favor filibustering expeditions, against the solemn
treaties of the land; and anywhere from California to
Maine any man could do murder, robbery or arson if
the people s prejudice lay in that direction. And now
things are at such a pass that no one section believes the
other, and we are beginning to fight.

The right of secession is but the beginning of the end ;
it is utterly wrong and the president ought never for one
moment to have permitted the South Carolinians to be
lieve he would not enforce the revenue laws and hold
the public property in Charleston Harbor. Had he
promptly reinforced Maj. Anderson the Charlestonians
would have been a little more circumspect. My only
hope is that Maj. Anderson may hold out, that more
reinforcements may reach him, and that the people may
feel that they can t always do as they please. Or in
other words that they are not so free and independent
as they think. In this view I am alone here, but I do so
think, and will say it. . .

If still this Civil War should pass over I shall require
you all to come down regardless of consequences, for
here I must stay summer and winter, or else give it
up. . .

THE COMING OF SECESSION 331

St. Louis will be paralyzed with Civil War, and Cali
fornia will be a foreign country. My only hope is that
bad as things now look there may occur some escape, or
if dissolution is inevitable that Ohio and Louisiana may
belong to the same confederacy. I am so far out of the
current here that I can only judge by newspapers and
they all indicate a bias. The Louisiana convention will
surely secede, but then the reconstruction. At all events
I cannot do anything till that is over, if they turn me
out I must stay and get my dues, and I will send you
every cent I can. The house is now done and the car
penters leave it to-day for good. People begin to won
der why you don t come down, and the fact is operating
to my prejudice, but at this time it would be imprudent
to do so. Maybe a change may yet occur. . .

JOHN SHERMAN TO W. T. SHERMAN

WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 6, 1861.
DEAR BROTHER: ... I see some signs of hope,
but it is probably a deceptive light. The very moment
you feel uncomfortable in your position in Louisiana,
come away. Don t for God s sake subject yourself to
any slur, reproach, or indignity. I have spoken to Gen
eral Scott, and he heartily seconds your desire to return
to duty in the army. I am not at all sure but that, if
you were here, you could get a position that would suit
you. I see many of your friends of the army daily. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Jan. 8, 1861.

. . . Things are moving along with the rapidity
of revolutions. The papers announce that the people
of Alabama have seized the arsenals at Mobile Point,
Fort Morgan, and above Mobile. I think similar steps
will soon follow at the forts at the mouth of the Missis-

332 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

sippi and Lake Pontchartrain. I have been in town
today and had a long talk with Dr. Smith who goes next
week to Baton Rouge to attend the meeting of the legis
lature and convention. He knows well my opinions;
I have not concealed them, that I cannot do any act
hostile to the United States. . .

The Board is unwilling to entrust the management
here to any one of the other professors. It takes me all
I can do to suppress disorder and irregularity. I had
a cadet threaten me yesterday with a loaded pistol be
cause I detected a whiskey jug in his room and threat
ened him with dismissal. He did not await trial but
went off. Although a large majority of the cadets are
good boys still we have some hard cases.

From what I see in the New Orleans papers Anderson
is still in possession of Fort Sumpter, and the general
government has failed to reinforce him and will wait till
he is attacked. This disgusts me and I would not serve
such a pusillanimous government. It merits dissolu
tion. This fact will increase the chances of an attempt
to prevent Lincoln s installation into office, and then we
shall see whether the wideawakes will fight as well as
carry cheap lamps of a night zigzagging down the
streets.

I see every chance of long, confused, and disorganiz
ing Civil War, and I feel no desire to take a hand there
in. When the time comes for reorganization then will
come the time. I feel anxious for your comfort and
safety but these cannot be threatened. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, Jan. 13, 1861.

. . . I see no change to note here in public senti
ment, the fact that Seward has been named as secretary
of state to Lincoln enables the leaders to show that their

THE COMING OF SECESSION 333

suspicions were right that the Republicans and aboli
tionists are identical. I am therefore confirmed in my
opinion that the cotton states are off and it is an even
chance with all the slave states. I take the Missouri
Republican and National Intelligencer which seem to
oppose secession but they cannot stem the torrent.

The revolution has begun and the national govern
ment has shown weakness in all its attempts. Anderson
is the only one who has acted. General Scott in sending
reinforcements ought not to have trusted the Star of the
West, the same in which we went to California some
[seven?] years ago. She could not venture to receive a
fire. Frigates and strong war steamers should have
gone, which could have forced their way past the land
batteries. I hope still this will be done. It will be a
triumph to South Carolina to beat Uncle Sam.

Still Charleston is nothing to New Orleans and I am
satisfied the forts at the mouth 71 and the lakes 72 will be
taken by order of Governor Moore of this state before
they can be occupied by the U.S. All these are acts of
war. War has begun. And it is idle to say the South
is not in earnest. Louisiana has not yet seceded, yet the
delegates favorable to such a course are elected, even in
New Orleans where the Union feeling is thought to be
strongest. I have no doubt that ultimately I will be
turned off as unfaithful, but I must see my way clearer
than I yet can before I leave from choice. . .

71 Of the Mississippi. - ED.

72 Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne. ED.

IX. SECESSION -SUPERINTENDENT SHER
MAN RESIGNS

Seizure of the military post and arsenal at Baton Rouge. Arms and am
munition sent to Sherman at the Seminary. Sherman gives notice that he will
resign if the state secedes. Does not wish to take part in a Civil War. The
influence of the Mississippi River on politics and commerce. Seizure of the
forts on the Mississippi and on Lake Ponchartrain. Notification to Governor
Moore. Thinks the war will ruin all politicians. Secession will result in
War. Sherman prepares to return to Ohio. Secession of Louisiana. Regret
at losing Sherman. Sherman s last official report in Louisiana. Resolutions
of the Board of Supervisors.

The seizure of the arms at Baton Rouge convinced Sherman
that the State of Louisiana was certain to secede and he formal
ly notified Governor Moore and the supervisors of his intention
to sever his connection with the Seminary as soon as an ordi
nance of secession should be passed. The convention passed the
ordinance on January 26. During the next month Sherman
was engaged in winding up his affairs in Louisiana, and on Feb
ruary 20 he left the Seminary for New Orleans where he visit
ed friends for a few days before going north.

The following extract from the Memoirs [vol. i, 181] gives
Sherman s account of the events which led to his resignation.

Before the ordinance of secession was passed, or the
convention had assembled . . . Governor Moore
ordered the seizure of all the United States forts at the
mouth of the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain, and
of the United States arsenal at Baton Rouge. The forts
had no garrisons, but the arsenal was held by a small
company of artillery, commanded by Major Haskins,
a most worthy and excellent officer, who had lost an arm
in Mexico. I remember well that I was strongly and bit
terly impressed by the seizure of the arsenal, which oc
curred on January 10, 1861.

336 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

When I first went to Baton Rouge, in 1859, en route to
Alexandria, I found Captain Rickett s company of ar
tillery stationed in the arsenal, but soon after there was
somewhat of a clamor on the Texas frontier about
Brownsville, which induced the war department to order
Rickett s company to that frontier. I remember that
Governor Moore remonstrated with the secretary of war
because so much dangerous property, composed of mus
kets, powder, etc., had been left by the United States un
guarded, in a parish where the slave population was as
five or six to one of whites ; and it was on this official de
mand that the United States government ordered Has-
kin s company to replace Rickett s. This company did
not number forty men.

In the night of January 9th, about five hundred New
Orleans militia, under command of a Colonel Wheat,
went up from New Orleans by boat, landed, surrounded
the arsenal, and demanded its surrender. Haskins was
of course unprepared for such a step, yet he at first re
solved to defend the post as he best could with his small
force. But Bragg, who was an old army acquaintance of
his, had a parley with him, exhibited to him the vastly
superior force of his assailants, embracing two field-
batteries, and offered to procure for him honorable
terms, to march out with drums and colors, and to take
unmolested passage in a boat up to St. Louis; alleging
further, that the old Union was at an end, and that a just
settlement would be made between the two new frag
ments for all the property stored in the arsenal. Of
course it was Raskin s duty to have defended his post to
the death ; but up to that time the national authorities in
Washington had shown such pusillanimity, that the of
ficers of the army knew not what to do.

The result, anyhow, was that Haskins surrendered his

SHERMAN RESIGNS 337

post, and at once embarked for St. Louis. The arms and
munitions stored in the arsenal were scattered - some to
Mississippi, some to New Orleans, some to Shreveport;
and to me, at the Central Arsenal, were consigned two
thousand muskets, three hundred Jager rifles, and a
large amount of cartridges and ammunition. The in
voices were signed by the former ordnance-sergeant,
Olodowski, as a captain of ordnance, and I think he con
tinued such on General Bragg s staff through the whole
of the subsequent Civil War.

These arms, etc., came up to me at Alexandria, with
orders from Governor Moore to receipt for and account
for them. Thus I was made the receiver of stolen goods,
and these goods the property of the United States. This
grated hard on my feelings as an ex-army officer, and on
counting the arms I noticed that they were packed in the
old familiar boxes, with the "U.S." simply scratched off.

According to the correspondence of the next five days events
moved rapidly with Sherman. He hears of the seizure of the
Baton Rouge arsenal, makes up his mind to leave and at once
begin preparations.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

Jan. 1 6, 1860.

. . . The people born and bred in the North are
more enthusiastic in this revolution than the natives to
the soil.

If you want me to come away you must move to get
me something to do. I know it is ridiculous for me to
ask this of you, but on the other hand I would not stay
in Ohio ten days without employment. I wrote you last
that you might visit Louisiana with Willie and Lizzie,
but these events are hurrying along too fast to make
arrangements ahead. Still I doubt not I shall be here

338 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

into February and maybe March. Though when
Govr. Moore receives my message he may think it wise
to get me away. Smith on the contrary wants to prove
to me that here in Louisiana we shall have more peace
and prosperity than in Ohio. . . - has written

me that he should take his family to Europe for safety
and return to fight in the sacred cause of his country
South, and against the invasion of the fanatic North. So
you see what force religion and charity has upon the
minds of mankind. I know millions are sincere in the
belief that the people of the North have done a barbar
ous deed in voting for Lincoln.

General Graham lays low and says nothing in these
times, but I know he is much distressed at the hasty man
ner in which things are pushed. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

ALEXANDRIA, Jan. 16, 1861.

DEAR GENERAL : It was my purpose to wait patiently
for the development of events, with my mind firmly re
solved to do no act hostile to the United States. I had
given full notice of such resolution to Dr. Smith and
Governor Moore. The seizure of the forts, and worse
still the capture of the company of U.S. soldiers at Baton
Rouge, where they were stationed by invitation of the
state authority for the protection of the arms and muni
tions of war placed there for the safety of the state, are
regarded by me as acts of war and a breach of common
decency. I forthwith repaired to Alexandria and noti
fied Dr. Smith of my opinion and that my longer stay
here was wrong. He thinks Governor Moore had rea
sons for his conduct not known to the public and as he is
on the point of going to Baton Rouge he asked me to
forbear till he could consult, and see what is to be done.

SHERMAN RESIGNS 339

He says he has consulted with many, and that all under
stand my opinions, that as I am entrusted with the
moneys and management of the institution he cannot ar
range for my relief till time is given to provide a suc
cessor. He is unwilling that Vallas should succeed to
my power as superintendent - or that any one else to the
care of the moneys. But he pledged me his word that I
should in no wise be compromised in any act of hostility
to the general government.

If I had in view any occupation, by which I could
maintain my family I would not stay, but as I have no
such employment in view, and as I cannot receive the
compensation fixed by law for me as superintendent of
the central arsenal, and as I have laid by little or noth
ing I have consented to await awhile, to allow the legis
lature to appropriate the five hundred dollars due for
last year, 73 and for a little salary to accumulate to give
me the means of retiring to Ohio, and cast around for
some means of support.

These are my reasons. They may be improper and
unsuited to the occasion, but such they are. But I do
think that the haste with which this revolution is pushed
must produce sad and bitter fruits. I feel no wish to
take part in the civil strife that seems inevitable. I
would prefer to hide myself, but necessity may force me
to another course. Here in Louisiana you must sustain
a large army, and its commander will soon dispose of
your governor and legislature, and will keep them to the
simple task of providing "ways and means." Then Gov
ernor Moore will maybe see that it is not so simple a
game to play. Our friend Bragg seems to be alert, and
most likely he will soon be your king. You could not
have a better.

73 For the salary of superintendent of the Arsenal. ED.

340 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

However secession may be regarded as to South Caro
lina, it becomes a far more serious matter when we know
that some of the most populous states are on the tribu
taries of the Mississippi whose mouth is now held by a
foreign and hostile state. This of itself will turn their
commerce by lakes and railroads eastward, and more
over a new feeling of interest will arise in New York
and Baltimore to embarrass the exports from New Or
leans. The facility of closing the Mississippi by a single
frigate, or by the possession of Key West or Tortugas
will and must paralyze the trade of New Orleans. It
may be that Louisiana honor compelled her to this
course, but I see it not and must think it is the rash re
sult of excited men. Men have ceased to reason and war
seems to be courted by those who understand not its cost
and demoralizing results. Civilians are far more will
ing to start a war than military men, and so it appears
now.

W. T. SHERMAN TO JOHN SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Jan. i6th, 1861.

MY DEAR BROTHER : I am so much in the woods here
that I can t keep up with the times at all. Indeed, you
in Washington hear from New Orleans two or three days
sooner than I do. I was taken aback by the news that
Governor Moore had ordered the forcible seizure of the
Forts Jackson and St. Philip, at or near the mouth of the
Mississippi ; also of Forts Pike and Wood, at the outlets
of Lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain. All these are
small forts, and have rarely been occupied by troops.
They are designed to cut off approach by sea to New Or
leans, and were taken doubtless to prevent their being
occupied, by order of General Scott.

But the taking the arsenal at Baton Rouge is a differ
ent matter. It is merely an assemblage of store-houses,

SHERMAN RESIGNS 341

barracks, dwelling-houses T4 designed for the healthy
residence of a garrison, to be thrown into one or the
other of the forts in case of war. The arsenal is one of
minor importance, yet the stores were kept there for the
moral effect, and the garrison was there at the instance
of the people of Louisiana.

To surround with the military array, to demand sur
render, and enforce the departure of the garrison, was
an act of war. It amounted to a declaration of war and
defiance, and was done by Governor Moore without the
authority of the legislature or convention. Still, there is
but little doubt but that each of these bodies, to assemble
next week, will ratify and approve these violent acts, and
it is idle to discuss the subject now. The people are mad
on this question.

I had previously notified all that in the event of seces
sion I should quit. As soon as a knowledge of these
events reached me, I went to the vice-president, Dr.
Smith, in Alexandria, and told him that I regarded
Louisiana as at war against the federal government, and
that I must go. He begged me to wait until some one
could be found to replace me. The supervisors feel the
importance of system and discipline, and seem to think
that my departure will endanger the success of this last
effort to build up an educational establishment.
You may assert that in no event will I forego my alle
giance to the United States as long as a single state is true
to the old Constitution. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO GOVERNOR MOORE

January 18, 1861.

SIR : As I occupy a quasi-military position under the
laws of the state, I deem it proper to acquaint you

74 The buildings now belong to the Louisiana State University, donated
through Sherman s influence, it is thought. - ED.

342 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

that I accepted such position when Louisiana was a state
in the Union, and when the motto of this Seminary was
inserted in marble over the main door : "By the liberal
ity of the general government of the United States. The
Union esto perpetual

Recent events foreshadow a great change, and it be
comes all men to choose. If Louisiana withdraw from
the Federal Union, I prefer to maintain my allegiance to
the constitution as long as a fragment of it survives and
my longer stay here would be wrong in every sense of
the word.

In that event, I beg you will send or appoint some au
thorized agent to take charge of the arms and munitions
of war belonging to the state, or advise me what dispo
sition to make of them.

And furthermore, as president of the Board of Super
visors, I beg you to take immediate steps to relieve me as
superintendent, the moment the state determines to se
cede, for on no earthly account will I do any act or think
any thought hostile to or in defiance of the old govern
ment of the United States.

W. T. SHERMAN TO GOVERNOR MOORE

January 18, 1861.

MY DEAR SIR: I take it for granted that you have
been expecting for some days the accompanying paper
from me [the above official letter]. I have repeatedly
and again made known to General Graham and Dr.
Smith that, in event of a severance of the relations
hitherto existing between the Confederate States of this
Union, I would be forced to choose the old Union. It
is barely possible all the states may secede, South and
North, that new combinations may result, but this pro
cess will be one of time and uncertainty, and I cannot
with my opinions await the subsequent development.

SHERMAN RESIGNS 343

I have never been a politician, and therefore under
value the excited feelings and opinions of present rulers,
but I do think, if this people cannot execute a form of
government like the present, that a worse one will result.

I will keep the cadets as quiet as possible. They are
nervous, but I think the interest of the state requires
them here, guarding this property, and acquiring a
knowledge which will be useful to your state in after-
times.

When I leave, which I now regard as certain, the
present professors can manage well enough, to afford
you leisure time to find a suitable successor to me. You
might order Major Smith to receipt for the arms, and
to exercise military command, while the academic exer
cises could go on under the board. In time, some gentle
man will turn up, better qualified than I am, to carry on
the Seminary to its ultimate point of success. I entertain
the kindest feelings toward all and would leave the state
with much regret; only in great events we must choose,
one way or the other.

W. T. SHERMAN TO JOHN SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Jan. 18, 1861.

DEAR BROTHER : Before receiving yours of the yth, I
had addressed a letter to Governor Moore at Baton
Rouge, of which this is a copy: [see the preceding let
ters to Governor Moore].

I regard the seizure by Governor Moore of the
United States Arsenal as the worst act yet committed in
the present revolution. I do think every allowance
should be made to southern politicians for their nervous
anxiety about their political power and the safety of
slaves. I think that the constitution should be liberally
construed in their behalf , but I do regard this Civil War

344 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

as precipitated with undue rapidity. . . It is inevi
table. All the legislation now would fall powerless on
the South. You should not alienate such states as Vir
ginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri. My notion
is that this war will ruin all politicians, and that military
leaders will direct the events.

W. T. SHERMAN TO DR. S. A. SMITH, OF THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

January 19, 1861.

DEAR SIR: I have just finished my quarterly reports
to the parents of all the cadets here, or who have been
here. All my books of account are written up to date.
All bills for the houses, fences, etc., are settled, and noth
ing now remains but the daily routine of recitations and
drills. I have written officially and unofficially to Gov
ernor Moore, but with my opinions of the claimed right
of secession, of the seizure of public forts, arsenals, etc.,
and the ignominious capture of a United States garrison,
stationed in your midst, as a guard to the arsenal and for
the protection of your own people, it would be highly
improper for me longer to remain.

No great inconvenience can result to the Seminary. I
will be the chief loser. I came down two months be
fore my pay commenced. I made sacrifices in Kansas
to enable me thus to obey the call of Governor Wickliffe,
and you know that last winter I declined a most advan
tageous offer of employment abroad ; and thus far I have
received nothing as superintendent of the arsenal,
though I went to Washington and New York (at my
own expense) on the faith of the five hundred dollars
salary promised.

These are small matters in comparison with those in
volved in the present state of the country, which will
cause sacrifices by millions, instead of by hundreds. The

SHERMAN RESIGNS 345

more I think of it, the more I think I should be away,
the sooner the better; and therefore hope you will join
with Governor Moore in authorizing me to turn over to
Major Smith T5 the military command here, and to the
Academic Board the control of the daily exercises and
recitations.

There will be no necessity of your coming up. You
can let Major Smith receive the few hundreds of cash
I have on hand, and I can meet you on a day certain in
New Orleans, when we can settle the bank account. Be
fore I leave, I can pay the steward Jarreau his account
for the month, and there would be no necessity for other
payments till about the close of March, by which time
the Board can meet, and elect a treasurer and superin
tendent also.

At present I have no class, and there will be none
ready till about the month of May, when there w r ill be a
class in "surveying." Even if you do not elect a superin
tendent in the meantime, Major Smith could easily
teach this class, as he is very familiar with the subject-
matter. Indeed, I think you will do well to leave the
subject of a new superintendent until one perfectly satis
factory turns up.

There is only one favor I will ask. The Seminary
has plenty of money in bank. The legislature will surely
appropriate for my salary as superintendent of this arse
nal. Would you not let me make my drafts on the state
treasury, send them to you, let the treasurer note them
for payment when the appropriation is made, and then
pay them out of the Seminary fund? The drafts will be
paid in March, and the Seminary will lose nothing. This
would be just to me; for I actually spent two hundred
dollars and more in going to Washington and New

75 Commandant of cadets. - ED.

346 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

York, thereby securing from the United States, in ad
vance, three thousand dollars worth of the very best
arms; and clothing and books at a clear profit to the
Seminary of over eight hundred dollars. I may be some
time finding new employment, and will stand in need of
this money (five hundred dollars) ; otherwise I would
abandon it. . .

G. MASON GRAHAM TO W. T. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Saturday, Jan. 19, 1861.
COL. W. T. SHERMAN, Military Academy of the Inde
pendent State of Louisiana.

DEAR COLONEL: I have been so bothered and run
since the receipt of your last favor of recent date that I
have not been able to reply to it, and all I can do now in
that way is to enclose for your perusal two letters * from
our friend Sanford which express pretty well the condi
tion into which the conservative people have been
forced.

Whatever we may think and feel we must go along
with our section in the contest which has been forced up
on us, and in which we must take care of ourselves as
best we may. For the share which designing, selfish
politicians and editors have had in exciting the passions,
alarming the fears, maddening the mind of the people on
both sides, may God deal with them as they deserve.
They have unchained winds they will be powerless to
control. I did what I could to make the people sensible
of this before the election, but "Crucify him! Crucify
him!" was the Democratic cry, and now we must all go
over the cataract together, of which I have told them.
Those of us, if any here, who may survive the storm may
enjoy a peaceful calm. . .

* These letters were not found. ED.

SHERMAN RESIGNS 347

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, Jan. 20, 1861.

. . . Here is another Sunday. I have written you
often enough of late to keep you in a perfect state of un
easiness, but it does seem that each day brings forth
something new. I now have official notice that three
thousand three hundred muskets, seventy thousand car
tridges, etc., are sent here from Baton Rouge, which
must be a part of those seized by the state or otherwise
stolen, and I must make provision for their storage. I
must move to the new house in order to afford room for
them in my present quarters.

But my stay here much longer is impossible. My opin
ions and feelings are so radically opposed to those in
power that this cannot last long. I send you a copy of a
letter I wrote to Governor Moore on the i8th, on the re
ceipt of which he will be forced to act. I hate to lose
that five hundred dollars but I guess it can t be helped.
I know all about the forms of reports, returns, money ac
counts, etc., and no one here does, and I know of no one
in the state that Moore can find. Still I think he will
feel bound to place the custody of these arms in the
hands of one more faithful to Louisiana than I profess
to be.

I shall expect a definite answer in a week, when I pro
pose to go to New Orleans and settle the bank account.
I would then ship in some Cincinnati boat such traps as
would not bear railroad transportation and thence by
railroad to Cincinnati, so that it is not impossible I may
be in Lancaster early in February. I must leave here
with a clean record, and this can only be done in the
manner I have pointed out to Governor Moore. He
may endeavor to throw obstacles in my way, but I think
not. He is too fair a man.

348 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I feel no desire to follow an army necessarily engaged
in Civil War, and as we could start out of debt, it may
be we can keep so.

Those now in debt will suffer most, or least, for they
will likely repudiate all debts. Down here they think
they are going to have fine times. New Orleans a free
port whereby she can import goods without limit or
duties and sell to the up-river countries. But Boston,
New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore will never con
sent that New Orleans should be a free port and they
subject to duties. The most probable result will be that
New Orleans will be shut off from all trade, and the
South having no money 76 and no sailors cannot raise a
blockade without assistance from England, and that she
will never receive.

I have letters from General Graham and others who
have given up all hope of stemming the tide. All they
now hope for is as peaceable a secession as can be ef
fected. I heard Mr. Clay s speech in 1 850 on the subject
of secession and if he deemed a peaceable secession then
as an absurd impossibility, much more so is it now
when the commercial interests of the North are so much
more influential. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

SEMINARY, January 20, 1861.

MY DEAR FRIEND : Yours of yesterday was read with
painful interest last night along with Mr. Sanford s two,
which I herewith return. Of course now that reason is
powerless and the truth cannot be reached through the
clouds of mistrust, suspicion, and mutual accusations
which envelop us, we are all drifting together no one
knows whither.

I was waiting as patiently as a red-headed person

76 So written but probably Navy is meant. -En.

SHERMAN RESIGNS 349

could, for the official acts of the convention charged
with the destiny of Louisiana, when tidings reached me
that Governor Moore had caused the seizure of the forts
and arsenals, and had driven away with ignominy the
small garrison posted among friends for the protection
of the dangerous instruments of war. For this I see no
justification and feel compelled to announce my deter
mination by letter in the terms I have previously done to
Dr. Smith in the presence of Mr. Elgee. Dr. Smith
gave me his personal assurance that in no event should I
be called on to do any act compromising my national
character and preferences.

But fearing some unforeseen cause might render him
powerless I resolved to move officially and therefore ad
dressed to Governor Moore a letter of which the sub
joined is a copy - and at the same time wrote him and
Dr. Smith each, other private letters with the view T to
convey to them the personal reasons for my choice. . .
[See pages 341-346.]

Of course they will now make short metre of me and
within a week I expect to be homeward bound. I hare
made all reports, returns, and letters to parents, and all
the books are written up to date. I have asked Smith to
meet me in New Orleans to balance the bank account,
for I want to leave with clean hands, and they will be
clean enough, for I have saved but little and can now
hardly expect the legislature will appropriate for the
rebel.

I have notice that three thousand three hundred
stand of arms - seventy thousand cartridges and two
hundred carbine cartridges and belts are enroute for this
place. I must, as long as I stay, be faithful to my trust,
and I will take immediate steps for their safe storage,
though it will force me to move and use this room as a
store-house. I hope however to be relieved in time so

350 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

that some one else will have the pleasure of receipting
for them and accounting for them.

My own opinion is that Lincoln will be installed in
office - that Congress will not repeal the Union, that the
revenues will be collected. The consequence is inevi
table - war, and ugly war too. I do not think the South
will be invaded, or plain coercion attempted ; but no ves
sel can be cleared at New Orleans and no vessel can
enter without paying duties outside. Commerce will
cease unless the South can combine, organize a navy and
fight their way, or unless she can form a treaty with our
old enemy England. For the northern and eastern cities
will never consent to pay duties and allow New Orleans
to be a free port, to send into the interior goods cheaper
than they.

But discussion is useless. The storm is upon us, and
we must each to our own ship. I hope I may meet you
again but if not accept the assurances of my great affec
tion, respect, and admiration, and my earnest prayer that
you and yours may long survive to look back with satis
faction to the time when we started the Seminary in a
vain belief that we were serving the cause of our com
mon country.

During the next two weeks Sherman completed his prepara
tions for leaving but was delayed by the necessity of waiting for
the Supervisors to pass upon his accounts and to arrange for the
payment of his salary as superintendent of the State Central
Arsenal. The legislature, after Sherman left the state, provided
for the deficiency. The following letters indicate plainly the
regret felt at Sherman s departure.

GOVERNOR MOORE TO W. T. SHERMAN

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, January 23, 1861.
MY DEAR SIR: It is with the deepest regret I ac
knowledge receipt of your communication of the

SHERMAN RESIGNS 351

1 8th inst. In the pressure of official business, I can now
only request you to transfer to Professor Smith the arms,
munitions, and funds in your hands, whenever you con
clude to withdraw from the position you have filled with
so much distinction. You cannot regret more than I do
the necessity which deprives us of your services, and you
will bear with you the respect, confidence, and admira
tion of all who have been associated with you. 77 . .

BRAXTON BRAGG TO W. T. SHERMAN

BATON ROUGE, Jan. 27, 1861.

MY DEAR SHERMAN: It is with the deepest regret
that the enclosed papers are forwarded to you. I am so
occupied with other matters that I do not know what the
Board of Supervisors have done or will do about your
successor. Dr. Smith has made arrangements, I think,
to settle your salary as ordnance officer.

The ordinance of secession passed the convention yes
terday by a very large vote, and a convention of South
ern States will immediately meet to organize a new con
federacy. It will be in operation - a de facto govern
ment- before the 4th of March. We hope this course
will lead to a peaceable solution of the matters. A sepa
ration is inevitable - nothing can prevent it now. Why
should there be any strife over it?

Still it is not for individuals to control these matters.
We can only strive and hope.

Wherever you go my fervent prayers attend you for
success and happiness. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, January 27, 1861.

. . . Since my last I have three letters from
you. . . The mails have been much disordered by a

77 This letter is in Braxton Bragg s handwriting. ED.

352 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

break on the Mississippi Railroad. In my last I sent you
a copy of a letter written to Governor Moore, to which
I have received no answer. 78 He is very busy indeed,
legislature and convention both in session at Baton
Rouge, giving him hardly time to think of the Semi
nary. . .

The ordinance of Secession will pass in a day or so, 79
but the legislature was adjourned till February 4, so
that no business can be transacted there for some days.
It don t take long to pull down, and everybody is striv
ing for the honor of pouring out the deepest insult to
Uncle Sam. The very men who last 4th of July were
most patriotic and exhausted their imaginations for pic
tures of the glories of our Union, are now full of joy and
happiness that this accursed Union is wrecked and de
stroyed.

This rapid popular change almost makes me mon
archist, and raises the question whether the self interest
of one man is not a safer criterion than the wild opinions
of ignorant men. From all I can read Missouri and
Kentucky will go with the crowd South and will be
more seriously affected than any other part of the coun
try.

As soon as I hear from Governor Moore I will let
you know when to expect me. I know that he, the govern
or, will feel inclined to get rid of me instanter, but Dr.
Smith wants me to stay for a successor, and he has no
successor in his mind. If he proposes I shall stay till
March, I will feel disposed to agree to it for pecuniary
reasons, but I think the governor will feel hurt at my
letter, and will be disposed to get rid of me. At all
events, my position being clearly defined I cannot be
complicated by these secession movements. I do feel a

78 See pages 341-343, 350-351- -En.

79 It was passed on January 26, 1861. ED.

SHERMAN RESIGNS 353

little mean at being made partially accessory to the rob
bing of the Baton Rouge Arsenal by receiving a part of
the stolen property. . .

S. A. SMITH TO W. T. SHERMAN

BATON ROUGE, January 28, 1 86 1.

MY DEAR SIR: Your letter was duly received, and
would have been answered ere this time could I have
arranged sooner the matter of the five hundred dollars.
I shall go from here to New Orleans to-day or to-mor
row, and will remain there till Saturday after next, per
haps. I shall expect to meet you there, as indicated in
your note to me.

I need not tell you that it is with no ordinary regret
that I view your determination to leave us, for really I
believe that the success of our institution, now almost as
sured, is jeopardized thereby. I am sure that we will
never have a superintendent with whom I shall have
more pleasant relations than those which have existed
between yourself and me.

I fully appreciate the motives which have induced
you to give up a position presenting so many advantages
to yourself, and sincerely hope that you may, in any fu
ture enterprise, enjoy the success which your character
and ability merit and deserve. . .

Colonel Bragg informs me that the necessary orders
have been given for the transfer and receipt by Major
Smith of the public property.

I herewith transmit a request to the secretary to
convene the Board of Supervisors, that they may act as
seems best to them in the premises.

In the mean time, Major Smith will command by
seniority the cadets, and the Academic Board will be
able to conduct the scientific exercises of the institution
until the Board of Supervisors can have time to act. . .

354 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

P.S. Governor Moore desires me to express his pro
found regret that the state is about to lose one who we all
fondly hoped had cast his destinies for weal or for woe
among us ; and that he is sensible that we lose an officer
whom it will be difficult, if not impossible, to replace.

W. T. SHERMAN TO G. MASON GRAHAM

ALEXANDRIA, January 31, 1861.

DEAR SIR: A meeting of the Board of Supervisors is
called by instruction of Dr. S. A. Smith, vice-president,
at ii a.m. Saturday, February 9, in Alexandria.

May I ask your attendance, and your influence, with
your neighbors for their attendance, as Dr. Smith s ab
sence will make a quorum hard to get.

Business of importance will be laid before you, em
bracing the steps made imperatively necessary, by my
withdrawal from my present duties of superintendent
and treasurer.

I have a sealed letter from Dr. Smith to the Board,
and I cannot tell whether he intends to be present or not.

NOTE BY GRAHAM ENDORSED ON THE ABOVE

Have you received notice to attend any such meeting?
This letter of Colonel Sherman s is all I know about it.
I fear Sherman is to be chiselled out of the five hundred
dollars a year engaged to be paid him in the Arsenal
bill of last year. That bill authorizes it "to be paid quar
terly on his own warrant." The auditor, or treasurer,
one or the other, I understand will not pay it because it
was not in the Appropriation Bill, thanks to the expe
rience and sagacity of some of our friends. Once Colo
nel Sherman leaves here, he will neither come back, nor
send back to ask for it.

I am going to New Orleans, whither I have been try
ing to get off for more than three months. My trunk has

jltete jtmrnm^ of

AND MILITARY ACADEMY.

f2z^/&gt; .

2^-v^C

SHERMAN S LHTTHR TO (JKNHRAL G. M. GRAHAM

SHERMAN RESIGNS 357

been in Alexandria for that purpose since Sunday, and
I must go on the "Burton" on Thursday -but I wish
that you gentlemen would do what I should do myself
if present: propose to and urge on the Board the passage
of a Resolution directing the vice-president to pay
Colonel S. the full amount due him on that score up to
the day of his withdrawal, out of the Seminary funds,
and then take Colonel Sherman s warrant, on the auditor
for the amount, which when appropriated by the legisla
ture would thus be returned to the Seminary funds.

The increase of his salary in that manner, was a part
of the inducement to him to decline the appointment to
London, and I am sure there was no intention any where
to deceive or disappoint him, and under all the atten
dant circumstances now no consideration whatever
ought to be allowed to interfere with his immediate re
ception of it, and I hope you gentlemen will urge and
insist on it.

W. T. SHERMAN TO JOHN SHERMAN

February i, 1861.

. . . It is war to surround Anderson with batter
ies, and it is shilly-shally for the South to cry "Hands
off! No coercion!" It was war and insult to expel the
garrison at Baton Rouge, and Uncle Sam had better cry
"Cave I" or assert his power. Fort Sumter is not mate
rial, save for the principle ; but Key West and the Tortu-
gas should be held in force at once, by regulars, if pos
sible, if not, by militia. Quick! They are occupied
now, but not in force.

Whilst maintaining the high, strong ground you do, I
would not advise you to interpose an objection to secur
ing concessions to the middle and moderate states - Vir
ginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri. Slavery

358 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

there is local, and even if the world were open to them,
its extension would involve no principle. If these states
felt the extreme South wrong, a seeming concession
would make them committed. The cotton states are
gone, I suppose. Of course, their commerce will be
hampered. . .

I sent you a copy of my letter to the governor. Here
is his answer [see pages 350-351].

This is very handsome, and I do regret this political
imbroglio. I do think it was brought about by politi
cians. The people in the South are evidently unanimous
in the opinion that slavery is endangered by the current
of events, and it is useless to attempt to alter that opinion.
As our government is founded on the will of the people,
when that will is fixed, our government is powerless, and
the only question is whether to let things slide into gen
eral anarchy, or the formation of two or more confed
eracies, which will be hostile sooner or later. Still, I
know that some of the best men of Louisiana think this
change may be effected peaceably. But even if the
Southern States be allowed to depart in peace, the first
question will be revenue.

Now, if the South have free trade, how can you col
lect revenues in the eastern cities? Freight from New
Orleans to St. Louis, Chicago, Louisville, Cincinnati,
and even Pittsburg, would be about the same as by rail
from New York, and importers at New Orleans, having
no duties to pay, would undersell the East if they had to
pay duty. Therefore, if the South make good their con
federation and their plan, the northern confederacy
must do likewise or blockade. Then comes the question
of foreign nations. So, look on it in any view, I see no
result but war and consequent changes in the form of
government. . .

SHERMAN RESIGNS 359

W. T. SHERMAN TO BRAXTON BRAGG

SEMINARY OF LEARNING, ALEXANDRIA, Louisiana, Feb
ruary i, 1861.

DEAR SIR: ... I thank you most kindly, and
Governor Moore through you, for the kind manner in
which you have met my wishes.

Now that I cannot be compromised by political
events, I will so shape my course as best to serve the in
stitution, which has a strong hold on my affections and
respect.

The Board of Supervisors will be called for the 9th
instant, and I will co-operate with them in their mea
sures to place matters here on a safe and secure basis. I
expect to be here two weeks, and will make you full re
turns for moneys and property belonging to the State
Central Arsenal. All the arms and ammunitions are
safely stored here. Then I will write you more at length.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, Feb. i, 1861.

. . . I suppose you are impatient to hear what
next. Last night I got full letters from Baton Rouge.
Governor Moore s is in these words [see pages35&lt;&gt;35i].

Dr. Smith, also at Baton Rouge, writes me at length.
He says [see page 353].

So you see I have at least the good will of all my asso
ciates. I have called the Board for February 9, and ex
pect to leave here by or before February 20. I shall de
lay a while in New Orleans, not long, and get to Lancas
ter by March. . . If you really desire me to settle in
Ohio you must make some exertions for I cannot abide
there long in inactivity, and loafing. . .

I have a good letter from Turner in which he infers
I cannot stay here and advises me to come to St. Louis,

3 6o SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

but points out nothing definite. He thinks Missouri will
not secede, but if she do not they will have a severe con
test there, for men who own negroes are blind to all in
terests other than those of slavery. Reason has nothing
to do in these times of change and revolution. Politi
cians start the movement and keep it alive by a process
known to themselves, and the poor innocent people have
nothing to do but follow their lead. It may not be so
there, but I am not convinced.

I see John takes bold ground. He is right. If the
government be a reality it should defend its flag, prop
erty and servants. Anderson should be reinforced if it
cost ten thousand lives and every habitation in Charles
ton. Also the seizure of these arsenals should be resent
ed and the actors made to feel that the United States is
a reality. But the time is not yet. . .

G. MASON GRAHAM TO W. T. SHERMAN

TYRONE, LA., Wednesday, Feb. 6, 1861.

DEAR COLONEL : . . . Those cartridges 80 are the
wretched (as I am sorry to learn from you they turn out
to be) remains of my old company, "The Rapides Horse
Guards." The vaulting ambition of a succeeding com
pany and the characteristic legislation of the police jury
got the carbines, sabres, pistols, and accoutrements
burned up; the small box of cartridges which I have
here being perfectly sound, it had not occurred to me
that, put up as they are, they could be damaged; those
you got have always remained in the railroad warehouse,
and I am sorry to hear from you that they have become
useless ; it is not a matter of so much consequence now
to either of us as it was a few months ago.

Your letters have given me much food for sad re
flection. I have tried in various ways, after my quiet

80 See pages 317 and 328. ED.

SHERMAN RESIGNS 361

fashion, during thirty odd years of residence here, to do
these people some good. The organization of this Semi
nary, with yourself at the head of it - I had hoped some
thing from it in the way of elevating their social and
mental conditions, but it is ever casting "pearls before
swine;" for the future I shall "let Ephraim alone, for he
is wedded to his idols."

All of these proceedings! people in their sovereign
capacity assembled in convention, and legislature in ses
sion at the same time ! What do we want with both? - to
make more taxes to feed hungry Locofocos.

I have been trying for more than three months to get
off to New Orleans. On Sunday sent my trunk to Alex
andria, expecting to go on Monday. Now my passage
is taken for to-morrow on the "Burton" (couldn t go to
the party at Joe Hynson s last night for want of clothes,
for the road is in too impassable a condition to send for
my trunk and then send it back again), so that I cannot
await the uncertainty of a meeting of the board on Sat
urday.

I sent yesterday your last letter, informing me of the
call of the meeting, up to Sanford and Whittington, re
questing them to attend, and to insist on the passage of a
resolution directing the vice-president to pay you your
arsenal salary up to the day of your withdrawal, out of
Seminary funds, and take your warrant on the auditor
for the amount when appropriated by the legislature, to
be thus returned to the Seminary funds. If I was cer
tain that there would be a full quorum and a boat on
which I could get off on Saturday afternoon, much as it
would inconvenience me, I should remain for this
purpose. . .

Sherman s last formal act as superintendent of the Seminary
was the drafting of a special report dated in response to a legis-

362 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

lative resolution asking for information relative to methods of
admission of state cadets. A few candidates for admission had
been rejected because of lack of preparation and their relatives
and friends had brought the matter before the state legislature,
charging that discrimination had been made in favor of some
cadets and against others especially against French speaking
candidates. In his reply, Sherman stated that certain students
had been sent home. "Parce qu ils ne pouvaient pas lire et ecrire
la langue anglaise, ne pouvaient pas additioner, soustraire, mul
tiplier et diviser les chiffres communs, et parce qu ils n avaient
aucune connaissance des fractions vulgaires et decimals." The
explanation, accompanied by documents all in French, put an
end to the charges of favoritism.

The Board of Supervisors reluctantly accepted Sherman s
resignation to take effect February 28, but did not elect a suc
cessor. Subsequent correspondence shows that some of the su
pervisors were hoping that if war did not come he might be
induced to return to Louisiana.

S. A. SMITH TO W. T. SHERMAN

BATON ROUGE, Feb. n, 1861.

DEAR SIR : I have been in New Orleans for ten days,
and on returning here find two letters from you, also
your prompt answer to the resolution of the House of
Representatives, for which I am much obliged.

The resolution passed the last day before adjourn
ment. I was purposing to respond, when your welcome
report came to hand. I have arranged to pay you five
hundred dollars.

I will say nothing of general politics, except to give
my opinion that there is not to be any war.

In the event, would it not be possible for you to be
come a citizen of our state? Every one deplores your
determination to leave us. At the same time your
friends feel that you are abandoning a position that
might become an object of desire to any one.

I will try to meet you in New Orleans at any time you

SHERMAN RESIGNS 363

may indicate; but it would be best for you to stop here,
when, if possible, I will accompany you. . . Bring
with you a few copies of the "Rules of the Seminary."

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

February 14, 1861.

SIR: I am instructed by the Board of Supervisors of
this institution to present a copy of the resolutions
adopted by them at their last meeting:

RESOLVED, that the thanks of the Board of Supervisors
are due, and are hereby tendered, to Colonel William
T. Sherman for the able and efficient manner in which
he has conducted the affairs of the Seminary during the
time the institution has been under his control - a period
attended with unusual difficulties, requiring on the part
of the superintendent to successfully overcome them a
high order of administrative talent. And the Board
further bear willing testimony to the valuable services
that Colonel Sherman has rendered them in their ef
forts to establish an institution of learning in accordance
with the beneficient design of the State and Federal
Governments ; evincing at all times a readiness to adapt
himself to the ever-varying requirements of an institu
tion of learning in its infancy, struggling to attain a po
sition of honor and usefulness.

RESOLVED further, that, in accepting the resignation
of Colonel Sherman as superintendent of the State
Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, we ten
der to him assurances of our high personal regard, and
our sincere regret at the occurrence of causes that render
it necessary to part with so esteemed and valued a friend,
as well as co-laborer in the cause of education.

POWHATAN CLARKE, secretary to the Board.

3 6 4 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

W. T. SHERMAN TO MRS. SHERMAN

SEMINARY (Sunday), Feb. 16, 1861.

. . . I have been busy all day in making up ac
counts and papers and packing up. I shall leave here
on Tuesday and will meet Dr. Smith at New Orleans by
Friday and hope to take the cars by Saturday night for
St. Louis.

I expect nothing at St. Louis and go there merely to
see old acquaintances and friends and to look at that
little farm. I will not delay long and will be home be
fore the 4th March. That is I suppose the critical mo
ment. Much now depends on the action of that assem
blage in Washington gl of which I am pleased to see
your father is a member. Still when opinions. so widely
vary as they do it is almost impossible to discuss any
practicable question.

I went up the Bayou last week to visit the Lucketts,
Sanfords, Comptons, Grahams, and Longs. All, how
ever were so full of northern outrages, wrongs, oppres
sions, etc., that twas useless to argue. There seems to be
universal regret that I leave and I received [such] un
mistakable evidence of kindly regard that I cannot but
feel some regret at parting. . .

81 The Peace Convention. ED.

X. TO NEW ORLEANS AND THE NORTH

Sherman leaves the Seminary and goes to New Orleans. Settles his ac
count with the state of Louisiana. Politics in New Orleans. Anarchy not
slavery the issue. Bragg is organizing regulars. Sherman writes of his
children. His comments on the Confederate leaders and Confederate prepara
tions. The Seminary after Sherman left. Resolutions of the Academic Board.
Sherman goes to St. Louis. His new duties as president of a street railway
company. Views on slavery and secession. Not a Black Republican. The
beginning of war. The Seminary students enlist in the Confederate Army.
Newly elected superintendents resign. Sherman s last letter to the South.
Conditions in the North. Predicts war and invasion. Is appointed Colonel
of the Thirteenth United States Infantry.

After severing his connection with the Seminary, Sherman
spent several days in New Orleans leaving there on February 24
for St. Louis, whence he went to his home in Lancaster, Ohio.
Here he remained a few days and then at the request of his broth
er John Sherman, he visited Washington. Not pleased with the
attitude of the administration he went back to the West, ac
cepted an offer of the presidency of the St. Louis street railway
system and moved his family to St. Louis. About two months
later, when Lincoln called for three-year volunteers he re-
entered the army.

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 23, 1861.

DEAR MR. BOYD: I fear from our experience here
the cadets did not have a good time of it last night. It
rained here a part of the day and night and now we are
having a sort of postscript in a heavy shower. I have
had a good deal of running about to do to-day, because I
got here on Thursday after bank hours, and yesterday
being a holiday it was closed, and this morning on appli
cation I found the book which I had sent down a week
ago by mail only got here this morning. So I did not

3 66 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

get it till 2 130 p.m. and Dr. Smith wanted to go to Baton
Rouge at 5 p.m. so we gave it but a rapid examination,
but there being a balance in bank larger than I claimed
Dr. Smith was on the safe side in passing it. I have
been with him to the boat, and he is off for Baton
Rouge, and I have naught to do but be off for home. I
shall start to-morrow, Sunday, for St. Louis to reach
there Monday evening.

Tell St. Ange that I found Madame Lefevre and got
the books entered, though I was bothered by the deputy
collector. Still I think he will soon receive the books.
I made the custom-house oath without seeing the list
invoice of books. I know you will expect me to tell you
some general political news. All here is secession on
the streets. Indoors they are more reasonable and some
have said to me that even yet if the North will give guar
antees, this state would return. More than one have said
that the leaders were afraid to leave it to a vote of the
people. Congress can do nothing. The Peace Confer
ence may report. I don t see what Lincoln or any man
can do, when sections are arrayed against each other and
will not believe each other.

I still adhere to my old notion that we have to fear
anarchy more than a direct conflict on the slavery issue.
If any of the Southern States become dissatisfied with
the tariff policy of the new combination and I have my
self heard merchants talk pretty plainly of the tariff al
ready imposed on northern goods, they will secede a
second time and so on to the end of the chapter.

I have seen a good deal of Bragg who goes on quietly
but steadily, organizing two regiments of regulars and
mark my word when a time of strife comes he will be
prepared.

He tells me there is an officer at West Point whose

TO NEW ORLEANS AND THE NORTH 367

name I now forget, who wants to be your superinten
dent. But the governor has advertised for one to apply
before April 6 -so that no choice will take place till
then. In the mean time Dr. Smith has the check book
and can draw for money. I really do hope you may have
a clever fellow, for your social position is one of isola
tion and those who are so banished should have respect
and even fondness for each other. There is no pleasure
or satisfaction in life when one s associate is devoid of
feeling, sense, or judgment. With these and a few com
panions I have never cared much whether my abode was
in Wall St., San Francisco, in the Desert, in Kansas, or
Ohio.

But the truth is I have socially been too much isolated
from my children, and now that they are at an age when
for good or ill we should be together I must try and allay
that feeling of change and venture that has made me a
wanderer. If possible I will settle down - fast and posi
tive. Of a summer eve with my little Minnie and Willy
and the rascal Tom I can live over again my Florida
life, my ventures in California, and my short sojourn in
the pine woods of Louisiana, and I will teach them that
there are kind good people everywhere, that a great God
made all the world, that He slighted no part, that to
some He assigned the rock and fir - with clear babbling
brooks but cold and bitter winters, to others the grassy
plain and fertile soil, to others the rich alluvium and
burning sun to ripen the orange and sugar cane, but
everywhere He gave the same firmament, the same
gentle moon, and to the inhabitants the same attributes
for good and evil.

What a beautiful task in theory, which may all ex
plode the first moment of its realization but still one to
dream of - and I know you will believe me sincere when

3 68 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

I hope, in that little group, wherever it may be, you will
some day drop in and try my hospitality. I assure you I
know of no gentleman whom I would more gladly re
ceive under my roof - because I feel you would appre
ciate what is good in fact, good in intention, and would
make allowances for poverty or mismanagement. If
present politicians break up our country, let us resolve
to reestablish it - for the ties inter-partes ought not to
be severed.

On February 23 in a note to his wife Sherman wrote : "Noth
ing new. All secession here, and I am suspect. Am quite
well and impatient to be off." An account of his stay in New
Orleans is given in his Memoirs [vol. i, 189].

About the 2Oth of February, having turned over all
property, records, and money, on hand, to Major Smith,
and taking with me the necessary documents to make the
final settlement with Dr. S. A. Smith, at the bank in New
Orleans, where the funds of the institution were depos
ited to my credit, I took passage from Alexandria for
that city, and arrived there, I think, on the 23d. 82 Dr.
Smith met me, and we went to the bank, where I turned
over to him the balance, got him to audit all my ac
counts, certify that they were correct and just, and that
there remained not one cent of balance in my hands. I
charged in my account current for my salary up to the
end of February, at the rate of four thousand dollars a
year, and for the five hundred dollars due me as super
intendent of the Central Arsenal, all of which was due
and had been fairly earned, and then I stood free and
discharged of any and every obligation, honorary or
business, that was due by me to the State of Louisiana, or
to any corporation or individual in the state.

This business occupied two or three days, during

82 The 22nd. - ED.

TO NEW ORLEANS AND THE NORTH 369

which I staid at the St. Louis Hotel. I usually sat at
table with Colonel and Mrs. Bragg, and an officer who
wore the uniform of the State of Louisiana, and was ad
dressed as captain. Bragg wore a colonel s uniform, and
explained to me that he was a colonel in the state service,
a colonel of artillery, and that some companies of his
regiment garrisoned Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and
the arsenal at Baton Rouge.

Beauregard at the time had two sons at the Seminary
of Learning. I had given them some of my personal
care at the father s request, and, wanting to tell him of
their condition and progress, I went to his usual office
in the Custom-House Building, and found him in the
act of starting for Montgomery, Alabama. Bragg said
afterward that Beauregard had been sent for by Jeffer
son Davis, and that it was rumored that he had been
made a brigadier-general, of which fact he seemed jeal
ous, because in the old army Bragg was the senior.

. . . I recall a conversation at the tea-table, one
evening, at the St. Louis Hotel. When Bragg was
speaking of Beauregard s promotion, Mrs. Bragg, turn
ing to me, said, "You know that my husband is not a
favorite with the new president." My mind was resting
on Mr. Lincoln as the new president, and I said I did
not know that Bragg had ever met Mr. Lincoln, when
Mrs. Bragg said, quite pointedly, "I didn t mean your
president, but our president." I knew Bragg hated
Davis bitterly, and that he had resigned from the army
in 1855, or ^56, because Davis, as secretary of war, had
ordered him, with his battery, from Jefferson Barracks,
Missouri, to Fort Smith or Fort Washita, in the Indian
country, as Bragg expressed it, "to chase Indians with
six-pounders."

I visited the quartermaster, Colonel A. C. Myers,

370 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

who had resigned from the army, January 28, 1861, and
had accepted service under the new regime. His office
was in the same old room in the Lafayette Square Build
ing, which he had in 1853, when I was there a commis
sary, with the same pictures on the wall, and the letters
"U.S." on every thing, including his desk, papers, etc.
I asked him if he did not feel funny. "No, not at all.
The thing was inevitable, secession was a complete suc
cess ; there would be no war, but the two governments
would settle all matters of business in a friendly spirit,
and each would go on in its allotted sphere, without
further confusion." . .

I walked the streets of New Orleans, and found busi
ness going along as usual. Ships were strung for miles
along the lower levee, and steamboats above, all dis
charging or receiving cargo. The Pelican flag of Louis
iana was flying over the Custom House, Mint, City
Hall, and everywhere. At the levee ships carried every
flag on earth except that of the United States, and I was
told that during a procession on the 22d of February,
celebrating their emancipation from the despotism of
the United States government, only one national flag
was shown from a house, and that the house of Cuthbert
Bullitt, on Lafayette Square. He was commanded to
take it down, but he refused and defended it with his
pistol.

The only officer of the army that I can recall, as being
there at the time, who was faithful, was Colonel C. L.
Kilburn, of the Commissary Department, and he was
preparing to escape north.

Everybody regarded the change of government as
final; that Louisiana, by a mere declaration, was a free
and independent state, and could enter into any new al
liance or combination she chose.

TO NEW ORLEANS AND THE NORTH 371

Men were enlisted and armed, to defend the state, and
there was not the least evidence that the national admin
istration designed to make any effort, by force, to vindi
cate the national authority. I therefore bade adieu to all
my friends, and about the a^th of February took my de
parture by railroad, for Lancaster, 83 via Cairo and Cin
cinnati.

F. W. SMITH TO W. T. SHERMAN

SEMINARY, March i, 1861.

MY DEAR MAJOR: Your letter from New Orleans
was received on Monday night. . . Will do all I
can to carry out your suggestions.

The Board met yesterday, left things in statu quo, and
appointed Dr. Clarke temporary treasurer. The ball
went off very well, the cadets conducting themselves
with great propriety, though to a certain extent with
bashfulness. Last night one or more of the cadets stole
the mouthpieces to all the instruments of music in the
building and cut the drum to pieces. So Joe Miller has
been filling blank cartridges all day from an old bronze
musket, Cleland having gone to town to repair damages.
On the day after your departure, Mr. Vallas inaugu
rated himself, and issued all the winter pants. Conse
quently a new cadet who has just come in has none at all.
There was a strong run among the cadets for dimes,
many professing that they had not had any for four
months.

All of my chemicals have come. I shall send Van
Nostrand a check in a day or so. St. Ange is grumbling
as usual, Vallas having found it necessary to threaten
him with a report to the Board. Said report St. Ange
anticipated by a complaint for redress of grievances,

83 Sherman went first to St. Louis, where he stopped for a few days before
going on to Ohio. ED.

372 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

which grievances had prevented his blackboards and
windows from being mended, and had not allowed him
to have O. O. Blair in French, etc. The Board sent his
petition back and the Academic Board meet this even
ing for considering it. What nonsense!

SATURDAY. I was interrupted just at this point and
recommence my letter. The Board met last night and
decided that Mr. St. A s communication involved no
point requiring their action. Mr. Vallas will satisfy
him by buying the books. The mail is just in, bringing
Boyd your letter, for which he thanks you ; also one from
Bragg sending two thousand cartridges, and inquiring
if we have any cadets suitable for junior lieutenants. I
have not determined what to write to him, as we could
ill spare our best at the present time.

When you left, Major, I wished to thank you for
many an act of kindness and forbearance that you had
shown me. But really my heart was so full, that I could
not speak. I have often been petulant and perhaps as
suming towards you all and I could have received no
kinder rebuke than the manner which you have always
displayed towards me. I look with deep regret upon the
fact that the relations, which have subsisted between us,
and which have been so pleasant and profitable for me,
should have been broken off. And I yet hope that we
may meet somewhere and those feelings of respect and
friendship, which I shall always have for you, may re-
assume a tangible shape.

You will allow me to present my warm regards to
Mrs. Sherman and the children -to express my regret
that I was denied the pleasure which I had often antici
pated, of forming their acquaintance, and I sincerely
hope and pray that, whether you settle down with Min
nie and Willy on your knee, or again become a "Wan
derer," God will bless you and yours.

TO NEW ORLEANS AND THE NORTH 373

Clark, Boyd, and the Jarreaus join me in warm
regards.

S. A. SMITH TO W. T. SHERMAN

BATON ROUGE, LA., March nth, 1861.

MY DEAR SIR : I was most pleased in receiving your
letter from St. Louis and gratified to learn some of your
opinions upon existing questions formed while you sur
veyed the field from a new, and to us, opposite stand
point.

I inferred from reading your note that there would
be no policy of coercion at present. At this I expe
rienced a feeling of relief in a moment as I relied upon
your judgment and the correctness of your observation.

The abstract questions of right and title which in our
new positions would have to be maintained by final
arbitrament of arms, lose their interest in the face of the
consequences immediately before us should your side at
this time institute an appeal to this final arbiter. It is
certain that our people are in dead earnest when they
declare that they have a right to secede and furthermore
that they intend to exhaust all the elements at their dis
posal in the maintenance of this position should it be
assailed from any quarter.

Whether we succeed or not in resisting the applica
tion of force, the conflict would be a disgrace. It would
be a blot upon our page in the history of the world and
would be proclaimed elsewhere as the end of the final
experiment in determining the capacity of any people
for self-government.

It would lead to the creation and perfecting of large
standing armies, and you know better than I that the
principles of popular government could not stand
against the interests of an overwhelming military estab
lishment on either side.

374 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

To those whose belief in the excellence of our liberal
institutions - won by so many trials and sacrifices -
amounts to a religious faith, such a prospect is appall
ing.

Therefore let the good men of both sections exert all
their influence in preventing and removing all causes of
collision. Succeeding in this, every sincere Democrat
will be confident that the people will in some way ar
range all matters of difference in some satisfactory man
ner.

I have nothing of interest to communicate. The
Seminary seems to go on as you left it. I had a letter
from my wife expressing her regret at our losing you
and telling me that even little Ledoux begged you to
stay. These feelings conformed to my own and exhibit
in a striking manner the results of late political events.

I have been looking for some reports that might inter
est you and will send you a package. There is one from
the Judiciary Committee advocating a change in rela
tion to the law of evidence which I commend to
your notice as exceedingly able, beautiful, and excellent.
It is the production of one of our first lawyers, Mr. Ran
dal Hunt.

I shall hope that you will continue to keep me posted
as to your movements and particularly as to your final
decision upon a place to settle and the business which
you resolve to engage in. At the same time I shall be
most happy to be able to keep you informed upon any
subject which may interest you down here.

I agree with you that our interest will finally deter
mine our feelings and farther that the people will fi
nally settle the whole matter when they have been
allowed time to consider and understand the questions
at issue.

TO NEW ORLEANS AND THE NORTH 375

I would be glad if you could consistently with duty
give me freely and frankly your opinions as to the prob
able line of policy which will be pursued by Lincoln s
administration when you have had the opportunity of
ascertaining pretty certainly what it will be. I will
promise to respond in like manner as to our course as
such interchanges between honest men can have no other
than a good effect.

With every wish for your prosperity.

RESOLUTIONS OF THE ACADEMIC BOARD
APRIL, i, 1 86 1

RESOLVED, that in the resignation of the late superin
tendent Colonel W. T. Sherman, the Academic Board
deem it not improper to express their deep conviction
of the loss the institution has sustained in being thus de
prived of an able head. They cannot fail to appreciate
the manliness of character which has always marked the
actions of Colonel Sherman. While he is personally en
deared to many of them as a friend they consider it their
high pleasure to tender to him in this resolution their
regret on his separation, and their sincere wish for his
future welfare.

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

OFFICE ST. Louis RAILROAD COMPANY, St. Louis, April
4, 1861.

MY DEAR FRIEND : I promised you all to keep you ad
vised of my whereabouts that we may interchange from
time to time the thoughts and feelings of respect and af
fection which I feel assured still subsists between us.

By the caption of this letter you will see me in a rail
road office, of which I am the president with a salary of
two thousand dollars. I have my entire family in a good
house, 226 Locust St., with plenty of room and a hearty

376 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

welcome for friends who come to me from the four
quarters of the globe, and I will believe that you, or
Smith, or the Doctor, 84 yea Mr. St. Ange, may some
summer come up to this great city, the heart of North
America, and see me and mine.

I acted with energy, went to Washington, satisfied
myself that Lincoln was organizing his administration
on pure party principles, concluded it was no place for
me who profess to love and venerate my whole country
and not a mere fraction - and forthwith to Lancaster,
pulled up stakes, to Cincinnati, and embarked all hands,
with carpets, chairs, beds, kitchen utensils, even my
household servants, and before one month of my vacat
ing my berth in Louisiana, I was living in St. Louis.

I see my way ahead for one year and must trust to the
future, and having an abundance of faith in St. Louis
with its vast fertile surrounding country, I feel no uneas
iness. My two eldest girls are in a Catholic school and
this morning I put my boy Willy in a public school, so
that with the exception of some trifling articles of fur
niture I am settled.

My duties here are clearly within my comprehension,
and indeed I think I can actually make myself more
than useful to the stockholders by giving personal atten
tion, which heretofore has devolved on hirelings. In
politics I do not think I change with country. On the
negro question I am satisfied there is and was no cause
for a severance of the old Union, but will go further and
say that I believe the practice of slavery in the South is
the mildest and best regulated system of slavery in the
world, now or heretofore. But, as there is an incongru
ity in black and white labor, I do think in the new
territories the line of separation should be drawn before
rather than after settlement. As to any guarantees I

84 Doctor Clarke. -Eo.

TO NEW ORLEANS AND THE NORTH 377

would favor any approved by Rives, Bell, Crittenden
and such men whose patriotism cannot be questioned.

On the question of secession however I am ultra. I
believe in coercion and cannot comprehend how any
government can exist unless it defend its integrity. The
mode and manner may be regulated by policy and wis
dom, but that any part of a people may carry off a part
of the common territory without consent or purchase
I cannot understand. Now I know as well as I can
know anything uncertain that Louisiana cannot belong
to a string of Southern States. She must belong to a
system embracing the Valley States. It may be those
Valley States may come to Louisiana, but ultimately
one way or another, the Valley of the Mississippi must
be under one system of government. Else quarrels,
troubles, and confusions, worse than war, will be con
tinuous.

My brother John is now senator, and quite a man
among the Republicans, but he regards me as erratic
in politics. He nor politicians generally can under
stand the feelings and opinions of one who thinks him
self above parties, and looks upon the petty machinery
of party as disgusting.

There are great numbers here who think like me, and
at the election here a few days ago the Black Republi
cans were beaten, because the country expected of Mr.
Lincoln a national and not a party government. Had
the Southern States borne patiently for four years, they
could have had a radical change in 1864 that might
have lasted twenty years. Whereas now, no man is wise
enough to even guess at future combinations.

I hope you are all well, that the Seminary continues
to prosper, that you have a clever superintendent, and
that one day not far distant we may sail under the same
flag. My best respects to the Jarreaus and all friends.

378 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Early in April Sherman was offered the chief clerkship in
the War Department with the promise of being made assistant
secretary of war when congress met. He declined the offer.

W. T. SHERMAN TO MONTGOMERY BLAIR

I received about nine o clock Saturday night, your
telegraphic dispatch, which I have this moment an
swered, "I cannot accept."

I have quite a large family, and when I resigned my
place in Louisiana, on account of secession, I had no
time to lose ; and, therefore, after my hasty visit to Wash
ington, where I saw no chance of employment, I came
to St. Louis; have accepted a place in this company,
have rented a house, and incurred other obligations, so
that I am not at liberty to change.

I thank you for the compliment contained in your
offer, and assure you that I wish the administration all
success in its almost impossible task of governing this
distracted and anarchical people.

S. A. SMITH TO W. T. SHERMAN

ALEXANDRIA, April 24, 1861.

MY DEAR SIR : I am in receipt of your very welcome
letter announcing your determination to settle in St.
Louis.

How much I hope that you will be able to come to
the conclusion that your adopted state is right in oppos
ing herself to the mad career of the Union Splitter and
his fanatical crew. How delighted we all should be to
hear that in the coming contest we might boast of the
possession of your fine talents and high military quali
ties. How freely we would furnish you with the means
and the men to do anything possible in the line of your
profession.

Our state will furnish without an effort the requisi-

TO NEW ORLEANS AND THE NORTH 379

tion made upon her of ten thousand men. A
large force for her population. John Kelso left
in command of one hundred muster men this
morning, containing my nephew together with Rob
ertson s two sons and nephew.

Manning, myself and others similarly situated have
joined another which will be ready in a few days.

Caddo Parish has already sent forward two large
companies, one of which is already in Pensacola. . .

I see the Northern States are coming forward with
equal unanimity upon their side, so we may calculate
upon a gigantic and horrible war waged by brother
against brother.

Is it not a pity that some foreign power could [not]
have been selected against which to direct the forces
now about to be applied to the purposes of self-destruc
tion.

The Seminary boys after all the exertions we were
able to make are all bolting. I went out yesterday and
made them a speech and appealed to them in the interest
of the public and their own interest and also urged their
obligation to perform military duty. It had little or no
effect. Finally I took young Stafford out and as the
friend of his father begged him not to act foolish. He
promised me to remain. To-day he is a volunteer in the
same company with myself.

The Seminary will evidently be soon abandoned for
a time at least. Lieut. Col. Lay was chosen as your
successor and I am just in receipt of his resignation.
Smith has also given notice of his intention to resign,
so you see we are in a sad plight.

I am just now offering your former place to Capt.
W. R. Boggs, whom Bragg insisted upon our choosing
in the first instance, recommending him by saying that

3 8o SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

he was the only person who in his opinion could fill the
place of Sherman or could stand in his shoes.

I should be obliged if you could find time to write
occasionally. . .

W. T. SHERMAN TO JOHN SHERMAN

OFFICE ST. Louis RAILROAD COMPANY, St. Louis, April
25, 1861.

DEAR BROTHER : Virginia s secession influences some
six millions of people. No use in arguing about it at
all, but all the Virginians, or all who trace their lineage
back, will feel like obeying her dictates and example.
As a state, she has been proud, boastful, and we may say
over-bearing; but, on the other hand, she, by her gov
ernors and authority, has done everything to draw her
native-born back to their state.

I can not yet but think that it was a fatal mistake in
Mr. Lincoln not to tie to his administration by some
kind of link, the border states. Now it is too late, and
sooner or later Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas will
be in arms against us. It is barely possible that Mis
souri may yet be neutral.

It is pretty nearly determined to divert the half mil
lion set aside for the July interest for arming the state. 85
All the bankers but one have consented, and the govern
or and legislature are strongly secession. I understand
to-day the orders at the custom house are to refuse clear
ance to steamboats to seceding states. All the heavy
trade with groceries and provisions is with the South,
and this order at once takes all life from St. Louis.
Merchants heretofore for peace, and even for backing
the administration will now fall off, relax in their exer
tions, and the result will possibly be secession, and then
free states against slave - the horrible array so long

85 Missouri. - ED.

TO NEW ORLEANS AND THE NORTH 381

dreaded. I know Frank Blair desired this plain, square
issue. It may be that sooner or later it is inevitable, but
I cannot bring myself to think so. On the necessity of
maintaining a government and that government the old
constitutional one, I have never wavered, but I do recoil
from a war, when the negro is the only question.

I am informed that McClellan is appointed to com
mand the Ohio militia- a most excellent appointment;
a better officer could not be found.

W. T. SHERMAN TO D. F. BOYD

ST. Louis, May 13, 1861.

MY DEAR FRIEND : I have been intending for a long
while to answer your last very kind letter. I suppose
you still receive papers from New Orleans and Virginia
giving tolerably fair versions of the events which are
now passing all around us. We are now by Declara
tion of the Confederate Congress and by act of our own
constituted authorities enemies, and I can not yet real
ize the fact. I know that I individually would not do
any human being a wrong, take from him a cent, or
molest any of his rights or property, and yet I admit
fully the fact that Lincoln was bound to call on the
country to rally and save our constitution and govern
ment. Had I responded to his call for volunteers I
know that I would now be a Major-general. But my
feelings prompted me to forbear and the consequence
is my family and friends are almost cold to me, and
they feel and say that I have failed at the critical mo
ment of my life. It may be I am but a chip on the
whirling tide of time destined to be cast on the shore as
a worthless weed.

But I still think in the hurly burly of strife, order and
system must be generated, and grow and strengthen till
our people come out again a great and purified nation.

382 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Lincoln is of right our president and has the right to
initiate the policy of our government during his four
years, and I believe him sincere in his repeated declara
tions that no dismemberment shall be even thought of.
The inevitable result is war, and an invasive war.

I know that masses of men are organizing and dis-
cipling to execute the orders of this government. They
are even now occupying the key points of our country;
and when prepared they will strike. Not in detached
columns battling with an excited people, but falling on
exposed points. Already is Missouri humbled; I have
witnessed it; my personal friends here, many of them
southern, admit that Missouri s fate is sealed. There
was a camp of about one thousand five hundred young
men, who though seemingly assembled by state authority
were yet notoriously disaffected to the government and
were imprudent enough to receive into their camp a
quantity of the arms from Baton Rouge, brought up as
common merchandise. This justified the government
forces here, regulars and militia, to surround and cap
ture the whole. For a time intense excitement prevailed,
but again seeming peace has come. The governor and
state authorities are southern by birth and feeling and
may make some spasmodic efforts to move, but they will
be instantly overcome. Superior arms and numbers
are the elements of war, and must prevail.

I cannot yet say if Lincoln will await the action of his
Congress in July. I think he will as to any grand move
ment, but in the meantime Virginia, Louisiana, and
Missouri, will be held or threatened, I have no doubt a
hundred thousand disciplined men will be in Louisiana
by Christmas next. The Mississippi River will be a
grand theater of war, but not till the present masses are
well disciplined. It is horrible to contemplate but it
cannot be avoided.

TO NEW ORLEANS AND THE NORTH 383

No one now talks of the negro. The integrity of the
Union and the relative power of state and general gov
ernment are the issues in this war. Were it not for the
physical geography of the country it might be that peo
ple could consent to divide and separate in peace. But
the Mississippi is too grand an element to be divided,
and all its extent must of necessity be under one govern
ment. Excuse these generalisms - we have said them
a thousand times.

I was sorry to hear from Dr. Smith that further dis
affection had crept into your institution. I fear for the
present it will be swept by the common storm,
was not the man, and it is well he has declined. Cer
tainly there must be within reach, some good man to
manage so easy a machine. I think the machine should
be kept together, even on the smallest scale. Joe Miller
writes me that the arms 86 have been sent off and there
fore his occupation gone. I will write if he cannot
stay to return to his brother in Ohio and not go to Cali
fornia as he seems to think about.

I am still here with this road and my family living at
226 Locust St. No matter what happens I will always
consider you my personal friend, and you shall ever be
welcome to my roof. Should I be wrong in my con
clusions of this terrible anarchy and should you come to
St. Louis, I know you will be pleased with the many
objects of interest hereabouts. Give to all the assurance
of my kindest remembrance and accept for yourself my
best wishes for your health and success in life.

On the next day, May 14, Sherman received a telegram stat
ing that he had been appointed Colonel of the Thirteenth Unit
ed States Infantry. No more letters passed between him and
his southern friends until after the war.

A month after Sherman resigned and went north, the Super-

86 Stored in the Seminary Arsenal. - ED.

384 SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

visors elected Colonel George W. Lay as superintendent, but
he resigned before taking charge. Then Captain William R.
Boggs was elected but given leave of absence for the war, while
Dr. Vallas was made superintendent pro tem for the rest of the
session of 1861. Professors Smith, Boyd, and Clarke resigned
in May, 1861, to enter the Confederate service, though Boyd
was prevailed upon to remain until the end of the session in June.
The cadets began to leave in April and before June more than
half had gone into the Confederate regiments.

During the war the Seminary under acting superintendents,
first Rev. W. E. M. Linfield and next Prof. William A. Seay,
held two partial sessions one in 1862 and one in 1862-1863.
The student body was disbanded in April, 1863, when Banks
came up the Red River Valley. The only regular professors
during the war period were Vallas and St. Ange. Most of the
students were boys under eighteen. In 1864 during Banks s
second invasion of central Louisiana the books, furniture and
equipment of the Seminary were carried away by the Federals.

All of the students who were old enough, except Cadet
Taliaferro, entered the Confederate army. Taliaferro enlisted
in the Union navy. Numbers w r ere killed and wounded or died
in prison. Professor Smith was killed on Lee s retreat to Appo-
mattox. Professors Boyd and Clarke served throughout the
war. Sherman was able to render aid to several of the students
and professors who were captured in battle and in 1864 by flag
of truce a party of them in Louisiana sent to him a letter of
thanks for his kindness. In the fall of 1865 the Seminary was
reopened under the superintendency of Colonel D. F. Boyd the
only member of the ante bellum faculty who returned to the
school. General Graham continued his active interest in the
Seminary (called after 1870 the State University) until his
death in 1887. Sherman visited the institution twice in later
years and was able to befriend it in many ways. Among other
things he was influential in securing for it the grant from the
government of the garrison grounds and buildings at Baton
Rouge. It was the seizure by the state of this post that caused
Sherman to resign in 1861. On January 2, 1910, Louisiana
State University celebrated the semi-centennial anniversary of the
opening of the institution.

INDEX

ABOLITION MOVEMENT: 43-45, 88; abo
litionists, disliked, 64, 297; Sherman
disclaims, 76; Sherman s stand, 84-
85; John Sherman not abolitionist,
121 ; regarded as, 173 ; Seward fav
ors, 260-261 ; Republicans interest,
2 32, 305 ; Republicans and abolition
ists identical, 333; topic avoided,
128; effect in South, 77; effect in
country, 78; South hates, 176; South
and North equally to blame, 103 ;
impracticable, 272-273 ; gaining
strength, 287; strong in northern
Ohio, 259; cause of secession, 302;
cause of crisis, 310; see Slavery

Alabama: 212; ready for secession,
306, 307, 308 ; determined on seces
sion, 319; taking active steps to
ward secession, 331. Cities Mo
bile, 331; Montgomery, 369

Alexandria (La.) : 13, 14, 16, 19, 23,
29, 30, 32, 33, 43, 55, 56, 57, 5^, 60,
63, 74, 84, 87, 95, 128, 129, 143, 153,
160, 161, 192, 194, 209, 211, 231, 236,
244, 246, 259, 271, 281, 284, 288, 291,
295, 319, 326, 327, 368; described,
21-22 ; region healthful, 46 ; Sherman
arrives, 56; few supplies in, 69, 70,
78, 91, 92, 202; burning threatened,
273 ; majority favor Breckenridge,
304; conditions in, 329

Alexandria Constitutional: editorial,
273

Alleghany Mts: 89

Anderson, Robert: 315, 316, 319, 327,
330, 333, 357; Sherman commends,
325; remains at Fort Sumter, 332;
should be reinforced, 318, 360

Anderson, Mrs. Robert: appeals to
president, 323

Arizona: 290

Arkansas: 306; ready for secession,
308 ; secession probable, 380

Arsenal (state) : created and main
tained at seminary, 72, 131, 163,
168, 169, 173, 176, 188-189, 315; at
Baton Rouge seized, 325, 335, 336,
337, 338, 340-341, 343, 347, 353, 360,
369, 382; command, 336; supplies
scattered, 337

BAILEY, DR. : 166, 200

Bailey, Gen. : 240

Baltimore (Md.) : 232, 272, 340, 348;
news of panic, 308

Banks, Gen. N. P: 40, 109, 287, 384

Barnard, Major : 59

Bates, : 213

Bayou Rapides: 14, 56, 57

Bayou Robert: 14, 56, 297; Sherman
plans to visit, 240

Bayou Sara: 98

Baton Rouge (La.) : u, 14, 19, 20,
37, 40, 42, 45, 47, 48, 52, 55, 5&lt;&gt;, 80,
81, 99, 107, 118, 131, 158, 166, 179,
184, 185, 187, 200, 237, 238, 243, 332,
357, 366, 384; Sherman to arrive,
43; Sherman visits, 167; Sherman
visits on seminary business, 168-179;
arsenal, 369; arsenal seized, 325,
335, 336, 337, 338, 340-341, 343, 347,
353, 360, 369, 382; seizure of arms,
335; convention of legislature, 311,

315

Beauregard, Henry (son of succeed
ing) : enters seminary, 298 ; to pre
pare for West Point, 242, 298

Beauregard, P. G. T: 15, 26, 98; ig
norant of Sherman s application for
superintendency, 23 ; applies for ad-

386

SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

mission of sons, 55 ; sends son to
seminary, 100; son to prepare for
West Point 242 ; sends nephew to
seminary, 182 ; sends sons, 298 ; sends
money for son and friend, 242 ; un
able to attend examinations, 242 ;
suggests successor to Sherman, 198;
escapes West Point superintendency,
242; Jefferson Davis sends for, 369;
letters, 100, 182, 198, 242, 298

Beauregard, Rene T. (son of preced
ing) : enters seminary, 100, 298 ; as
sistant in French, 298

Bell, John (candidate for presiden
cy) : 258, 260, 304, 377; chance of
election, 261; Sherman favors, 280;
favored in South, 271, 286; favored
in Louisiana, 296; Louisiana sup
ports, 288

Biossat, Mr. : 188

Blair, Frank: 381

Blair, O. O: 372

Blondin, Mr. : 275-276

Bogan, (cadet) : 209

Boggs, Capt. Wm. R: 379; elected
superintendent of seminary, 384

Boston (Mass.) : 260, 348

Boyce, Mr. (editor of Red River
American): 58, 70, 238; to publish
article for seminary, 273

Boyce, Judge Henry: 48, 56, 193, 195,
211, 319

Boyd, David F. (member of first fac
ulty) : 32, 78, 122, 127, 128, 142, 151,
152, 200, 207, 208, 264, 319, 373;
elected member of faculty, 25, 26 ;
describes Sherman s election, 26-29;
characteristics, 101 ; left in charge
during vacation, 247, 250; reports
to Sherman, 270-271, 284; offers to
assist Vallas, 276; opinion of Sher
man s views, 287 ; favors secession,
307; enters Confederate service, 384;
served throughout war, 384; sem
inary reopens under, 384; letters,
270, 287 ; Sherman invites to visit,
368

Boyd, Mrs. David F: n

Boyd, Leroy S: n

Boyd, Thomas D: n

Bragg, Braxton: 15, 26, 59, 76, 124,
130, 145, 156, 168, 172, 176, 177, 180,
2I 3&gt; 353 &gt; ignorant of Sherman s ap
plication for superintendency, 23 ;
welcomes Sherman, 52-54; friend of
Sherman, 80; appointed commis
sioner of Public Works, 80-8 1; in
terest in seminary, 81, 90, 236, 298,
299-301 ; favors military system,
169, 218-219; desires Sherman to re
main, 175 ; invited to act as orator,
239; wishes to secure battery for
seminary, 243, 274, 300-301 ; sends
cartridges, 372; persuades Major
Haskins to surrender arsenal, 336;
probable king of La., 339; Sherman
regrets resignation, 351; prepares
for war, 366; dislikes Jefferson
Davis, 369; colonel in state s ser
vice, 369; recommends successor to
Sherman, 379; letters, 52, 80, 161,
218, 236, 299, 319, 351

Bragg, Mrs. Braxton: 83, 369

Brecken ridge, John C. (candidate for
presidency) : 258 ; South favors, 245,
286, 290; loses state vote, 261 ; South
Carolina favors, 272, 288 ; carries
Alexandria, 304

Brown, John: 43-44, 45, 47

Buchanan, James: 241, 316, 318

Buell, Major Don Carlos: 34, 35, 180,
X 56, 253; recommends Sherman, 13;
notifies Sherman of seminary posi
tion, 22-23 ; letter, 22

Bullitt, Cuthbert: displays U. S, flag,

370
Bynum, Jesse A: 24, 64

CADDO PARISH: 379

Cadets: applications, 66, 69, 273; ap
pointed by supervisors, 79 ; number
expected, 73 ; number enrolled, 94,
101, 102, 104, 107, 117, 118, 122, 125,
129, 141, 143, 159, 213, 296, 301;

INDEX

387

number desirable, 288 ; delay in en
tering, 104, 132; applications, 54;
requirements, 54-55, 79, 109, 206,
224, 274, 293, 362; restrictions, no,
226; grading system, 231; classified
by Academic Board, 303 ; needs on
arrival, 249 ; necessary personal sup
plies, 225, 293 ; seminary supplies,
225 ; extravagance prohibited, 68 ;
general expenses, 38, 68, 79, 225-
226, 231, 293; uniforms, 38, 40, 92,
120, 193, 203, 220-222, 243 ; muskets,
243 ; characteristics, 102, 107-108,
131, 140; complaints, 145, 147;
trouble among, 137, 138-140, 140-
141; pranks, 145, 150, 151, 220, 221,
371; vices, 128-129, 141, 143, 150;
riot, 310; insubordinate, 332; de
serters, 142 ; code of honor, 220-222 ;
Sherman restrains, 343 ; request
party, 209-210; encampment, 71, 72,
91 ; welcome Sherman s return, 193,
194; under Vallas, 265; leave to
join army, 379 ; affected by war ex
citement, 383 ; many enter Confeder
ate service, 384. State 63, 90, 171-
172; number enrolled, 131, 132, 168;
opposition to, 172 ; appointments,
203, 206, 241, 243 ; number by law,
224; method of admission, 362; ad
ditional appropriation, 81; cost of
educating, 102 ; Louisiana should
pay for, 105 ; misconceptions con
cerning, 98. See Examinations;
Louisiana State University; Regu
lations

Calhoun, Patrick: 297

California: 13, 16, 17, 23, 76, 77, 154,
178, 210, 258, 307, 330, 331, 333,
367, 383 ; compared commercially
with Louisiana, 202. City San
Francisco, 164, 178, 367

Campbell, (cadet) : 220, 221 ; ex
pelled, 222

Cannon, Col. Fenelon: 24

Carson, Dr. : 187, 189

Cass, Lewis: 316

Catholic Church: in Alexandria, 22;
Mrs. Sherman in Georgetown con
vent, 36; Sherman s daughters at
tend school, 376

Chambers, Col. : 130, 178, 240

Charleston (S. Car.) : 58, 212, 272,
315, 360; political conditions in,
318-319; compared with New Or
leans, 333

Chicago: 37, 213, 358

Cincinnati: 55, 153, 160, 161, 164, 187,
189, 191, 255, 259, 276, 291, 347, 358,
376; regulations printed, 248, 256,
262, 275, 277 ; to secure helpers, 279 ;
Sherman visits, 281 ; commercial
center, 281 ; Prince of Wales visits,
289

Civil War: 13, 15, 85, 105, 308, 315,
330; as result of secession, 77, 89,
XI 9&gt; 35&gt; 3 I2 J result of abolition
movement, 78; approaching, 212;
possible result, 233; expected, 301;
need of avoiding, 373-374; precipi
tated, 343-344; certain, 295, 320,
332; inevitable, 350, 357, 358, 382;
real issues, 383 ; preparations for,
274, 320, 378-379, 382; result in
monarchy, 280; probable results,
331; Sherman not anxious to share
in, 339, 348

Clark, John B: 117 and footnote, 118,

121

Clarke [Clark], Dr. Powhatan (mem
ber of the first faculty) : 156, 207,
209, 282, 297, 319, 373, 376; por
trait, 27 ; elected assistant in chem
istry, 295 and footnote ; goes to
races, 207-208 ; temporary treasurer,
371; willing to follow South, 307;
enters Confederate service, 384;
serves throughout war, 384

Colonization: North makes Kansas
non-slave state, 174

Combs, Leslie: 280

Cornelius, (cadet) : 238

Craig, Col. : 219, 243, 323

Cuba: 220, 223

388

SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Curriculum: 100, 108, 109-110, 120,
126, 274-275; plan, 57; no extras,
68; military, 71-72; not definite,
197; Graham outlines, 217-218;
Sherman believes too severe, 324

Cushman, (cadet) : 144, 238; char
acteristics, 146

DAVIS, MR. : 214

Davis, Jefferson: 232; sends for Beau-
regard, 369

Delahoussaye, Mme. : 203

Democrats: threaten to split party,
232 ; defeat admission of Kansas,
244; division secures Republicans,
280; question of leader, 290; party
split secures Lincoln, 290

Disciplinary methods: 128, 143-144,
159, 225; expulsion, 137, 138, 220,
222, 310; suspension from duties,
J 39&gt; P a y for prank, 145, 150; ap
proved, 162; objections to terms
"Dismissed," "Deserted," 243, 246;
Bragg s opinion, 236; referred to
Academic Board, 283

Doniphan, A. W: 301

Douglas, Stephen A. (candidate for
presidency) : 232, 245, 258, 260, 304;
chance of election, 261; North fa
vors, 286, 290; many supporters in
South, 272

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: wealth of
planters, 60; among planters, 80;
south needs science, 82; cost of la
bor, 73; results of slave labor, 242;
panic general, 308; commerce, 350;
tariff, 366; probable results of se
cession, 358. A gri culture in Louis
iana, 141, 201, 202, 223, 273 ; soil
fertile, 180; backward, 213; slaves
required, 179 ; cold destroys orange
crop, 86 ; harvest abundant in
North, 261, 282; North and South
contrasted, 254, 255-256, 258, 261.
In various localities in and near
Alexandria, 60, 63, 141 ; in Louis
iana, 119, 131, 151, 169, 179, 288,

302; in New Orleans, 310; in North,
289, 348; in St. Louis, 380; in
Washington, 260. See Faculty: sal
ary; Louisiana State University: eco
nomic conditions

Educational Conditions: in Louisiana,
16, 63, 133, 134, 170-171, 324; pub
lic schools, 16; plans for university,
19; power of committee on educa
tion, 169

Elgee, Capt. : 123, 349

England: 164, 170, 348, 350; see Lon
don

Europe: 36

Everett, Edward: 296

Ewing, Mrs. : 255, 257

Ewing, P. B: 255

Ewing Jr., Thomas (Sherman s
brother-in-law) : 44, 179

Ewing Sr., Thomas (Sherman s
father-in-law) : 62, 98, 191, 192, 255,
257 ; recommends London position,
153, 154; favors Lincoln, 232, 233

Examinations: public, 235, 239, 247;
advertised, 236; Bragg unable to
attend, 238; Bragg invited to give
oration, 239; preparations for, 240;
Beauregard unable to attend, 242;
Graham to attend, 245 ; successful,
299

FACULTY: 127; advertisement for, 19-
20 ; many applications received, 23 ;
elected, 25-26; portraits, 27; Sher
man notifies to be on hand early,
69 ; opposition to northern teachers,
76 ; account of, 32 ; efficiency, 66 ;
satisfactory, 131; commended, 134;
oppose full authority vested in su
perintendent, 204, 205 ; relations with
superintendent, 216; object to uni
forms, 267-268 ; trouble, 371 ; resolu
tions, 204-205 ; submit resolutions to
Sherman, 375. Salaries 19, 20, 51,
69, 99, 102, 132-133; appropriation
for, 86; need appropriation, 106 ;
see Sherman: salary. Residential ac-
commodations lack, 30-31, 51; ap-

INDEX

389

propriation for, 61, 63, 73, 86, 126,
127, 161, 168, 170, 172, 176, 193,
194; houses to be built, 188, 201;
Sherman plans, 189; Sherman se
lects plans, 208, 209 ; Vallas s house
to be finished first, 282, 286; Sher
man s house, 313; house completed,
322. See Boyd; Clarke; St. Ange;
Sherman; Smith; V alias

Fellows, Mrs. 148, 123

Florida: 367; ready for secession, 306.
City Pensacola

Flower, Mrs. : 200

Floyd, Mr. (carpenter) : 131, 270,
282

Floyd, John B. (secretary of war) :
254, 323 ; resigns, 327

Ford, Mr. : desires to make mat
tresses, 70-71 ; slow in delivering, 99

Fort Jackson: 340, 369

Fort Moultrie: 316, 318

Fort Pike: 340

Fort St. Philip: 340, 369

Fort Sumter: 318, 327, 332, 357

Fort Wood: 340

France: 26, 32

GEORGETOWN, D. C: 36

Georgia: 25, 67; ready for secession,
306, 307, 308 ; Louisiana will follow,
312. City Savannah, 180

Gibson, Gen. : 156, 191

Giddings, Joshua R: 45, 281

Gilham, Major : 35

Gilmore, Mr. : 59

Gladney, Mr. : 79

Goode, F. S: 81, 172, 219

Goodwyn, Ichabod: 25, 123

Graham, Gen. G. Mason: 14, 15, 17,
23, 24, 47, 51, 57, 60, 76, 84, 86, 90,
95, 98, 159, 164, 180, 213, 235, 277;
recommends Sherman, 13, 23-24, 29-
30; characteristics, 48, 53, 56; con
servative, 338; interest in seminary,
16, 34-37, 48, 152, 162, 238, 384;
desires military man at head, 23 ;
favors military system, 62, 70, 73,
133, 216, 269-270; disapproval of

Manning s attitude, 266-268, 270;
makes seminary gift of cartridges,
317; commends government of semi
nary, 148-150; outlines curriculum,
217-218 ; desires to retain Sherman,
155-158, 165, 181 ; Sherman to con
fer with, 320; outlines difficulties
in Board, 64-65 ; reports disorderly
students, 128-129; invites faculty
members to races, 207-208 ; mistaken
regarding number admitted to
seminary, 273 ; gives full report,
324; wants Bragg appointed super
visor, 219; resigns vice-presidency
of seminary, 264, 265, 283, 310; cir
culates John Sherman s letter, 117,
118; advises Sherman to vote, 303;
views on secession, 326 ; views on
local conditions^ 360-361 ; approves
Sherman s resignation, 327; favors
settling Sherman s salary, 354-357,
361; editorial, 20-22, 23-24; memo
randum, 266-270; letters, 29, 34, 64,
122, 133, 148, 155, 165, 215, 303, 326,
346, 360

Gray, Henry (supervisor) : 64^

Greeley, Horace: 25

Grivot, Gen. : 323; promises arms,
215; promises to secure battery, 243

HALSEY, MR. : 123

Haskins, Major : 335; surrenders
arsenal, 336

Hebert, Mr. : 76

Helper, Hinton R: Impending Crisis,
75, 78, 103, 117, 174

Henarie, S. W. (supervisor) : 24, 59,
70, 95, 104, 185, 194; favors Sher
man s election, 29; charge of semi
nary funds, 198

Herget, Albert M: n

Hillan, (cadet): 220, 222; wishes
to return, 246

Hungary: University of Pesth, 25, 32

Hunt, Randall: 171, 374

Hyams, (attorney- gen.) : 177, 178

Hynson, Joe: 361

Hynson, R. C: 65

390

SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD: 37

Indiana: Indianapolis, 191

Industrial Conditions: see Labor and

Industrial Conditions
Irwin, (cadet) : 186
Isaacs, Mrs. : 195
Isaacs, A^ I: 33

JACKSON, GEN. T. J. [Stonewall] : 327
James, Mr. (contractor) : 56, 57, 70
Jarreau, Mr. (steward at semi
nary) : 14, 61, 70, 72, 75, 90, 122,
132, 152, 166, 294, 319, 345, 373;
unready for opening, 92; ill, 97;
refuses to board Sherman family,
188; paid in checks, 245; inefficient,
279, 284; causes dissatisfaction, 299
Jones, Theo: n

KANSAS: 77, 88, 90, 212, 286, 344, 367;
slavery, 174; question of admission,
175; admission defeated, 244. City
Leavenworth, 17, 22, 31, 33, 37, 153

Keary, P. F: 24

Kelso, John: 379

Kennet and Company: 284

Kentucky: 25, 67, 280, 344, 357; no
sympathy with S. Car., 280; slavery
weak in, 306; plans to secede, 352;
secession probable, 380. Cities
Cairo, 255; Columbus, 191; Frank
fort, 37; Louisville, 55, 194, 358

Kentucky Military Institute: 37, 38

Key West: 340, 357

Kilburn, Col. C. L: 53, 75; faithful
to Union, 370

Knights of the Golden Circle: 297

LABARRE, CLEMENT: 299

Labor and Industrial Conditions: ne
groes lazy, 51-52; at seminary, 200;
work at seminary, 258, 270-271;
workmen lazy, 60; mechanics
needed, 75, 179; carpenters, 98;
tailor employed, 186; Sugar manu
facturing, 53. Servants 186;
needed, 92 ; scarcity, 201, 223 ; in

efficient, 94, 97, 117, 125; at semi
nary, 250; of Vallas, 60-6 1 ; diffi
culty of retaining white, 124-125;
see Slavery

Lake Borgne: 333, 340

Lake Pontchartrain: 332, 333, footnote,

335, 340

Lancaster (Ohio) : 40, 93, 185, 187,
192, 193, 195, 215, 247, 251, 259,
261, 314, 326, 371; Sherman s fam
ily remains, 55; Sherman visits, 253,
365; plans visit, 347; moves from,
376

Lane, Joe: 281

Lay, Col. George W: elected successor
to Sherman, 384; resigns, 379

Ledoux, Mr. : 214, 271

Lee, Robert ^84

Lefevre, Mme. : 366

Lincoln, Abraham: 369, 377; nomi
nated, 232 ; stand not definite, 261 ;
South opposes, 245, 272, 338; no
ticket in Louisiana, 304; Republi
cans forced to accept, 259 ; Ohio
favors, 258; North favors, 286;
election expected, 260, 280, 293 ;
benefited by Democratic split, 290;
elected, 295, 296, 305; election por
tends secession, 296 ; to favor John
Sherman, 289; inauguration may be
prevented, 332; inauguration, 350;
secession result of election, 304;
radical, 232; moderate in senti
ments, 233; regarded as Black Re
publican, 316; organizes on party
principles, 376; no trouble under,
280; helpless to avoid trouble, 366;
policy, 375; should have secured
border states, 380; course necessary,
381-382; awaits act of Congress,
382; Sherman thought friendly to,
304; call for volunteers, 365; see
Political Conditions

Lindsey, Capt. : 195

Linfield, Rev. W. E. M: 384

Liverpool (Eng.) : 158

London (Eng.) : 85, 153, 164, 175, 193,

INDEX

39i

259 ; Sherman decides to accept po
sition ; decides against, 192; induce
ments to decline offer, 357

Lovell, Mansfield: 198 and footnote

Louisiana: n, 13, 15, 32, 164, 173, 190,
193, 257, 331, 347, 367, 382; im
portant location, 89 ; economic con
ditions, 119, 131, 141-142, 308;
agriculture, 202, 213, 223 ; com
pared with Ohio, 195, 223 ; com
pared with California, 202; not
so radical as other states, 118;
slavery conditions, 177-178 ; politi
cal conditions, 174, 295 ; favors Bell,
288; favors Bell and Everett, 296;
peace expected, 338; people suspi
cious of Sherman s views, 176; pre
paring for war, 274; forts seized,
340 ; commits acts of war, 341 ; hos
tile acts, 344; Sherman will not
serve in, 312; free state, 370; must
go with Mississippi Valley, 377. Se-
cession 340, 351-352; does not fa
vor, 175, 302, 307 ; war would re
sult, 306 ; favors secession, 307, 309-
310, 311; certain, 325, 326, 333, 335;
expects peaceful, 358; forced, 308;
plans, 315; Sherman resigns follow
ing, 325, 342. Towns and Vil
lages Monroe, 107 ; Mount Leb
anon, 68, 78, 79; Pineville, 21, 22,
84, 244, 258, 288; Plaquemines, 299;
Natchitoches, 258, 288 ; Shreveport,
101 ; see Baton Rouge, New Or
leans

Louisiana Democrat: 47, 293; edi
torial, 23-24, 24-26, 54, 66-68, 107;
advocates secession, 326

Louisiana State Seminary: see Louis
iana State University

Louisiana State University [Louis
iana State Seminary, Louisiana
State Seminary of Learning and
Military Academy, Louisiana Mili
tary Academy, State Seminary of
Learning]: n, 13; name adopted,
57; proposed name, 131, 135; name

changed, 165, 171, 179; opening and
preparations for, 14, 54, 64, 84, 90,
93-94, 97, loo-ioi ; preparations for
second session, 282, 295 ; reopened,
384; organization, Capt. McClel-
lan s advice, 40-42 ; organized under
new law, 197; building and sur
roundings, 21, 48-51, 56, 60, 61, 62,
63, 86, 87, 105, 132; ground plan
(text cut), 31 ; locality healthful, 68,
164, 223; furnishings, 14, 36, 258;
general plan and organization, 14,
21-22, 35-36; modeled after Vir
ginia Military Institute, 58, 65, 97;
general conditions, 167; outlook
satisfactory, 213; plan of manage
ment, 62-63 I trials in management,
166; life at, 126; working plan, 67-
68 ; regular routine of work, 296-
297; purpose, 81-82; highly recom
mended, 65; circular, 57, 206, 224-
232; advertised by students, 130;
encourage visitors, 99 ; success de
pendent, 181, 278; improvements,
189-190, 200, 240, 250-251, 322; li
brary foundation, 254, 271; re
ligious services not compulsory, 231 ;
declamations, 210; celebrates
Fourth, 238, 239-240; closing exer
cises, 253 ; semi-centennial anni
versary, 384; vacations, 72, 73;
general conditions preceding war,
379; Sherman s resignation and
preparations for leaving, 182-185,
335, 34i-343&gt; 349. 35. 362, 364;
abandoned, 379; Sherman s suc
cessors, 367, 384; Sherman visits,
384; see Cadets, Curriculum, Dis
ciplinary methods, Examinations,
Faculty, Sherman, Supervisors

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: food
causes dissatisfaction, 152, 246-247;
Sherman not responsible, 279. Fi
nancial condition 51, 86, 90, 98, 99,
102, 171, 214; cash basis, 104, 202,
245 ; short of funds, 73 ; close of
first quarter, 194; student fees, 231;

392

SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

cash balance, 250; good, 345; en
trusted to Sherman, 106 ; Sherman
wishes to control, 203-204, 209;
Sherman leaves in order, 185, 246,
322; see Faculty: salary. Cost-ot
books, 91 ; fencing, 121 ; purely
classical course, 162; supplies, 38,
74, 225 ; printing regulations, 246 ;
military equipment, 346 ; expenses
per cadet, 225-226. Appropriation
for seminary, 62, 127, 131, 166, 167,
168, 170, 180, 240; for apparatus,
172; bill, 173, 176, 188; ammuni
tion, 317. Supplies -74, 75, 90, 92-
93, 97, 99, 261; purchased, 78, 254;
in New Orleans, 51, 91; in advance,
248, 249, 263; shipped, 275, 278,
288 ; ready, 294

MILITARY INTERESTS: in general
Central arsenal established, 323,
339&gt; 344 &gt; arsenal supplies needed,
131; military equipment desirable,
253; secured, 260, 264, 274, 346;
battery, 243, 274; cartridges, 328,
372, 360; from Baton Rouge arse
nal* 337, 347, 3495 owns building
of former arsenal, 341, footnote.
Military system not to interfere
with academic work, 67, 108 ; when
possible, 71; cause of adoption, 89;
attempt to make strictly military,
J 33&gt; X 35&gt; minimized, 197; weak
ened, 213, 268; favored, 65, 67, 73,
80, 82, 91, 99, 132, 133, 134-135, 162,
216, 218, 218-219, 226, 269; opposed,
64-65, 132, 146, 147, 204, 205, 266,
268, 283 ; see Military Schools
Lucas, Mr. : 154

MCCLELLAN, CAPT. GEO. B: 15, 37,
381 ; advises concerning organiza
tion, 40-42

McCook, Mr. : 212

McCoy, Mr. : 60

McLean, Mr. : 213

McNight, Mr. : 188

McNutts, Mr. : 328

Madison Democrat: editorial, 65-66

Madison Parish: 65

Magruder, Dr. Lewis: 64-65

Maine: 25, 330

Manning, T. C. (member of Board
of Supervisors) : 24, 35, 36, 59, 65,
68, 92, 99, 123, 165, 193, 249, 264,
288, 328 ; opposed to military sys
tem, 205, 260; goes over regulations,
247; sends regulations, 262; retains
regulations, 267; commends Sher
man, 265; dislikes Sherman, 266;
autocratic, 266-268 ; joins company,

379
Marcy, Capt. : Prairie Traveller,

Maryland: slavery weak in, 306; see
Baltimore

Mason, Gen. R. B: 13, 16-17, 23, 24

Massachusetts: Springfield, 244

Maynadier, Capt. : 286

Mexican War: 16, 281

Mexico: 77, 119, 241, 335; political
troubles, 44. City Sonora, 180

Military Schools: 108, 119, 226; de
sirable model for institute, 37; point
of difference from ordinary college,
67; desirable, 66, 67; favored by
part of Board, 73; deficient, 82;
reasons for, in South, 89 ; favored
by people, 133-134; desire to change
seminary to, 169; little attention to
classical studies, 274; at Nashville,
140; see Louisiana State Univer
sity: Military Interests, Virginia
Military Institute, West Point

Miller, Joe: 371, 383

Mills, Mr. (workman) : 208, 209,
270, 282, 292

Minnesota: St. Paul, 42

Mississippi: 67, 327, 337; radical, 118;
war would result from secession,
306 ; ready for secession, 307, 308 ;
Louisiana will follow lead, 312;
determined on secession, 319.
Cities Canton, 191; Jackson, 297

Mississippi River: 48, 119, 258, 275,
33 J -33 2 &gt; 335J m ust be under one
government, 89, 105, 315, 377, 383;

INDEX

393

North must control, 297 ; influence
on politics and commerce, 312, 340;
forts near mouth seized, 340; to be
theatre of war, 315, 382

Missouri: 67, 117, footnote^ 301, 344,
357, 360; slavery weak in, 306;
plans to secede, 352; political con
dition, 380; may remain neutral,
380; retained in union, 382

Missouri Compromise: repeal, 281,
286

Missouri Republican: opposes seces
sion, 333

Missouri River: 43

Moise, Mr. : 170

Moore, Thomas O. (gov. of La.) : 14,
15, 48, 56, 86, 99, 131, 153, 161,
165, 170, 175, 177, 181, 185, 187,
189, 192, 193, 197, 207, 237, 243,
244, 249, 297, 317, 323, 326, 333;
338, 344, 347, 35, 359; Sherman
spends night with, 56; presence de
sirable at seminary opening, 59;
favors liberal appropriation, 61 ; de
sires to retain Sherman, 181 ; re
joiced at retaining Sherman, 197;
appoints supervisors unwisely, 205 ;
promises arms for seminary, 215;
approves of Smith s plan, 218;
Sherman plans to visit, 240; sends
cake and wine to seminary, 240;
authorizes Sherman to act, 254; fa
vors battery for seminary, 300; con
venes legislature, 309, 315; intent
on politics, 310; orders seizure of
forts and arsenal, 335, 338, 340, 341,
343, 349 &gt; orders Sherman to receive
arms, 337; letters, 181, 197, 350

Morgan, Col. (head of Ky. Mil.
Inst.) : 37

Myers, Col. A. C: 369

NAPOLEON, Louis: 260

National Intelligencer: 318; adver
tisement, 19-20; editorial, 20-22;
opposes secession, 333

New England: 330

New Hampshire: 25

New Jersey: 281

New Mexico: 290

New Orleans (La.) : 14, 22, 31, 32, 52,
58, 59, 60, 62, 64, 70, 78, 84, 101,
117, 149, 153, 154, 161, 164, 168,
173, 185, 187, 188, 189, 194, 198,
202, 215, 220, 223, 246, 247, 248,
258, 267, 276, 284, 285, 291, 292,
317, 349, 358, 362, 364, 365, 368,
381; supplies from, 69, 239; Sher
man to secure supplies, 63, 74; diffi
culty in securing supplies, 202, 248 ;
supplies shipped to, 275, 278 ; com
mercial center, 60, 92-93 ; Sherman
visits, 75-76, 90, 294, 335, 353; to
secure helpers in, 279 ; political dis
turbance, 305; business dead, 310;
result of secession on trade, 340;
compared with Charleston, 333;
ready for secession, 311; forts for
protection, 340; news from, 305, 307,
332; Military Board meets, 320;
plans free port, 348, 350

New Orleans Delta: 318

New York (state) : 293, 304

New York City: n, 17, 74, 76, 99,
101, 153, 164, 247, 340, 344, 345,
348 ; text books ordered from, 62,
69 ; commercial advantages, 92-93 ;
uniforms ordered from, 185; order
sent direct, 202 ; Sherman gives up
going, 249 ; Sherman visits for sup
plies, 256, 257; supplies purchased,
264; news of panic, 308; Wall St.,

367

Noble, Mr. : 107
North Carolina: 64, 67

OHIO: 45, 64, 73, 76, 77, 85, 124, 177,
179, 264, 271, 291, 304, 331, 337,
338, 367, 383; Sherman native of,
16; Sherman sympathizes with, 89;
southern sentiment against, 175 ;
Sherman plans visit to, 180, 183-
184, 185; journey to, 187; compared
with Louisiana, 195, 223 ; agricul
ture, harvest abundant, 255, 258 ;
Republican, 263, 280-281; abolition

394

SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

state, 314; steal niggers, 310; Sher
man can not go against, 312; lacks
opening for Sherman, 307, 359;
Sherman plans to retire to, 339;
McClellan in command of militia,
381. Cities Columbus, 55; Mans
field, 281; see Cincinnati, Lancaster

Ohio River: 306

Oliver Twist: 164

Ord, Capt. : 285

PARIS (France) : 158

Patterson, Ann: 195, 200

Pennsylvania: 281, 293, 304. City
Pittsburg, 358; see Philadelphia

Perkins, Fred (cadet) : 219, 299, 300

Philadelphia: 348; John Sherman
makes speech, 280

Pierce, Franklin: 241

Political Conditions: 110-117; politi
cal influence necessary for advance
ment, 22 ; causes Sherman uneasi
ness, 98, 157, 279-280; disturbing,
119, 152, 212, 296; prospect of se
cession, 307, 308-309 ; aggravated
by politicians and editors, 123-124,
3 2 3&gt; 358, 360; politicians unable to
control, 241 ; politicians intent on
secession, 311; southern misconcep
tions, 92-93, 314; misconceptions
between North and South, 103, 120-
121, 279-280, 286, 291, 310, 312;
presidential election, 232-233, 244-
245, 261, 304-305 ; Sherman advised
to vote, 304; Sherman s views on,
3 2 9&gt; 33 I i North, 254, 275, 279-
281, 289-290; power with North,
213 ; in South, 85, 271-272, 343-344,
346; at Charleston, 318-319; in
Louisiana, 80-81, 163, 295, 311, 338;
in Missouri, 380; in New Orleans,
366; in New York, 260; in Ohio,
258-259; in Washington, 260; see
Abolition movement, Lincoln, Seces
sion, Slavery

Poussin, Mr. : 188, 271

Preston family: Lincoln connected
with, 280

Proctor, James (cadet) : 242, 299
Proctor, Stephen R: 182

RANSDELL, MR. : 240

Rapides Bayou: 318

Rapides Parish: 16, 19, 55, 56, 176,
178, 200, 296

Red River: 14, 16, 21, 45, 47, 56, 63,
64, 84, 192, 194, 202, 255, 256, 263,
265, 275, 288, 292, 293, 316; un-
navigable, 257-258, 278, 281, 291

Red River American: 238; advertise
ment, 235-236

Red River Valley: 384

Reggio, Charles (cadet) : 299

Regulations (for La. State Univ.) : 79,
91, 108, 109-110; students to con
form to, 224-225; ready, 239, 293;
reasons for not printing, 97, 149 ;
Sherman quotes, 137; to be printed,
246 ; cost of printing, 246, 282 ;
printed in Cincinnati, 256, 262, 275,
277 ; Manning goes over, 247 ; ig
norant of, 267; in Manning s pos
session, 267 ; to submit to committee,
166; to be approved by supervisors,
199; amended, 262, 264, 265; given
fair trial, 324; inconsistent, 328

Reid, W. I. N: 100, 242

Religious conditions: churches in Alex
andria, 22; interferes with educa
tion, 63 ; cadets encouraged to at
tend church, 150, 231; reported op
position to, 244

Republicans: 377; old Whig Party,
281; John Sherman, 39; South fears
election, 212, 213 ; forced to reject
Seward, 259; Seward, leader, 287;
carry Ohio, 263 ; party use ques
tioned, 272 ; John Sherman s speech,
280; no interference with slavery,
286; party differences, 290; deter
mined on abolition, 305 ; and abo
litionists identical, 232, 333. Black
25 ; hated in South, 174, 245 ; beaten,

377

Richmond (Va.) : 232
Ricketts, Capt. : 45

INDEX

395

Ringgold, (cadet): 220, 221; ex
pelled, 222
Rives, Wm. C: 377
Robertson, Mr. : 70, 189, 204, 214,

249, 379

Robertson and Company: 98
Rocky Bayou: 214
Roelofson, Mr, : 105, 153, 155, 156,

157, 158, 170, 173, 189, 259; arrival,

158, 160, 164, 165; Sherman antici
pates offer, 85 ; plans to make Sher
man offer, 102; expected, 159; gone
to Europe, 191

Rupell, Mr. : 158
Ryan, Michael (member of Board of
Supervisors) : 24, 59, 65

ST. ANGE, E. BERTE: 32, 57, 69, 74,
99, 127, 128, 130, 139, 151, 152, 207,
210, 245, 271, 319, 366, 371, 376,
384; elected member of faculty, 25,
26 ; goes to races, 207-208 ; loses in
horse deal, 211; wishes no assist
ance, 277 ; objects to cadet classifi
cation, 303 ; indifferent to secession
movement, 307

St. Louis (Mo.) : 37, 38, 42, 56, 200,
223, 316, 336, 337, 358, 371, foot
note, 373, 383; probable results of
war, 331; Sherman urged to go to,
359; plans to visit, 364; visits, 365;
moves family to&gt; 365 ; Sherman lo
cates, 378 ; loses commerce, 380

Sampson, Henry: 178

Sanderson, Mr. : 303

Sanford, W. L. (member of Board of
Supervisors) : 24, 64, 361

Scott, Gen. Winfield: 26, 333, 340;
favors Sherman s return to army,

33i

Scroggs, William O: n

Sears, Prof: 52

Seay, Wm. A: 384

Secession: 295; South should avoid,
105; South sure of, 119; common
topic, 232 ; states ready for, 306,
307; favor immediate, 315; South
believe in right, 373 ; South Caro

lina determined on, 319; Louisiana
ready for, 309-310; certain in Louis
iana, 326, 335, 342; Louisiana se
cedes, 351, 352; Virginia s influence,
380; Sherman s views on, 77, 85-86,
89, 212-213, 306-308, 330, Brecken-
ridge favors, 261; general, 342;
hinted, 44; threatening, 103, 212;
expected, 301; no belief in, 260;
little danger of, 272 ; pending, 275,
287; plans for, 308-309; successful,
370; imminent, 308; certain, 295,
297, 3", 314, 3i6, 319-320, 325, 333;
inevitable, 312; result of abolition
movement, 302 ; result of Lincoln s
election, 304; Civil War result, 304;
will not aid South, 306 ; general re
sult, 306; political and commercial
results, 340; revenue important
question, 358; utterly wrong, 330;
talk general, 366

Sevier, Dr. John W: 99, 128; signs
dismissal of cadet, 139

Seward, F. W: 213, 232, 281; speech,
260-261 ; abolitionist, 287 ; Republi
can leader, 287; appointment, 332

Sherman, John: 47, 102, 105, 118, 154,
365, 377J characteristics, 103-104;
brother advises political moderation,
40 ; not abolitionist, 103, 177 ; views
on slavery, 77, 211-212; strong in
views, 281; becomes radical, 259;
opposed by South, 75, 85, 88, 173 ;
candidate for speaker, 176; election
as speaker, 78, 87; defeated, 159,
174-175 ; indorses Helper s Impend
ing Crisis, 75, 76, 78, 87, 103, 117,
118; speech, 211, 263, 280, 282, 287,
289-290; Boyd s opinions of views,
287; advises brother to resign, 312-

313, 331; takes bold stand, 360;
letters, 312, 331

Sherman, Lizzie (daughter of Wm. T.

Sherman) : 126, 313, 337
Sherman, Minnie (oldest daughter of

Wm. T. Sherman) : 52, 84, 126, 313,

314, 367, 372

Sherman, Philemon Tecumseh: n, 15

SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Sherman, Tom (son of Gen. Sher
man) : 126, 313, 367

Sherman, William Tecumseh: 15, 16,
57, 238; member of law firm, 22;
characteristics, 24, 150, 156, 237;
health, 45; business misfortunes,
164; impressions of Red River Val
ley, 47-48 ; views on abolition, 44-
45, 76, 77, 78, 84-85; on political
conditions, 98, 232, 279-280, 329,
330; on secession, 89, 103, 306-308,
330; on slavery, 39-40, 44-45, 77,
83, 88-89, "9, 124, 174, 177, 178,
241, 376 ; feels delicacy of southern
position, 44; fears influence of
brother s stand, 76, 77, 83, 88, 102,
118, 121, 154, 157, 176; can not in
fluence brother, 281; considers
brother fair, 119; fears no out
break, 280; believes government
should act, 357, 360; in New Or
leans, 75-76; in Alexandria, 55-56;
in Baton Rouge, 175; desires to
bring family south, 184, 213; to
visit Ohioi, 185, 305 ; offer of Lon
don position, 85, 98, 102, 152, 153-
155, 160, 161, 175, 179, 180-181, 183-
184, 191, 259; condition of remain
ing, 161, 164, 170, 183; decides to
remain, 190, 191; hesitates to bring
family south, 265, 266 ; decides to
leave family north, 192, 193, 257,
278, 282, 286, 292, 296, 301 ; goes
north, 187-193, 247; avoids politics,
286; advised to vote, 296, 303; not
questioned as to political inten
tions, 297; decides not to vote, 304;
plans if war comes, 314, 316; loyal
to government, 318, 341; outlines
course of conduct, 317-318; opposes
seizure of arsenal, 335; excused
from hostile act, 339; established
in St. Louis, 375 ; goes to Washing
ton, 376; declines offer in the War
Dep t, 378; receives army appoint
ment, 383 ; plans collection, 13 ; ex
tracts from Memoirs, 13, 15, 55-57,
175, 253-254, 295-297, 335-337, 368-

371 ; letters, 33, 37, 39, 42, 43, 45,
47, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 68, 70, 72, 74,
75, 77, 78, 84, 86, 88, 90, 91, 93, 98,
loo, 102, 104, 106, 107, 117, 118, 120,

124, 125, 127, 128, 131, 132, 137, 139,

140, 142, 144, 145, 151, 152, 158, 160,
164, 166, 168, 169, 170, 173, 179, 180,
183, 185, 187, 189, 190, 192, 193, 194,

198, 200, 202, 207, 209, 211, 212, 214,
220, 222, 238, 239, 241, 243, 244, 245,
247, 250, 254, 257, 259, 262, 264, 275,
277, 283, 288, 292, 294, 301, 302, 304,
305, 308, 309, 311, 313, 314, 316, 317,

325, 328, 329, 331, 332, 337, 338, 340,
34i, 342, 343, 344, 347, 348, 35*, 354,
357, 359, 364, 365, 375, 378, 380, 381

AS SUPERINTENDENT OF LOUISIANA

State Seminary: advised of position,
22-23 ; application, 26 ; Graham
recommends, 23-24; elected, 13, 16,
25; appointment, 29; salary, 23, 59,
93, 132-133, 153, 156-157, 161, 170,
181-182, 321, footnote, 339, 344, 345,
350, 354, 357, 36i, 362, 368; seeks
advice, 40-42, 55; disapproves of
seminary name, 57; prepares for
opening, 57 ; sees supervisors, 59 ;
in Baton Rouge, 168-175; prepares
circular, 57, 203, 206, 223-232 ; noti
fies faculty, 68 ; prepares regula
tions, 58, 60; personal supervision
of printing, 275, 277 ; opening, 68-
69, 101 ; plans work, 33-34; duties
at seminary, 87, 90, 117; takes active
charge, 60, 98-99, 104; encouraged
in work, 131, 170; given ample
authority, 73 ; fears curtailment of
power, 199, 235, 248, 249; trouble
with students, 128-129, 138-139, 140-

141, 142-147, 220-222 ; trouble with
supervisors, 146, 264; authority cur
tailed, 262, 264-265, 283-284; en
courages visitors, 99 ; plans for
equipment and supplies, 70, 248,
254, 256, 258, 261, 263, 264; military
equipment, 253, 254, 260, 264, 273-
274, 317, 323, 346; improvements,
121-122, 132, 187, 189-190; prefers

INDEX

397

seminary made military academy,
169; fears rigid military discipline,
71 ; expects military system weak
ened, 213 ; financial affairs of semi
nary, 105, 198-199, 202, 204, 245,
246, 349 ; absence from seminary,
186-187; vacation plans, 216, 250;
examinations, 239; reports, 106, 321-
325, 328; last formal act as supt,
361-362; winds up affairs at semi
nary, 335; causes leading to, and
resignation, 182-183, 307, 309, ,311,
312-313, 315, 326, 331, 338, 341-342,
344, 345, 347, 359, 3^2, 363; asked
to suggest successor, 320; prepares
to leave, 364; departure regretted,
350-351, 353-354; receives resolu
tion of thanks, 363 ; resolutions from
Academic Board, 375 ; secures grant
for seminar}-, 384; aids professors
and students during war, 384; see
Cadets, Disciplinary Methods, Fa
culty, Louisiana State Seminary

Sherman, Mrs. Wm. T: 53, 98, 124,
187; wishes Sherman to accept Lon
don position, 153, 180; willing to go
South, 266 ; prepares fruit, 291 ; will
remain north, 42, 319; postpones
visit south, 337

Sherman, Willie (son of Wm. T.
Sherman) : 126, 313, 337, 367, 372,
376

Slavery: 39, 360; slaves in university,
90; cost of slaves, 119; North op
poses, 43-44; hostile laws, 311;
South believes endangered, 358; in
Va., Ky., Tenn., Mo., 357-358; sub
ject of discord, 77 ; excuse for se
cession, 275, 329, 366, 376; common,
223; necessary, 124-125, 174; must
continue, 241, 245, 272-273, 306;
made national, 279-280; Republi
cans will not interfere, 286 ; in terri
tories, 263, 287, 290, 296; covers
sufficient territory, 280; causes
Sherman uneasiness, 75, 76 ; causes
political anxiety, 343 ; results of
slave labor, 242; Sherman s views,

39-40, 44, 77, 83, 88-89, 119, 124,
174, 177-178, 211-212, 241, 376; see
Abolition movement

Slidell, Mr. : 300

Smith, CoL (supt. of Va. Mil. Inst.) :
32, 35, 204

Smith, Francis W. (member of facul
ty) : 36, 84, 99, 122, 127, 128, 138,
139, 144, 151, 152, 158, 185, 187,
193, 207, 276, 282, 297, 319, 371,
376; elected member of faculty, 25,
26; account, 32; portrait, 27;
charge of bill of fare, 166;
charge of recreation and military
control, 186; goes to races, 207-208;
in New York, 263 ; meets Sherman,
264; .under Vallas, 265; objects to
assisting Vallas, 276; willing to be
of service, 277; classes, 277; op
posed to secession, 307 ; charge of
munition, etc., 351, 368; arsenal
duties, 343 ; suggested for military
command, 345; thanks Sherman,
372; enters Confederate service,
384; killed, 384; letters, 276, 371

Smith, Capt. G. W: 182, 198

Smith, Richard: 30, 34

Smith, Dr. S. A. (member of Board
of Supervisors) : 15, 59, 64, 65, 99,
123, 130, 132, 152, 155, 156, 157, 161,
163, 166, 168, 179, 187, 189, 193, 194,
201, 288, 317, 327, 332, 353, 362, 373,
378, 383; characteristics, 237;
sounds Sherman for views, 87 ; op
poses military system, 162, 169, 268;
advocates University of Virginia as
model, 218 and footnote , sanctions
military character, 171 ; advocates
new system, 198 ; leader of appro
priation bill, 168 ; hopes for appro
priation, 182; gets bill through, 188 ;
unfitted for connection with semi
nary, 237 ; to secure arms, 247 ;
wants reports, 107; reports placed
with, 329; intent on politics, 310;
conservative, 311; Sherman notifies
of resignation, 342 ; wishes Sherman
to delay resignation, 338, 341, 352;

398

SHERMAN AS COLLEGE PRESIDENT

does not believe war inevitable,
362; anticipates peace, 338; calls
supervisors meeting, 354; Sherman
plans to meet, 364; Sherman meets
in New Orleans, 366; settles semi
nary business, 368; willing to ex
change information with Sherman,
375; joins company, 379; letter,
359; see Supervisors

Social Conditions: among faculty, 193,
195, 200, 207-208. Amusements
party, 209-210, 361 ; public examina
tions, 235; celebration, 238, 239-
240; nutting, 291; ball, 371. Hos
pitality 48, 286; of Graham, 30;
of Bragg, 53, 54; of Gov. Moore,
56; gift of mutton, 61 ; Sherman de
pendent on, 188; Sherman encour
ages, 240; wishes to extend, 375-
376

South Carolina: 67, 175, 302, 315, 318,
333&gt; 34 I political conditions, 212;
radical, 118; favors Breckenridge,
272, 288 ; no sympathy with Ken
tucky, 280 ; forced to act, 308 ;
ready for secession, 304, 306, 307 ;
determined to secede, 308, 319; se
ceded, 317; see Charleston

Southern States: 67, 77, 211, 304, 358,
377; ready to follow S. Car. s lead,
302, 317; general convention, 351;
some may secede again, 366

Spencer, (cadet) : wish to return,
246

Stafford, (cadet) : 220, 221

Steptoe, Mr. : 220

Stone, Capt. : Sherman suggests as
successor, 180

Supervisors, Board of: 14; meets and
plans for seminary, 19; membership,
62; governor, president of, 55;
Moore appoints unwisely, 205 ; elect
faculty, 24-26; busy with personal
affairs, 60; duties, 62-63; appoint
cadets, 79; advertise school, 134;
control leave of absence, 244; de
termine relations between supt. and
faculty, 205 ; determine Sherman s

authority, 248 ; curtail Sherman s
authority, 264-265 ; change plans,
277; leave details to Sherman, 105;
depend on Sherman, 118, 341; ap
prove regulations, 149; consider
regulations, 248 ; requisitions sub
mitted to, 248 ; committee meets
faculty, 57; meeting, 73, 193-194,
200-201, 220, 259, 354, 359; lack
quorum, 64; quorum difficult to se
cure, 64-65 ; military system for
seminary, 62, 89, 132, 216; policy
causes anxiety, 235; should be near
seminary, 236; controversy, 299;
Sherman s last report, 321-325; en
grossed with political affairs, 352;
accept Sherman s resignation, 362;
resolutions, 160, 362; elect Col. Lay
as supt, 383

TALIAFERRO, (cadet): 98, 238; en
ters union navy, 384

Taylor, Col. J. P: 156, 172

Taylor, Richard: 26, 81, 168, 169, 176,
177, 1 80, 219, 315

Taylor, Zachary: 274

Tempel, Mr. (first cadet) : 98

Tennessee: 67, 128, 306, 344, 357; se
cession probable, 380. Cities
Beer-Sheba Springs, 30; Jackson,
191; Memphis, 194; Nashville, 140

Terrebonne (Parish in La.) : 81

Texas: 67, 273, 336; slave territory,
280; ready for secession, 306, 307,
308. C ities Brownsville, 336; Na-
cogdoches, 273

Text-books: 34, 231-232, 257, 263, 324;
suggested, 42; ordered, 61-62, 78;
plans for securing, 69; received, 91,
104; difficulties in securing, 101 ;
purchased, 264 ,

Transportation: 192, 254-255; accom
modations, 47-48 ; on Mississippi
River, 45 ; facilities in Alexandria,
22 ; river traffic, 265 ; navigation
closed, 288; by mail-coach, 56; de
lays, 43, 193, 308; roundabout, 190-
191; journey south, 194; difficult,

INDEX

399

202; freight, 256-258, 273, 275, 278,

281, 288, 291, 292-293, 294
Trowbridge, : Sherman suggests as

successor, 180
Tucker, Beverly: 158
Turner, Mr. : urges Sherman to go

to St. Louis, 359
Turner, Henry: 154

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: 26, 32, 97,

133
Utah: 290

VALLAS, DR. ANTHONY (member of
faculty) : 30, 57, 69, 94, 95, 127, 128,
139, 145, 187, 190, 215, 384; elected,
25; account, 32; portrait, 27; ar
rival announced, 54; characteristics,
60; rents house, 60; residence for,
86, 282, 286, 292; interest in work,
103; charge of correspondence, 186;
refuses share in military system, 205 ;
forbidden to preach regularly, 244,
footnote ; unable to control, 265;
wants more authority, 265 and foot
note ; Manning instigates to rebel,
266-267; assistant, 276, 294, 289;
indifferent to secession movement,
307 ; not to succeed as superintend
ent, 339; assumes authority, 371;
superintendent pro tern., 384; ex
tract from Memoir, 205

Virginia: 25, 35, 64, 67, 176, 280, 299,
344, 357, 381, 382; slavery weak in,
306 ; news of panic, 308 ; influence,
380. Cities - Lexington, 21, 32, 35,
65, 129, 134, 199, 269; Norfolk, 32;
Richmond, 36; Virginia Springs,
242

Virginia Military Institute: 26, 31, 32,

134; desirable to adopt code, 35-36;
to visit, 38; supplies, 38; to serve
as model, 19, 21, 58, 65, 97, 135,
216, 217, 269

WASHINGTON, D.C: n, 13, 19, 33, 37,
103, 156, 158, 191, 195, 215, 219,
244, 247, 274, 316, 317, 323, 340,
344, 345, 364, 365; Sherman visits,
253 ; Sherman visits for military
equipment, 256, 257

West Point (N.Y.) : 16, 23, 26, 33, 52,
55, 102, 129, 199, 294, 366; uni
forms, 38; course good, 41-42; fur
nishings, 36; Graham student of,
48 ; favors system, 73 ; system of
grading, 108 ; seminary resembles,
226 ; Beauregard escapes superin-
tendency, 242; Henry Beauregard
prepares for, 242, 298

Whittington, Miss : 255, 256, 257,

259

Whittington, W. W. (member of
Board of Supervisors) : 24, 35, 57,
215, 264, 361

Wickliffe, R. C. (gov. of La.) : 14, 15,
26, 29, 30, 37, 47, 106, 127, 131, 132,
153, 203, 344; advertises for faculty,
19-20, 21 ; presides at Board meet
ing, 24; informs successful appli
cants, 29; toasts Sherman, 33;
Sherman reports to, 55 ; recommen
dation of no value, 169; letters, 26,
29

Williamson, Major: 32

Winn, Col. Walter : 24

Wise, Gov. : 273

Wise, Mr. : 156

YANCEY, W. L: 232, 297