Description: William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), prominent military leader from Ohio, helped to lead the Union Army to victory in the Civil War. In this portrait photograph he is shown in old age. His hair and beard are white, and he is wearing civilian attire. His signature appears at the bottom of the portrait. Below the signature is the name and business address of a photography studio: "C. Parker / 447 Penn. Ave. Washington, D.C." Sherman was born on February 8, 1820, in Lancaster, Ohio. He was named after Tecumseh, the famous Shawnee leader. Sherman's father died in 1829. Sherman's mother could not take care of all of her children and had several of them adopted into other families. Thomas Ewing, a neighbor and close family friend, raised William Sherman as a foster son. Sherman attended common schools and received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1836. He graduated in 1840, ranking sixth in a class of forty-two students. He was commissioned a second lieutenant of artillery. He participated in the Seminole War from 1840 to 1842. During the late 1840s, he was stationed in California and helped Californians secure their independence from Mexico in the Mexican-American War. He resigned his commission in 1853 and went into banking, at which he was not successful. n 1859, Sherman became the superintendent of the Louisiana Military Academy. He also served as a professor of engineering, architecture, and drawing. At the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861 Louisiana's seceded from the Union. Sherman resigned his position and returned to the North. In May 1861, Sherman joined the Union army and was immediately commissioned a brigadier-general of volunteers. He commanded the Third Brigade, First Division, of the Army of Northeastern Virginia at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. His men suffered numerous casualties in the battle. He was transferred to the Department of the Cumberland in August 1861, and Sherman assumed command of that department in October of that year. In this position, Sherman played a vital role in securing Kentucky for the Union. Following the fall of Atlanta, Sherman set out on a "March to the Sea." He determined to break the will of the Southern population between Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia. Sherman left his wagon train behind and ordered his men to feed themselves with what they could find along the way. The Northerners even requisitioned food from the slave population. Sherman realized that the civilian population was supplying the Confederate military with food and other supplies. He decided that one way to win the war was to break the will of the civilian population and to end its ability and desire to equip an army. He left Atlanta on November 15, 1864, and traveled the more than two hundred miles to Savannah by December 21. He faced little resistance from the Confederate military. In 1865, Sherman led his army into the Carolinas, using the same tactics that he had used on the "March to the Sea." General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered at Durham Station, North Carolina, on April 26, 1865 and the Civil War soon came to an end. Sherman remained in the military following the Civil War, serving first as the commander of the Military Division of the Mississippi and then commander of the Military Division of the Missouri. When Ulysses S. Grant became President of the United States in 1869, Sherman replaced him as General of the United States Army. He retired on November 1, 1883, and was succeeded by General Philip Sheridan. Sherman moved to New York City in 1886. He died on February 14, 1891, and was buried in St. Louis, Missouri. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06605
Subjects: Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891; Civil War 1861-1865; Portraits; 1861-1865--Military officers--Union
Places: Lancaster (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio)
 

Description: A proclamation recognizing May 17, 2014 as Colonel Charles Young Day in the state of Illinois. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F04_E
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Illinois
 

Description: A resolution dedicated to Colonel Charles Young, urging the United States Congress to pass House Resolution 5308 allowing the promotion of Young to Brigadier General. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F04_B
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Kentucky
 

Description: A certificate remembering, honoring, and recognizing Colonel Charles Young for his military service by Senator Robin L. Webb and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F04_H
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Kentucky
 

Description: Bruce Rauner, Governor of the State of Illinois, proclaiming June 1, 2016 as a day of recognition honoring Colonel Charles Young and the Buffalo Soldiers in Illinois. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F05_G
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Springfield (Illinois)
 

Description: Two photographs show Charles Young, one of the first African American men to enjoy a successful military career. One photograph, which measures 3.2 by 4.1 inches (8.22 by 10.46 cm), shows Young in the uniform of a United States Military Academy cadet. In the second image, measuring 3.7 by 6.2 inches (9.4 by 15.75 cm), Young wears the uniform of an army officer. Young (1864-1922), a Kentucky native raised in Ohio, graduated from Ripley Colored High School in 1880. He won appointment to West Point in 1884 and in 1889 became the third African American graduate from the school. Young taught military science at Wilberforce University and later served in the Spanish American War as the major in command of the 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.). He had an exceptional military career, highlighted by his appointments to serve as military attache to Haiti and Liberia. He commanded troops in the "Punitive Expedition" in Mexico, and during the "Filipino Insurrection." He was also superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant national parks. At the outset of World War I, Young was the highest-ranking African American in the army. Rather than promote him, and place in a position of authority over white soldiers, the army involuntarily retired Young from active duty, ostensibly because of ill health. To prove his fitness for duty, he rode horseback from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. The army, nevertheless, did not promote him to colonel until after he retired from service. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om873_807073_001
Subjects: African American Ohioans; Military Ohio; Spanish American War; 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.); African American Soldiers
Places: Wilberforce (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio); West Point (New York)
 

Description: Charles Young created this portfolio while a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Young was an army officer, expert mapmaker, and musician. A selection of pages from the portfolio provided here includes pencil drawings, drawing exercises, cartography exercises, and a map of West Point. The portfolio measures approximately 19.75" by 24.25" (50.17 by 61.60 cm). Young (1864-1922), a Kentucky native raised in Ohio, graduated from Ripley Colored High School in 1880. He won appointment to West Point in 1884 and in 1889 became the third African American graduate from the school. Young taught military science at Wilberforce University and later served in the Spanish American War as the major in command of the 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.). He had an exceptional military career, highlighted by his appointments to serve as military attache to Haiti and Liberia. He commanded troops in the "Punitive Expedition" in Mexico, and during the "Filipino Insurrection." He was also superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant national parks. At the outset of World War I, Young was the highest-ranking African American in the army. Rather than promote him, and place him in a position of authority over white soldiers, the army involuntarily retired Young from active duty, ostensibly because of ill health. To prove his fitness for duty, he rode horseback from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. The army, nevertheless, did not promote him to colonel until after he retired from service. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1799_1765273_001
Subjects: African American Ohioans; Arts and Entertainment; Military Ohio; United States Military Academy; Portfolios
Places: West Point (New York)
 

Description: This photograph of a hand-drawn military map shows the encampment and disposition of forces during St. Clair's Defeat on November 4, 1791, near the future Fort Recovery, Ohio. St. Clair's Defeat is also known as the Battle of the Wabash and the Battle of Kekionga. The sketch shows the battle lines and location of battalions, artillery, the American Indian forces, and line of retreat. A handwritten caption reads: "The light I am in will not give me time fully to explain this plan of the action of the [indecipherable]." In November 1791, Arthur St. Clair, the governor of the Northwest Territory, led a U.S. military force against the Miami tribe in the area of the Wabash River in western Ohio, near several Miami villages. On the morning of November 4, under the leadership of Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) and Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle), a large alliance of seasoned volunteer warriors moved against the attacking forces. The American Indians engaged in the battle came primarily from nine different tribes, including the Wyandots, Seneca, Cherokee, Ojibwe, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Delaware, and Miami. Many of the militiamen under St. Clair immediately fled as the American Indians surrounded their’ camp. After three hours of fighting, the remaining U.S. soldiers fought their way out and began a lengthy retreat. The survivors reached Fort Jefferson late that afternoon and evening. Facing limited quantities of food and supplies at Fort Jefferson, St. Clair ordered his forces to Fort Washington. Of the 1,400 men who served under St. Clair, 623 soldiers were killed and another 258 wounded. One of the survivors stated, "The ground was literally covered with the dead." The American Indians had soundly defeated St. Clair's army; this loss, one of the worst defeats of the American military at the hands of the American Indians, would come to be known as "St. Clair’s Defeat." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06996
Subjects: Military maps; Military encampments; Kekionga, Battle of, Ohio, 1791; St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; Little Turtle, 1747?-1812; Miami Indians; Fort Recovery (Ohio);
Places: Fort Recovery (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio)
 

Description: House Resolution 1070 recognizing the opening of the Colonel Charles Young temporary exhibit and the presentation of the bronze maquette in his honor. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F04_D
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Illinois
 

Description: Carte de visite of Major General George B. McClellan, ca. 1861-1865. McClellan was a prominent 19th century American military and political leader. He was born on December 3, 1826, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1842, McClellan received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1846, ranking second in his class. McClellan resigned his army commission in 1857 to become involved in the railroad industry, and using his training in engineering from West Point, he served as an engineer for the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad and the Illinois Central Railroad. During this time, he lived primarily in Cincinnati, Ohio. With the beginning of the American Civil War in April 1861, McClellan reenlisted in the United States Army and played an important role in Ohio's early defense. Early in the war, General McClellan enhanced his reputation as a skillful military leader and was appointed as commander of the Army of the Potomac by President Abraham Lincoln. But after his unsuccessful assault on Richmond, Virginia, and his failure to defeat General Lee’s forces in the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln removed McClellan from his command in November 1862. McClellan never received another military command and later became one of Lincoln’s chief critics. In 1864, the Democratic Party selected McClellan as its presidential candidate to oppose Lincoln’s reelection, but Lincoln won the election by an overwhelming margin. McClellan resigned his commission in the United States Army and later became the governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881. He died on October 29, 1885. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC3535_E1_05_01
Subjects: McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Generals--United States; Military officers
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: A declaration by Gary Richard Herbert, Governor of Utah, honoring Colonel Charles Young and the Buffalo Soldiers with their own day. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F05_E
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; Buffalo Soldiers Day; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Utah
 

Description: This photograph is a formal portrait of Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) in uniform at age 21. The portrait likely was taken in 1843, the year that Grant graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. In this portrait the clean-shaven Grant is wearing a uniform decorated with epaulets and metal buttons. Ulysses Simpson Grant was a U.S. military leader and the eighteenth President of the United States. He was born Hiram Ulysses Grant on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio. In 1823, his family moved to Georgetown, Ohio. Grant lived there until he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point in July 1839. The congressman who appointed Grant submitted his name as Ulysses Simpson Grant rather than Hiram Ulysses Grant. It was because of this mistake that Grant changed his name. Grant graduated from West Point in 1843. He ranked twenty-first in a class of thirty-nine students. His first assignment was in the Southwest. Grant served under General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican-American War. He remained in the West following the war. In 1852, after quarreling with a higher-ranking officer, Grant resigned his commission. At the outbreak of the Civil War he organized a company in Galena and later accepted command of the 21st Illinois Regiment. In August 1861, President Abraham Lincoln made Grant brigadier general of volunteers. In 1864 Grant became lieutenant general commanding all the armies of the U.S. He served as U.S. president from 1869-1877. Grant's first term as president was troubled with corruption. Numerous political leaders, including Grant's vice president, were accused of providing political favors for monetary compensation. Grant remained above the corruption, but much of the U.S. public faulted him for his poor leadership and his inability to control his cabinet. In the South, violence was also increasing between whites and the African American population. The nation seemed no closer to healing its wounds from the Civil War. Grant sought reelection in 1872. He won easily, receiving fifty-six percent of the popular vote. Grant promised to end the violence in the South but did little about it during his second term. A growing number of Republicans began to oppose equality for African Americans and encouraged Grant to withdraw Union troops from the South. An economic depression in 1873 further alienated the public from Grant. More than eighteen thousand businesses closed over the next five years, leaving thousands of workers unemployed. Due to Grant's declining popularity, the Republican Party nominated Rutherford B. Hayes as president, although Grant had desired to seek a third term. Grant also sought the party's candidacy in 1880, but the Republicans selected James Garfield instead. Grant spent his last years in New York, writing his memoirs. When he was elected president, Grant had resigned his commission in the military. In 1885, the United States Congress reappointed Grant as General of the Army. His salary helped him pay rising bills. He died on July 23, 1885 from throat cancer. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05763
Subjects: Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885; Ohio History--Presidents and Politics; Military uniforms; Epaulets