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Father Thomas Ewing Sherman (1856 – 1933)

"The General’s Son"
by Carol Gums (prunecheeks54@yahoo.com)

Back in the 1860’s, General William T. Sherman gained fame by his victorious march to the sea during the closing days of the Civil War. His name is much remembered for the mark he left on history. Lesser known today, but famous in his time was Father Thomas Ewing Sherman, the General’s son. He had become a great Orator, gaining national recognition in his adult years.

Click images to enlarge

Father Tom Sherman  Chaplain in 1898 during the Spanish American	Tom Sherman- Oct. 1877  In Law Office of Henry Hitchcock in St. Louis	Father Tom Sherman May 1914

Thomas Ewing Sherman was born on October 10, 1856. He weighed in at a whopping 10lbs 8oz.! A big boy with some big shoes to fill.

In the first few months of the Civil War, when Tom was five years old, he and his family would visit the General in various camps. He was given a uniform in his size to wear and got to sleep on the ground like the soldiers under his father’s command. He loved the military and the military code of conduct.

On his way home from a camp in Memphis, his younger brother, Willie, became ill and died a few days later. Willie had been the General’s favorite son and the death devastated him. It was at this time that the General placed all his hopes and dreams on Tom. He had become more endearing to his father and reciprocated with great love and admiration for the General.

The Shermans changed their base of operations five times during the first nine years of young Tom’s life. Moving around was a way of combating the General’s restless nature.

Tom’s mother, Ellen, taught her children the Catholic faith. One of her closest friends was Archbishop Purcell who visited the family frequently and impressed young Tom with his way of life. Ellen and the General stressed pride in the family heritage and in the Sherman name to all their children but especially to Tom.

In May of 1865 when Tom was nine years old, he stood beside President Grant at a parade honoring his father and the Union Army for the victory and end of the war. Young Tom’s shoulders straightened as he realized the importance of this momentous occasion. He was awestruck by his father’s accomplishments and remained so all his life.

Tom was quite naughty when he was young. So much so that his parents were afraid he’d become an outlaw as an adult, but their fears proved groundless. Tom grew up taking trips to the theater, songfests, and entertaining the famous people of his day including politicians and the clergy. It was not unusual for Tom to dine at the White House on occasion with the Grants. He had a life of privilege that he readily accepted and enjoyed.

Tom was very intelligent for his age and skipped grades at the Notre Dame nuns’ school. He continued to be at the top of his classes all through college. He was well liked in school. He sang loud, enjoyed stimulating conversation, and had a great sense of humor. He was good at everything he did including swimming, skating, and horseback riding.

At sixteen years of age Tom traveled all over Europe alone. He loved traveling and the independence that it gave to him.

Tom attended Yale but didn’t care for the professors very much. He didn’t think they encouraged original thinking. He wanted to get a degree in law, but thought the University of Law in St. Louis would be a better school to attend for that particular degree. He continued his graduate work in both law and the sciences. He loved Liberal Arts and studied them during his senior year, while graduating at the top of his class.

It was important for Tom to keep up with men of wealth and social standing but he detested secret societies and fraternities and refused to be a part of them.

Tom studied some law in St. Louis and began helping his father manage his financial affairs. The General became more and more dependent on Tom and was looking forward to him joining the Bar.

In 1878 Tom finally informed his family of the vocation he had chosen for himself. He wanted to become a Jesuit Priest. He had made the decision four years earlier, but was afraid of his father’s reaction.

Tom waited and hoped that the longing to be a Jesuit would subside but instead it grew stronger until he could fight it no longer. His father was grief stricken and took the news harder much than Tom could possibly imagine.

The General didn’t speak to him or write him for a long time. He felt disappointed and deceived and could not understand why Tom wasted all that had been given to him.

Tom described his feeling for his vocation in a letter. "People in love do strange things," he wrote, "Having a vocation is like being in love, only more so, so there is no love more absorbing, so deep, and so lasting as that of a creature for the Creator."

The Jesuit life offered many aspects of the military that Tom admired including the code of obedience and self-control. Tom dutifully submitted to authority even when he thought the rules were useless. He was tightly controlled outwardly and eventually this would affect him inwardly.

Tom went to Woodstock, a college in Maryland, to study Philosophy and was enthusiastic about being a Catholic. He was the type of person who would emphasize the Kingdom more than the King but he was hungry for converts.

In St. Louis Tom was assigned as a teacher. He was better at inspiring his students than he ever was at instructing them. He managed to encourageseveral young men to join the Jesuits.

In 1889 Tom was invited to give a theological disputation, and that marked the beginning of his ministry as an Orator for the Catholic faith.

Tom was ordained as a priest in Philadelphia seven months after his mother died. His father cited conflict with official business for not attending the ceremony. The General did arrive a few days afterward to spend some time with Tom. (More than likely he avoided the ordination on purpose.) During some of these later visits with his son, the General later mellowed some, and Tom and his father eventually established a more congenial relationship.

In 1891 Tom was aboard ship when he learned his father had died. He always regretted not being with the General during his final hours.

Tom’s speaking engagements increased and he became a very out spoken defender of the Catholic Faith. Between 1891 and 1894 he traveled extensively - preaching, lecturing and explaining the Catholic religion, and blasting communism and labor unions. He drew large crowds because of his father’s fame but he became such a skilled Orator that people began coming just to hear him speak. Tom could lecture for two hours without referring to his notes more than once and he always managed to get new converts to the faith by the time he was finished.

Tom had become so popular with the crowds that in 1896 the Provincial of Missouri ordered him to stop giving lectures. He felt Tom had become prideful and too theatrical, compromising the Jesuit image.

Tom’s sermons declined in quality and, shortly after ceasing the speeches, he suffered a complete nervous break down. His brother-in-law was a doctor and he convinced the Order that Tom needed to go to Boston and be with family to recuperate. Dr. Thorndike thought a trip abroad would be beneficial to Tom’s recovery as well. The Order agreed as long as Tom stayed in Jesuit housing.

To get out of the constricting confines of the Jesuit housing, Tom mustered into the Missouri Volunteer Infantry as a Chaplain. He spent his time in Puerto Rico and fell in love with the people.

In 1899 Tom was appointed parish priest and traveling missionary with his headquarters in Chicago. He again began public lecturing and the crowds increased. He had to turn down numerous engagements due to his popularity. His Superiors recognized his talents and gave him freedom to continue his work and to convert non-Catholics along the way. By 1900-1905 Tom was traveling coast to coast and gaining admiration from the Jesuits as well as the nation.

President Theodore Roosevelt invited Tom to the unveiling ceremony of a statute of General William T. Sherman. He furthered invited Tom to ride with West Point cadets into Georgia to retrace his father’s famous march to the sea. Tom was both honored and thrilled with the prospect of such a journey and accepted readily. However, the Southerners were furious, thinking that Tom was afraid of entering the South without a military guard. The Southern Congressmen were upset because their pride in hospitality was bruised. Had Tom arrived in the South alone he would have been treated courteously and with respect.

The President withdrew the military guard leaving Tom alone and deeply embarrassed. Tom did not finish the trip and was very angry with the President for bowing to pressure and letting him look like the guilty party when in fact he had been the invited guest.

Tom wanted to go to Rome to speak with the Superiors there so he concocted a reason siting indiscretion with money matters concerning the Catholic Truth Society, which he founded. Permission for the trip was denied. Eventually his persistence paid off, and he finally went to Rome and cited all his complaints against the Jesuits. They listened politely knowing that he was not in possession of his mental facalties.

Tom’s behavior began to change. He flew into a rage threatening criminal prosecution because his office was entered and the lights extinguished. He was doing things without consulting his Superior and ended up in the hospital for a month’s rest.

In 1909 Tom requested to go to California to rest indefinitely. Permission was granted.

By July 1911 Tom suffered a complete mental break down and was put into a sanitarium. He tried to commit suicide shortly after and was sent to an insane asylum. His sister came and transferred him to a Sanitarium in Baltimore. One month later he was moved to one in Boston.

He had been violent in the beginning and then softened and despaired over his lost spirituality. He refused to see any Jesuits because he felt he had committed the unpardonable sin.

After a year Tom returned to the Jesuit Order and transferred to Milwaukee. He detested his Superior there and left one day showing up unannounced and requesting accommodations in Chicago.

As Tom’s mental stability weakened, he began threatening to make public charges against the Jesuits for illegal imprisonment. Being a Sherman he would be able to draw national attention. To keep Tom quiet the Jesuits appointed him as a special assistant editor of the Jesuit magazine, "The Queen’s Work".

Tom ranted and raved about the Jesuits imprisoning him and vowed revenge. As long as he could travel and do as he wished he seemed fine. But his mental state was worsening. The Jesuits went out of their way to help Tom and keep the peace.

Tom wanted to withdraw from the Jesuits but no one had the authority to do it. He wrote letters and threatened lawsuits to get free of the Order, yet at the same time he wanted to be made bishop so he could be a diocese priest. While the bishop was deciding what to do, Tom bought some land to build a church that he would pastor. He took many trips to find people to be "settlers" for his new community. The trips became longer and more frequent until he finally became disillusioned and stopped altogether.

From 1924-1929 Tom retired to his bungalow in Santa Barbara. He gardened, prayed, and lived peacefully alone.

In 1929 he tried to work as an unpaid missionary to Puerto Rico but physically only lasted a few months. He suffered from Neurasthenia and Gastritis and was broken down and feeble. He applied for disability and put his father down as the nearest relative to be notified in case of death.

In November of 1931 Tom’s brother was notified that Tom needed to be institutionalized due to violent behavior. Tom was taken to New Orleans and lived in a facility there from 1931 until 1933.

On April 29^th, 1933 Tom suffered a massive hemorrhage of the stomach. He asked for a Jesuit priest to come and renewed his own vows as a Jesuit by memory. That evening he passed away peacefully.

Fr. Thomas Ewing Sherman left his mark on this world as his father had done before him. General William T. Sherman will always be remembered for his infamous march to the sea and his son will be recalled as a great Orator who moved the hearts and spirits of the men and women of his time.

This most interesting story - for all those curious about the General, or listening to the many "family legends" about being related to him - began when SOY subscriber Deb SHERMAN (DYS@cros.net) mentioned last year about visiting the cemetery in Louisiana where Father Tom is buried, and not being able to locate his grave. That began the search.

While investigating, another Sherman correspondent - Bob BAXTER (rsbaxter@bellsouth.net) - referred me to several web sites about the Jesuit Cemetery in Grand Coteau, LA, where Fr. Tom is buried. At one of those web sites was written;

"There Fr. Thomas Sherman, SJ, son of General William Tecumseh Sherman, lies buried next to Fr. John Salter, SJ, grandnephew of Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederate States of America. How they came to be buried side by side is the burden of this story." Interesting story there. Included in the story, is one more interesting tidbit:

"Thomas Sherman, the elder son of William and Ellen Ewing Sherman, was born in 1856. His mother was a Catholic, and he and the other children were raised in her faith. He was still a child when his father went to Louisiana to become the first superintendent of Louisiana State Seminary. This first effort to start a state university was a military college for males only and was located in Pineville. Sherman, a West Point graduate, served a little over a year in 1860- 61. When Louisiana voted to secede from the Union in the spring of 1861, he returned to his home in Ohio, but he is still recognized as one of the founders of Louisiana State University, now located in Baton Rouge."

Another interesting site about Fr. Tom is at: http://www.sandcastles.net/thomas2.htm

In the midst of the discussions on the SHERMAN-L, Carolyn KRESS (ckress1737@aol.com) sent me a scanned copy of a newspaper clipping. From the Sycamore, DeKalb Co., Illinois newspaper "The True Republican", dated ? 20, 1965, the clipping introduces "General Sherman’s Son", a book by Joseph T. Durkin, pub: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, printed first in 1959.

Marshall was first brought to the attention of SOY by Diane HEURING when she quoted from an article by Anne COWIE. That input from Diane described briefly that he had won the Medal when he captured the battle flag of the 28^th Virginia at Gettysburg, and inquiring if anyone knew his ancestry.

Recent "sightings" about this dilemma came from Mary Dale JESTER (MarydaleJ@aol.com), when she asked if I knew about the brewing battle between the states of Virginia and Minnesota over the famous flag. Subsequently, Mary spend considerable time travelling to the library and court house in St. Paul, Minnesota, to try to uncover more about Marshall.

Al BEASLEY (ANNJOAL@aol.com) visited the National Archives in Washington D.C. and obtained copies of Marshall’s service record and pension file.

I "dissected" the 1800-1840 census records from Chittenden Co., Vermont, hoping to derived some possible parentage by the process of eliminating the census "numbers" of all the known children of the Sherman Heads of Household. I also checked the pre-1850 "History of Chittenden Co.", "History of Rutland Co." and land and probate records of the period. Absolutely no clue YET to his ancestry.

In all of this, what is known is that Marshall reportedly was born in Burlington, Chittenden Co., VT in 1822, and had settled in St. Paul, Minnesota by 1849 (apparently alone), and became a house painter.

Anne Cowie was a senior at Summit School in St. Paul when she undertook her research of Marshall, as an outgrowth of a history paper about the First Minnesota. She was a semi-finalist in the nation-wide Merit Scholarship program, and was (is?) fascinated with history. Her article, published in 1967, is a wonderful five-page description of Marshall’s service with the First, and about his capture of the flag at Gettysburg.

She describes the articles of uniform (see Ed Sherman’s presentation, following), and how Marshall’s capture of the Flag of the 28^th Virginia became such a significant event. "The colors were the very heart and soul of a regiment." "Advancing men followed their regiment’s maneuvers by keeping their eyes on the flags." The loss of the regimental colors was both demoralizing and disruptive of a unit’s ability to remain cohesive.

Space restrictions here prohibit republishing Anne’s entire article, but I will be happy to provide a copy to anyone who asks. Of additional note, is that 2,625 Medals of Honor were presented

during the Civil War. In 1916, Congress appointed a board to review those awards, and 911 names were subsequently dropped from the rolls. Marshall’s award stood the tests, and he remains today on the official list of heroes from that conflict.

From his pension file, Marshall was 5’ 6" tall, blue eyes, light hair, and was a painter when he enlisted first on 24 May 1861 in Co. "C" under Capt. Acker of the 1^st Minnesota Vols. He "remustered" on 24 March 1864 in "A" Co., 1^st Battalion of Minnesota Infantry at Fort Snelling, Minnesota for a period of three years. He was examined and found unfit for duty at Boston, Mass., the certificate reading: "Amputation of left leg Middle 3". [sic.] Consequence of gunshot fracture of both bones received in action at Deep Bottom, [Virginia] August 14, 1864. Totally disabled." He was discharged on that date, 24 July 1865. He applied for a pension in January of 1866, and was awarded a pension of $8.00 per month, commencing on 24 July 1865, and then dropped from the rolls when he died.

A letter in his files reveals a little of Marshall at the time. Transcribed, it reads:

"St Paul Minn. March 3 /67 Hon. J. F. Stockton My kindest Friend I address you this day under peculiar circumstances and I sincerely implore you to help me. About the 15^th of March last I lost my Pension and Discharge Papers. I think that they were stolen, but either way they are lost to me. And to my distress and sorrow I cannot get my Pension Money to which I need greatly. About the 7^th of March I requested the Pension Officer of this city to write to the Pension Officer at Washington for a new set of papers, with the proper information, but to my sorrow nothing has been heard from the Head Quarter.

Dear friend will you give me the kindness to go to the Pension Officer at Washington and make these officers send those papers. By so doing you will confer everlasting obligation to your humble friend.

Am glad to be able to inform you that my limb or stump leg is so well healed up that I am able to wear my artificial leg and walk on it most of the day without greatetial [sic.?] suffering and my health is also pretty good. But the season is very cold and backwards. Business of all kind is not very brisk, money matter is rather hard up, but we are all hoping for better time.

Hoping with all my heart that these few lines will find you and your worthy wife in good blessful health and please accept my highest gratitude for your past well remembered favors received at your hand. Well in a helpless condition at Washington Very respectfully yours Marshall Sherman"

Fortunately, Marshall later prospered in St. Paul, establishing the "Sherman House" hotel (which seated 100 persons in it’s dining room, and was described as "the best two-dollar a day house in the country".) He later operated an insurance business. Highly respected, he was unpretentious, and never sought the limelight. He remained a bachelor all of his life, and apparently left no will.

He was a member of the local G.A.R. post, who conducted his funeral service when he died quietly on April 19, 1896. (I am also happy to provide his obituary, if anyone is interested.)

The flag he captured was given to Marshall in the late 1800’s, and passed on to the Minnesota Historical Society in 1923. Currently it remains in a special, temperature controlled case with special security in a portion of the History Center in St. Paul, and is shown by appointment only. Forwarded by Mary Jester, an article from the St. Paul "Star Tribune", Metro/State page B12, of 29 March 2001, describes the brewing "war of words" over the ownership of the flag.

Recently, a group of Civil War reenactors petitioned the Virginia Legislature to urge Minnesota to return the flag to Virginia. To date, Minnesota is refusing.

Interestingly, a congressional action about 100 years ago, apparently required the return of all battle flags following a conflict. Bring on the lawyers.!!

For now, Marshall’s ancestry remains an enigma, and – as I lie awake at 3 AM trying to "connect" with my own earliest known ancestors - I’ll add Marshall to the list.

Washington, D.C, ---- The U.S. Army says a bloodstained bullet-pierced Confederate flag that Minnesota captured from Virginia 139 years ago belongs to the federal government --- and it plans to house the flag at an Army Museum in Virginia.

But the Minnesota Historical Society, which has resisted previous requests to return the flag, said it would not comply with the decision issued last week by the Army’s chief of military history, Brig. Gen. John S. Brown.

"We do not consider Gen. Brown’s opinion a legal ruling," said the Historical Society’s deputy director, Ian Stewart. "We also do not anticipate following his suggestion that we turn over the flag to the Army museum proposed in Virginia."

The flag, with the stars and bars of the Confederate emblem, was captured by Pvt. Marshall SHERMAN of the First Minnesota Regiment at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. He later received the Medal of Honor, for which he had to turn the flag over to the War Department. He got the flag back, and the state held onto it even though Congress in 1905 declared that all flags should be returned to their originating states.

In a letter to members of the Virginia congressional delegation last week, Brown wrote: "We believe the status of the flag is loaned, not returned. By law, the proper custodian of the flag is the War Department --- now the United States Army." "We intend that the flag be returned to the Army," Brown said, for exhibit at the Army’s National Museum, scheduled to open in 2009 in Fort Belvoir, Va. But Brown’s letter makes no mention of how he would compel Minnesota to comply.

The Minnesota Historical Society displayed the flag in 1998, but now has it in storage, saying it’s not in condition to be further displayed.

Minnesota has rebuffed efforts to get the flag back for years. In 1998, then-Minnesota Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III turned down a request from the 18^th Virginia Infantry, a reenactment group, saying the law applied only to flags already in the War Department’s possession. In 2000, Gov. Jesse Ventura dismissed a plea from the Virginia Senate, asking, "Why? I mean, we won."

Last year, a state Senate committee voted to ignore a Virginia request to return the flag.

Chris Caveness, executive director of the 28^th Virginia, said he still hopes that Minnesota would turn the flag over so everyone could see it.

The mystery of the parentage of Marshall SHERMAN, Medal of Honor winner, is delineated elsewhere in this issue.

John E. SHERMAN, Jr. was the United States District Marshal in the area covering Lincoln Co., NM during the Lincoln County Wars . He became a friend of Billy the Kid, and a smattering of books about Billy and the Lincoln County Wars (1878-1879) serve brief mention of Marshal John Sherman, yet reveal nothing personal about the man. He is described in numerous accounts as the "only honest man in the affairs" of that time/place – as corruption at every level of authority was rampant (to the Governor of the Territory). Marshal Sherman attempted to bring a ring of justice to the area.

A trip to the Website of the U. S. Marshal Service was unhelpful – a personal phone call to their historian was unhelpful – a search of the census films of NM was unhelpful – review of many newspapers from that time/place was unhelpful - and obtaining copies of the few items on file at the National Archives revealed only his middle initial, the "Jr." after his name, that he was "of Santa Fe" and that he applied for re-appointment in March of 1880.

Janelle Foster, a GenWeb volunteer in Lincoln Co., corresponded with me quite a bit, and was very helpful with "possible areas to check", but all proved fruitless.

General George Pickett positioned his brigades, Garnett's (1405 men) and Kemper's (1325 men) side-by-side and in front with Armistead's (1570 men) behind the former for Pickett's Charge against the Union forces who were behind the Stone Wall on Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg. The 28th Virginia was the second regiment from the right in General Richard Garnett's Brigade. There were four other Virginia infantry regiments in Garnett's Brigade and they were arranged as shown below (they were facing east and charged east)

Garnett's Brigade dressed or lined on the right regiment (8th) when the Charge began. The charge (actually a courageous walk) was to attack the Stone Wall behind which Union troops were positioned. In the middle of the length of this stone wall was a "Z" known as "The Angle"

The 28th Virginia Color Sergeant, John H. Eakin of Company B (carrying 28th flag) was shot and wounded in the upper third of his arm so he yielded the colors to Color Corporal Lindsey Creasey who was shot almost instantly. Col. Allen (28th VA) then picked up the colors, and drawing attention to himself, with the colors in hand, (Col. Allen) became a target for the Union lines and fell mortally wounded near the wall with the flag still in his grasp.

Lt. John A. J. Lee of Company C, 28th Virginia, took the 28th's colors from the grasp of the dead Col. Allen and proceeded with his men to the wall. By this time, as the CSA men arrived near The Angle, the Union soldiers, in front of the 28th, and behind the wall, had fallen back from the wall about thirty yards. Lt. Lee, the fourth man of the 28th to carry the colors during the Charge, was not only the first man of the 28th Virginia, but of the Division, to jump up onto the wall and enter the Union lines.

Carrying the colors of the regiment (28th Virginia) after the fall of Col. Allen, Lt. Lee jumped atop the wall and over it, waving the flag to hearten the men. A shot from the Union lines struck the flagstaff and caused the flag to topple backwards over the wall but Lee retrieved it.

Then suddenly, Private Marshall Sherman (Company C, 1st Minnesota) took the flag of the 28th Virginia form Lt. John A. Lee at the point of his bayonet.

"The 1st Minnesota was a regiment with a reputation, if there ever was one. When the Union line was reeling back on July 2nd, Hancock had ordered it, with only seven companies in line, to attack. The Minnesotans had charged Wilcox's brigade of Alabamians, halted them, turned the tide of battle, and suffered casualties that reduced the seven companies from 262 to 47 effectives. This 82 percent loss, with none reported missing, is generally considered to have set a record for the Union army. The next morning, the day of Pickett's Charge, one of the detached companies had rejoined and the regiment mustered, according to one of it's Captains, "eighty odd" --good men, but hardly numerous enough to count in a great battle."

"Sherman's own account of how he took the flag is somewhat suspect. According to Bond, the Rebels were crossing the wall around him and Sherman took the flag. Sherman said he was barefoot and threadbare which does not correlate with other accounts which clearly state that his Co. C were the best dressed in the regiment because they were the Provost Guard."

Private Marshall Sherman won the Medal of Honor for capturing a Confederate battle flag at The Angle. He later lost his left leg in battle."

More information about Marshall, and the 1st Minnesota, can be found at: http://www.firstminnesota.com.

1. Samuel Sherman (1736 - 1807) Served as a private in Capt. Caleb Whitings Co., and marched on the alarm of 4/19/1775 to Roxbury.

.. 2. Peter Sherman b. 1759-62 - __) Enlisted in Navy 1775 Srv. (MA) S39838

.. 2. Reuben Sherman (1763 – 1843) Enlisted at Gloucester, RI 4/12/1779 under Capt. Carr, Col. Carry, R.I. troops at age 15 fought the British. In April 1781 he enlisted under Capt. Nehemiah Lovell’s VT Co. on Lake Champlain fighting the Indians. The inscription on his gravestone reads "For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God". "A Revolutionary Soldier". He applied for and was granted a pension of $66.66 a year.

… 3. Reuben Sherman (1790 – 1823) A soldier in 1812.
…. 4. Reuben S. Sherman (1823 – 1896)
….. 5. Harry B. Sherman (1859 – 1896) Served as a Cpl. in U.S. Marines, 1881-1886 (See Photo)

… 3. Andrew Jackson Sherman (1832 - ) Served in the Civil War Co. D., 13^th NH Vols. Enlisted as a private, promoted to Sergeant, then to Lieutenant. He was wounded at Fredericksburg.

… 3. Benera Sherman (1834 – 1899) Served in the Civil War. At age 28 he joined the NH, 15^th Regiment, Company C. He served under Captain Moses Lang. He took part in the assault on Port Hudson, LA. On the return from Port Hudson he was unable to walk, was carried from the ship to the hospital in Memphis, TN with rheumatism and was granted an invalid pension.

[Ed: Back in February, Al had written me the above about his great grandfather, and then added, "Port Hudson rang a bell, so I looked it up and Edgar J. Sherman was there on his first tour of duty. He got malaria and was sent to the hospital. He lost 30 lbs. Against the doctors orders he checked out to go back to his Regiment and fight at the Port." This Edgar is the Capt. Edgar Jay Sherman, who later was stationed at Ft. Delaware. See article elsewhere in this issue. Small world then, as now!]

…. 4. Robert S. Sherman (1870 - ? ) He was a 29 year old stone cutter when he joined Co. L, 46th US Vol Inf. on 9/25/1899 at Woodsville, NH. He left South Farmingham, MA on 10/16/1899 for Presidio, CA. From there he was on the transport "Panther", and on to Manila, the Philippines.

He served there from 12/1899 through 1/1900, where he contracted malaria. He was discharged on 2/8/1901 in California, and was living in Brentwood, CA in 1903 when he filed for a pension.

…. 4. Arthur Eugene Sherman (1874 – 1952) Harry B. Sherman (1859-1896)
….. 5. George F. Sherman (1890 – 1943) U. S. Marines
…… 6. Douglas G. Sherman (1924 – 1945) PFC 103^rd Inf WWII
…. 4. Frank Winfred Sherman (1876 – 1952) Enlisted as a Private in the U.S. Marines on 4/25/1898 in Boston. He set sail on the USS Yosemite to the transport ship Panther and on to Guntamo [sic] Bay, Cuba. He returned to Philadelphia and later returned on the Resolute to Havana, Cuba. He was discharged on 5/22/1899 because of varicose veins in calf of right leg.

On 10/9/1898 when in route to Washington D.C. from the Yosemite in Baltimore he was given a punishment of 5 days on bread and water for returning 17 hours late under the influence of liquor.

…. 4. Reuben S. Sherman (1882 – 1959)

….. 5. Thelma Mae Sherman (1906 – 1960) married Al’s Dad, the Venerable Revere Beasley (1908 – 1982) He enlisted 8/9/1942 in the US Army Air Force. Served March 1945 to Dec 1945 as Staff Chaplain for the 14^th (Flying Tigers) in China & India. Discharged 2/19/1946 as a Major. [ SOY NL, July 1999]

…… 6. Alfred Leonard Beasley [the author] born 1938. Served in USAF from 1956-1960.

….. 5. Vera Iola Sherman (1907 – 1988) She enlisted 12/15/1942 in the W.A.V.E.’s and was given an Honorable Discharge on 9/20/1945 as a specialist 1^st cl. [see photo and article after) this descendant report].

….. 5. Roger "Buddy" Sherman (1927 – 1990) He served in the Korean War and returned "shell-shocked", eventually ended up in a VA hospital.

…3 Isreal G. Sherman (1836 - __ ) Soldier in 5^th N.H. Regiment Company F. He was wounded at

Benera Sherman Fredricksburg. He was wounded at Gettysburg, PA.on 7/2/1863 and was discharged disabled. He had a (1834-1899) gun shot wound entering the left and exiting the right in the lumbar region.

.. 2. Jotham Sherman (1764 – 1840)
… 3. Peter Sherman (1804 - bef. 1866)

…. 4. Moses Sherman (1835 – 1880) Enlisted on 2/29/1864 in Troop K of the 1^st Regiment, N.H. Cavalry as a private. He was appointed Chaplain on 6/10/1865 and mustered out on 7/15/1865.

…. 4. Charles S. Sherman (1839 – 1918) Enlisted 4/22/1861 as a Private in the Littleton Volunteers. He was transferred to Captain Joshua Chapman’s Company and was paid until 6/17/1861. He enlisted 8/5/1861 In Company H. 3^rd Regiment Volunteer Infantry. He was wounded 6/16/1862 at Secessionville, (James Island) SC. He was captured 8/21/1862 at Pickney Island, SC. He was exchanged on 11/1/1862 and discharged disabled at Annapolis, MD.

…. 4. Jotham Sherman (1841 – 1863) He was a casualty of the Civil War. He enlisted 7/21/1862 for three years. He died 3/6/1863 at Conrad’s Ferry, MD. He was a member of Co. G. 10^th Vermont Infantry. His name appears on the headstone of his brother James Allen. It gives regiment, death date, age, and states "was buried at Whites Ford Potomac River." (The inscription after the word River is no longer legible)

… 3. Stephen C. Sherman (1792 – 1879) Enlisted from Lisbon in the war of 1812. He was a mariner at Lake Champlain in the war, and in later years received a pension.

…. 4. James Cook Sherman (1830 - 1897) Enlisted as a private in the Manchester mechanics’ Phalanx. He was discharged on 7/12/1861 as of Captain Jonathan R. Bagley’s Company, Fort Constitution.

….. 5. Frank James Sherman (1874 – 1947)
…… 6. Edward Allen Sherman (1895 - __) Col. in WWII
…… 6. Frank James Sherman, Jr. (1902 - __) Col. in WWII
…… 6. Paul Dwight Sherman (1908 - __) Col. in the Army
…… 6. Ernest Lincoln Sherman (1910 - __) Lt. Comdr. in the Navy
.. 2. Samuel Sherman.
… 3. Stephen Sherman (1815 - 1883)

…. 4. Webster Stephen Sherman (1844 – 1925) Served in the Civil War Co. K., 59^th Mass. Vol Inf. He was given total disability for an injury to his right ankle & foot rendering them useless.

… 3. Samuel L. Sherman (1864 - __) Enlisted in the Civil War in Co K, 27^th Reg of Mass Vols. He died of Typho Mararial Fever in the base hospital in Norfolk, VA.

… 3. Phineas Elkins Sherman (1821 – 1902) Enlisted 10/9/1861 in Co. B., 6^th N.H. Infantry. He was discharged disabled in Concord 10/15/1862. On 10/31/1863 he was drafted and assigned to Co. E., 8^th N.H. Infantry. He was transferred to Co. C., Vet. Batt. 8^th N.H. Infantry and mustered out on 10/28/1865.

.. 2. Olive Sherman (1768 – 1841) married David Ash
… 3. Betsey Ash (1793 – 1866) married Daniel Jepperson
…. 4. Taylor Jepperson served in Co. I 6^th Reg. N.H. Vol. Inf. Discharged disabled 6/24/1862. Eventually went to the Soldiers’ home in Tilton

…. 4. Daniel Jepperson served in Co. H. 3^rd NH. Vols. and died later of wounds.
… 3. David Ash (1806 - __)
…. 4. Reuben Manson Ash (1838 – 1883) He served in the Civil War in Co I, 3^rd NH Infantry and applied for a pension on Oct 1865.

…. 4. Henry C. Ash (1842 – 1888) served in the Civil War, Co. H 8yh NH Vols. He was wounded in the right hand Oct 27, 1862 in the battle of Labadieville, Lafourche Parish, LA. He was granted a disability pension.

.. 2. Hannah Sherman (1783 – 1850) married Chester Taylor
… 3. Lovell Taylor (1813 – 1896) He enlisted in the Navy and served on the ship "Cyene". He was discharged 2/2/1841.

… 3. Leonard Taylor (1832 – 1900) He was a Civil War soldier serving in Co. L. N.H. Battalion as a Sergeant in the 1^st N.H. Cavalry. He was captured and confined in Libby Prison. He was awarded an invalid pension.

.. 2. Charlotte Sherman (1781 - __) married Daniel Bemis
… 3. Jotham S. Bemis appointed 1^st Lieutenant 5^th Co. 32^nd Regiment N.H. Militia on 4/8/1839