I never knew General Sherman was Catholic. Why was his son such a fan of his father’s Total War barbarism?
That’s an honest question, btw, possibly steeped in a lack of knowledge about the War. I’ve just long assumed that Sherman was a bastard, but all I know about him is that scorched march.
Tom was a Yale graduate and lawyer living in St. Louis when he discerned his vocation in May of 1878. His father was with the War Dept. In D.C. and suffering financial setbacks and had come to rely on Tom to look after all the family business and home in St. Louis and was confident that he would become a prosperous lawyer and provide for his siblings—both materially and otherwise.
When the General learned of Tom's decision to enter the Jesuit novitiate "his grief, anger, and bafflement scarcely knew no bounds." He wrote, "He was the keystone of my Arch and his going away lets down the whole structure with a crash." And 'I think he owes his own sisters Ellie and Rachel the attention and duty which a brother alone can give at this time of their lives. I think he owes me some return for the time, money and affection I have bestowed upon him." And "...he leaves us forever and casts his lot among those with whom I have no intercourse." And "Why should he desert me thus, and leave me convinced that his whole life had been a deception?"
Tom wrote to his sister, Minnie, "I felt overwhelmed by Papa's grief ...my step seems rash and hasty to all who do not know what it is to watch and wait and pray and doubt and despair until a young heart grows old and can face anything to attain its object—especially when that object is God."
The General was not Catholic, but his wife was; and he was not thrilled that his son became a priest. I don’t have the bio with me this morning, but later I’ll reply with more detail from the book. Thanks for the inquiry.
I never knew General Sherman was Catholic. Why was his son such a fan of his father’s Total War barbarism?
That’s an honest question, btw, possibly steeped in a lack of knowledge about the War. I’ve just long assumed that Sherman was a bastard, but all I know about him is that scorched march.
Tom was a Yale graduate and lawyer living in St. Louis when he discerned his vocation in May of 1878. His father was with the War Dept. In D.C. and suffering financial setbacks and had come to rely on Tom to look after all the family business and home in St. Louis and was confident that he would become a prosperous lawyer and provide for his siblings—both materially and otherwise.
When the General learned of Tom's decision to enter the Jesuit novitiate "his grief, anger, and bafflement scarcely knew no bounds." He wrote, "He was the keystone of my Arch and his going away lets down the whole structure with a crash." And 'I think he owes his own sisters Ellie and Rachel the attention and duty which a brother alone can give at this time of their lives. I think he owes me some return for the time, money and affection I have bestowed upon him." And "...he leaves us forever and casts his lot among those with whom I have no intercourse." And "Why should he desert me thus, and leave me convinced that his whole life had been a deception?"
Tom wrote to his sister, Minnie, "I felt overwhelmed by Papa's grief ...my step seems rash and hasty to all who do not know what it is to watch and wait and pray and doubt and despair until a young heart grows old and can face anything to attain its object—especially when that object is God."
The General was not Catholic, but his wife was; and he was not thrilled that his son became a priest. I don’t have the bio with me this morning, but later I’ll reply with more detail from the book. Thanks for the inquiry.