This chapter discusses how, almost from the moment he graduated, William T. Sherman came under pressure to think about leaving the Army. When asked why he did not resign, he gave a forthright answer in 1842: “Why should I? It is the profession for which my education alone fits me, and as all the appearances indicate the rapid approach of action when the soldier will be required to do his proper labor, when a splendid field will be spread before him, every reason exists why I should remain.” The “action” Sherman referred to was the Second Seminole War (1835–42) in Florida. Sherman’s posting to Fort Pierce threw him into his first taste of warfare. He very quickly grasped the nature of this war and the Seminole tactics that had defied the best military minds in America. In June of 1842, the Regiment found itself on the move again, posted to Fort Moultrie, Charleston, South Carolina. Sherman’s main duty consisted of appearing in court martials, as his grasp of military law impressed all. While clinging to the profession he liked best, he developed two attitudes that underwrote his army life. The first concerned party politics, while the second matter involved religion. Both these qualities would be needed by a successful attorney. Yet he remained an army officer and these studies became an important part of his continuing military education.
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