by Chris Devers

Question by Scitech101: What do you think of my list of heroes and villains of the American Civil War?
The following is a list of the characters in the civil war who are (or should be) regarded well as heroes by later generations, and those who are or should not be. Although I am a Northerner, I made a point to include people from both sides, and also offer short explanations for some.

___heroes___
1. Abraham Lincoln. (Union President. While a troubled figure and not initially devoted to freeing the slaves, he eventually issued the E.P and firmly stuck with his promise to free the blacks even when it went against popular opinion. From then on, former slaves revered him as a liberator. Finally, he showed leniency towards the defeated South and did not want them to be punished.

2. Robert E. Lee. (Main Confederate General. An morally upright man who disliked slavery and was faithful to the ideals of honor and loyalty; He was loyal to the confederacy, but he re-swore allegiance to the Union.)

3. Ulysses S. Grant (Commanding Union General. While a bit of a drinker, he gave Lee generous surrender terms, offered Lee’s starving army spare rations, and forbade his own men from cheering at the Confederate surrender)

4. Fredrick Douglas (Black Writer. The first person to realize that this would ultimately be a war over slavery, and made sure that the union realized this)

5. Joseph E. Johnston (Confederate General. Kind to his men. During Sherman’s funeral, he took off his hat out of respect even though it meant that he would catch a severe cold. He did, and died later on.)

___Villains___
1. Nathan Bedford Forrest. (Confederate General. Ruthless. Ordered Massacre of black union soldiers. Lead the KKK after the war.)

2. William T. Sherman (Union General. A troubled and depressed man who believed that war is fundamentally cruel and that there is no use trying otherwise. He burned a large swath through Georgia and South Carolina. However, due to his opinions and questionable mental state, he might be removed from this list)

3. Philip Sheridan (Union General. Somewhat sadistic. Like Sherman, he burned everything, both civilian and military, in his path, destroying people’s livelihoods. Unlike Sherman, he actually enjoyed it and felt no guilt about it.)

4. “Stonewall” Jackson. (Confederate General. Cared nothing for his own men. Ruthless. Felt no pain watching his soldiers and even officers die.)

5. John Wilkes Booth. (Confederate Sympathizer who shot Lincoln. Drinker who assembled a small group of thugs. Completely pro-slavery and white supremacist.)

What do you think of my list?
Oh yes. One more Hero and one more villain: Andrew Johnson as a hero for remaining with the Union and doing his best to follow in Lincoln’s footsteps, and Mclellon as the villain.

Best answer:

Answer by A. T.
I am sorry, but by calling William T. Sherman and Philip H. Sherman “villains” you fail to impress me. Naming these two as “villains” is childish and shows a lack of understanding about the changing nature of war in the 19th century. I think you best remove both Sheridan and especially Sherman – and not because of Sherman’s “mental state,” either!

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