Taylor, James E., 1839-1901

William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) was born in Lancaster, Ohio. Orphaned at age nine, he was raised by Thomas Ewing, a U.S. senator who also served as secretary of the treasury and secretary of the interior. He graduated sixth in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Sherman served in the Mexican War, but left the army in 1853. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Sherman accepted a position as a colonel in the regular army. He became well known for his tactics of property damage and psychological warfare against the southern people, best illustrated by his march through Georgia. His goal was to convince the southern people to stop the war and prevent more battlefield deaths. Sherman died in 1891 in New York City.

The Battle of Vicksburg, or Siege of Vicksburg, was a decisive Union victory during the Civil War. Led by General Ulysses S. Grant, the Union Army drove the Confederate Army to the fortress at Vicksburg, Mississippi, where Grant besieged the city from May 18 until July 4, 1863. The Confederate Army, led by John C. Pemberton, finally surrendered, and Union forces gained control of the Mississippi River.