William Tecumseh Sherman (February 8, 1820 – February 14, 1891) holds a unique position in American history. Synonymous with barbarity in the South, Sherman is lauded as a war hero in the North, and modern historians consider him the harbinger of total war.

As a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–65), Sherman was recognized for his outstanding command of military strategy but criticized for the harshness of the "scorched earth" policies that he implemented in conducting total war against the Confederate States, especially in 1864 and 1865. Military historian B. H. Liddell Hart famously declared that Sherman was "the first modern general."

One of Sherman’s most famous campaigns was the one in which he took Atlanta, one of the South’s most important cities, just ahead of the presidential election of 1864. His great success was credited for helping President Lincoln get reelected that November. He would go on to his famous March to the Sea, offering up Savannah as a Christmas present, and from there proceed north to capture Charleston, South Carolina, where secession had started.

Although Sherman gained eternal fame out west, his first participation in the war was actually at the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the Civil War. In charge of a brigade, Sherman was one of the few who distinguished himself in the Union defeat. Sherman wrote an account of the battle that was preserved in The War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. This edition of his account includes illustrations of the Campaign and the important commanders in the battle.