Mike, It was Sherman who said, "War is Hell"

Mike, According to at least one other Civil War historian, Mort Kunstler, it was General William T. Sherman who said, "War is Hell". To quote Kunstler: "General William T. Sherman was in Atlanta, November 15, 1864. A new, more ominous style of warfare came in 1864. From Shiloh to Atlanta, General William Tecumseh Sherman, "Uncle Billy" as he was known to his troops, proved continually the need to go beyond the usual military bounds to end the war. After the fall of Atlanta, Sherman devised a campaign to break not only the army, but also the spirit of the South. On November 16th, 1864, as fires raged through Atlanta, Sherman and his soldiers cut their ties to the North and headed eastward to the sea. The old ways were abandoned as total war erupted, forging a path sixty miles wide through Georgia. The march to the sea bled the already staggering Confederacy to death, and proved, as Sherman was the first to say, that "war is hell".

I have also heard that it was General Lee who said this. He is credited as having said this while the South was still in the driver's seat. Having won several of the early battles, his officers and men were elated. They were feeling invincible. As the story goes, General Lee then said to them, "War is hell. We never should grow fond of it." A good, West Point educated general, Lee kept the big picture when others waxed exuberant. It is possible Sherman had heard of this statement and was quoting (or plagiarizing) Lee.

I wonder what General Lee would have thought of the way the politicians ran the war in Viet Nam? I am sure he would have been proud of the way the soldiers answered the call to arms, and did their best under compromising circumstances.