Philemon Tecumseh Sherman

Philemon Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, lawyer, and businessman, best known as the younger brother of famed Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. He served with distinction in the Union Army during the American Civil War, rising to the rank of brevet brigadier general. Following the war, he pursued a successful legal career in New York City and was involved in significant business ventures, including the presidency of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway.

Early life and family

Born in Lancaster, Ohio, he was the son of Charles Robert Sherman, a prominent judge on the Ohio Supreme Court, and Mary Hoyt Sherman. Following his father's early death, he and his siblings, including future United States Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman, were raised in the household of the influential politician Thomas Ewing Sr.. This familial connection was further solidified when his elder brother William married Eleanor Boyle Ewing Sherman, Thomas Ewing's daughter. He received his early education in Lancaster before attending Ohio University and later studying law.

Civil War service

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army and was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, a unit that would become part of the famed Iron Brigade. He saw action in several major Eastern Theater campaigns, including the Second Battle of Bull Run and the Battle of Antietam. In 1863, he joined the staff of his brother, General William Tecumseh Sherman, during the Atlanta Campaign and the subsequent Sherman's March to the Sea. For his faithful and meritorious services, he was brevetted to the rank of brigadier general of volunteers in March 1865.

Postwar career and business ventures

After the war, he settled in New York City, where he established a successful legal practice. His expertise and family connections led to significant roles in the railroad industry during the rapid expansion of the Gilded Age. He served as the general counsel and later as president of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway, playing a key role in its development across the American frontier. He was also involved with other railroads, including the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, and maintained a long association with the Equitable Life Assurance Society as one of its counsel.

Later life and death

In his later years, he remained active in New York's legal and business circles and was a devoted member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He never married. He died at his home in New York City and was interred in the family plot at Fairview Cemetery in New Brunswick, New Jersey, alongside several members of the Sherman family.

Category:American businesspeople Category:Union Army officers Category:Sherman family Category:People from Lancaster, Ohio Category:1837 births Category:1919 deaths