"Grant stood by me when I was crazy . . ."

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October 7, 1861/2011

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"Grant stood by me when I was crazy . . ."

October 8, 1861. Major Robert Anderson had become a hero in the North for his defense of Fort Sumter. After the surrender of the fort, he was sent on a recruiting tour in the North and then appointed Commander of the Department of the Cumberland, in Kentucky. However, Anderson suffered a mental breakdown, and on October 8 he retired from active duty. Because William Tecumseh Sherman was the senior brigadier general under Anderson, he succeeded Anderson.

However, shortly thereafter, Sherman suffered a mental breakdown as well, but he retained the confidence of his immediate superior officer, General Ulysses S. Grant. Sherman later recalled, "Grant stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he was drunk."

Major Robert Anderson, General William Tecumseh Sherman, General Ulysses S. Grant

SOURCE

The White Tecumseh, A Biography of General William T. Sherman, Stanley P. Hirshson, p. 97.

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