-
Chapter 22: A Full Life Ends
- Southern Illinois University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
CHAPTER 22 A FULL LIFE ENDS RETIREMENT BROUGHT MAJOR CHANGES to Sherman's life, the most significant being his freedom from politicians. It did not, however, slow him down; he continued to live his life at full throttle. The lack of official duty gave him the opportunity to fill his voracious intellectual appetite more completely, spend time on his defense of the Union war effort, and enjoy the adulation of his old soldiers and the general public. Grant died in 1885, so for most of his retirement he was the leading survivor of the Union war effort. Everywhere he went, he was a celebrity. He was never free of an inquiring public looking to him for words of wisdom and former soldiers seeking another glance, perhaps their last one, at their Uncle Billy. He had achieved the status he had battled for all his life; he was universally viewed as one of the elite of late nineteenth-century American society. He was sought after by various organizations. He served several terms as a regent of the Smithsonian Institution both before and after retirement: 1871 to 1875 and 1878 to 1886. After retirement he belonged to Washington's Scientific Club and was given honorary memberships in the St. Louis Commercial Club and the St. Louis Club. The Missouri National Guard offered him its highest command, which he declined, and it took Grover Cleveland to defeat him narrowly for election to the board of trustees of the prestigious Peabody Fund. He was president of a theater group, the McCullogh Club, and one of the founders of the more famous Players Club. He was given a membership in the Theta Chi fraternity at Norwich University in Vermont. He headed the New 479 SHERMAN --------------------------*-------------------------York City Executive Committee of 100 to aid the sufferers of the famous Johnstown flood. In 1888 he joined New York's Union Club and became a nightly fixture in its clubrooms. Persons in all walks of life knew that association with him gave them and their organizations a stature they would otherwise not have, so they were pleased when he added his name to their rosters.I Sherman joined these and other groups gladly because he enjoyed being among others and because it gave him experience with a changing variety of professions and individuals. His voracious curiosity pushed him forward to become involved in all he could. He even joined the politically oriented Grand Army of the Republic, helping to found the Ransom Post in St. Louis. Initially he hesitated because of the organization's involvement in politics, but he enjoyed the Civil War camaraderie the group fostered. He steadfastly refused repeated offers to be its president , preferring to be a mere delegate to national encampments. His fame, however, sometimes forced him to speak up anyway. Once some members of the organization, angry at President Grover Cleveland for ordering the return of Confederate battle flags (the order later withdrawn) and for vetoing veterans' pensions , threatened to snub him if he attended the 1887 encampment . Sherman called the threat of disrespect to the president "monstrous," and when Cleveland decided not to come, the matter blew over, and Sherman could return to the political silence he preferred.2 Chief among Sherman's public interests, besides his veterans and all their reunions and meetings, was the theater. He had seen his first performance in New York City on his way to West Point in the 1830s, and he never got over the sensation. He attended stage shows in San Francisco in the 1850s and in Memphis, Vicksburg, Nashville, Savannah, Chattanooga, and other places during the war. The theater relaxed him, and late in life he credited it as being "a potent factor" in his "health & cheerfulness." In 1887, in responding to a toast at a dinner of theater dignitaries, he said that "the stage contributes as much to the happiness and to the education of our people as almost any profession in life."3 Sherman was drawn to the theater because of the enjoyment he received from viewing the wide variety of productions available and hobnobbing with theater people. He loved Shakespeare, but there was much more to see than the Bard. New York was already 480 [35.171.22.220] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 00:05 GMT) A FULL LIFE ENDS --------------------------*-------------------------the mecca of a thriving entertainment business. Melodramas, comedies, romances, and historical tragedies by American playrights abounded, and European imports were still in evidence. Costuming was extensive, often garish...