Robert L. O'Connell > Quotes

“There is an undeniably daffy aspect to Sherman. Calling him a motormouth understates the case: he was a veritable volcano of verbiage, as borne out by a mountain of letters, memoranda, and other official papers, not to mention the uniformly gabby impression he left among contemporaries. If there were a contest for who spoke the most words in a lifetime, Sherman would have been a finalist—he lived a long time and slept very little; otherwise he was talking. He said exactly what was on his mind at that instant, until his quicksilver brain turned to an entirely different matter, then to a third, and perhaps to a fourth, then back to the first—unceasing—spewing orders, analysis, advice, and anecdotes in a random pattern that often left listeners stunned and amazed. One prominent Civil War historian, Gary Gallagher, described Sherman as lacking cognitive filters. It all came out. And this is a real problem in trying to resurrect the man’s nature.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“In other words, what we know for sure is entirely limited, and all the rest is basically opinion.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal & the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic

“Real strategists are warriors and must be willing and able to fight battles, to “see the elephant,” as Civil War soldiers were fond of saying.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“Rome, on the other hand, lost—suffering on that one day more battle deaths than the United States during the entire course of the war in Vietnam, suffering more dead soldiers than any other army on any single day of combat in the entire course of Western military history.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal & the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic

“He too was experimental and creatively disobedient, but he was still able to operate effectively in a fairly rigid hierarchy—something Americans do particularly well.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“About the best that can be done is to try to place oneself in a position to get lucky. Nothing is certain, but shrewd, well-informed planning, a determined use of every possible advantage, and a continuous awareness and acceptance of an ever-shifting environment can raise the odds.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“I hope to have God on my side; but I must have Kentucky,” Lincoln reputedly said.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“He wanted to bring up his plan for a retreat, but something told him not to. “Well, Grant, we’ve had the devil’s own day, haven’t we?” he opened instead. “Yes,” Grant replied chewing on a cigar. “Lick ’em tomorrow, though.”75”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“While the morality of slavery alone might have eventually led to a showdown, it was America’s sprawling growth that made the issue explosive.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“it was in defeat more than victory that Polybius saw the essence of Rome’s greatness. It”
― Robert L. O'Connell, The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal & the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic

“Or imagine him in the middle of a battle coming upon a soldier cowering behind a tree and loudly proclaiming his intention to desert—prompting Sherman to shower the tree with rocks, convincing the reluctant warrior he was under even heavier fire.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“Tom Jr. was steeped in Free Soil politics and was now chief justice of the Kansas State Supreme Court.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“if you thought like Sherman and there was a nest of treason to be found, Columbia was in your crosshairs.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“That’s the way it is with Appian; things that appear ridiculous on average just might have happened, so they cannot be entirely dismissed.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal & the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic

“I wish I were there to watch the operations and changes; but alas! I am in Kansas scratching for a living.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“better than Sherman.”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“His descriptions of his own stay in Kansas—now “Bleeding Kansas” to many—were devoid of references to the violence of the nearby Border War. He had blinded”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“Polybius managed to attach himself to the clan and person of Scipio Aemilianus, grandson of one of the two losing consuls at Cannae,”
― Robert L. O'Connell, The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal & the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic

“luny.”38”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

“He stood by me when I was crazy and I stood by him when he was drunk; now, sir, we stand by each other always.”
Sherman on his relationship with Grant”
― Robert L. O'Connell, Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman