Here’s what happened.
The USA’s Civil War took a toll on more than lives and property; it also destroyed many long-standing personal connections. Families and friendships were discarded as loyalties to land and causes forced the taking of sides. Divided loyalties often affected involved lovers or spouses.
This fascinating Civil War “love story” deserves a telling on Valentine’s Day. It involves a man whose role in the war was literally burned into Georgia’s consciousness. His name was William Tecumseh Sherman.
Here’s why it mattered then.
The story began at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. Sherman, a native of Ohio, was the roommate of Marcellus Stovall, a cadet from Georgia. Cecelia Stovall, a beautiful young lady and perhaps a stereotypical southern belle, paid a visit to her brother in 1836. Sherman fell madly in love with her. In almost no time he proposed marriage, but she declined. Cecelia Stovall was not only indifferent to Sherman; she may have even feared him.
According to sources such as this, Cecelia said, “Your eyes are so cold and cruel. I pity the man who ever would become your foe. Ah, how you would crush an enemy.” Sherman responded, “Even though you were my enemy my dear, I would ever love and protect you.”
Here’s why it matters now.
Cecelia married Charles Shelman, a wealthy cotton merchant like her father. But the words exchanged with Sherman would prove to be more prophetic than either of them could have imagined. In 1864, General Sherman led his relentless Union troops through Georgia, determined to demonstrate the horrors and hardships of war.
During his campaign through Georgia, General Sherman came upon Shelman Manor, near the Etowah River in what is now Bartow County. The owners were gone, and his soldiers began to ransack the property. But after one of the slaves who had stayed behind identified his mistress, Sherman ordered everything to be put back. He also handed a note to the slave for “Miss Cecelia:” “You once said that I would crush an enemy and you pitied my foe. Do you recall my reply? Although many years have passed, my answer is the same. 'I would ever shield and protect you.' That I have done. Forgive all else. I am only a soldier."
Here’s the latest update . . .
General Sherman and Mrs. Shelman never saw each other. Shelman Manor was lost in a fire on January 1, 1901, but the note survived.
This fascinating story is recounted in the book, “My Dearest Cecelia: A Novel of the Southern Belle Who Stole General Sherman’s Heart,” by Diane Haeger.
. . . And here’s an interesting fact!
William Tecumseh Sherman shared a common tragedy with both of the war’s leaders: USA President Abraham Lincoln and his Confederate counterpart, Jefferson Davis. Each of the three men lost a son during the war years, although none of the boys died as combatants. But on the field, disease took almost as many lives as battle.
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