DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. This one's about a man the county's named for — Sidney Sherman, C.S.A. Now settle in, because this life covers a lot of ground.
Born in Massachusetts in 1805 — not exactly where you'd expect a Texas legend to start — Sherman made his way south and west in the way that certain men do, drawn toward the sound of something bigger than themselves. He raised up a crack Kentucky Militia Company, led them himself, and brought that outfit into the Texas Army during the War for Independence. That's not a small thing.
That's a man who recruited soldiers, equipped them, and marched them into somebody else's fight because he believed in it. At the Battle of San Jacinto, Sherman commanded the cavalry wing. The cavalry wing.
When the smoke cleared and Texas had won its independence, Sidney Sherman was one of the men who'd made that happen. The Republic of Texas didn't forget it either. He rose to Major-General.
He served as a Congressman of the Republic. And then — and here's where the story takes a turn you might not see coming — he went and built things. Specifically, he built the second railroad west of the Mississippi River.
Think about what that means in terms of raw ambition and vision. And the first engine to run in Texas? They named it the General Sherman, in his honor.
That engine carried his name down the iron rails of a state he'd helped birth. Then the Civil War came, and Sherman — a man now of considerable years and reputation — was put in command of fortifying Galveston, the most valued seaport in Texas. He set up a marine guard.
He positioned batteries of cannon. He did what was asked of him, and more. But Galveston extracted a terrible price.
In the recapture of Galveston in 1863, Sherman lost his eldest son. There is no wry aside for that. There is no dramatic flourish that improves upon the plain weight of it.
A father, defending a city, losing his boy in the fight for it. General Sherman died in 1873. And somewhere out here in this wide Texas landscape, a county carries his name — born in Massachusetts, buried in history, honored in the ground itself.
What the marker says
Born in Massachusetts, 1805. Led his crack Kentucky Militia Company to join Texas Army in War for Independence. Commanded cavalry wing, Battle of San Jacinto. Major-General and Congressman, Republic of Texas. Built second railroad west of Mississippi River. First engine to run in Texas was "General Sherman", named in his honor. Put in command of fortifying Galveston, most valued seaport in Texas, at outbreak of Civil War. Set up marine guard and batteries of cannon. Lost eldest son in Galveston recapture, 1863. Gen. Sherman died in 1873. (1964)