Sidney Sherman

Sidney Sherman (July 23, 1805 – August 1, 1873) was a Texian general and a key leader in the Texas Army during the Texas Revolution and afterwards.

Early life Sherman was born in Marlboro, Massachusetts, a son of Michah and Susanna Dennison Frost Sherman. When his parents died, leaving him orphaned at the age of 12, Sherman moved to Boston, where he began working as a clerk in Boston mercantile houses four years later.

He soon moved to New York City, and in 1831, resettled in Newport, Kentucky, where he engaged in the manufacture of cotton bagging. On April 27, 1835, Sherman married Catharine Isabel Cox (1815–1865) of Frankfort, Kentucky, with whom he eventually had eight children. Sherman's business prospered and he became well known and influential in the community.

Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas

In November 1835, a public meeting was held in neighboring Cincinnati to encourage support for Texas in her struggle against the Mexican government. A number of Cincinnatians and northern Kentuckians pledged funding for ammunition and weapons (including the two artillery pieces later made famous as the "Twin Sisters" of the Battle of San Jacinto). They left by riverboat to start their journey for Texas on January 6, 1836, with Sherman serving as captain of the company, which called itself the "Kentucky Rifles". Local citizens helped fund uniforms and donated a flag.

Sherman arrived in Texas in late January, and joined the main Texian Army or Texas Army gathering near Gonzales on February 3. On March 12, many of the new volunteers for the army joined with Sam Houston and were organized into one regiment, with Edward Burleson elected colonel and Sherman his lieutenant. With volunteers still streaming into Texas, enough men were recruited to fill out a second regiment. On April 8, the army was reorganized and the Second Regiment formed with Sherman as its colonel, though his old company remained in the First Regiment. Sherman led his troops at the Battle of San Jacinto, and they are generally credited as first uttering the famous warcry, "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!"

Legacy

Sherman County and the city of Sherman in Grayson County, Texas, are named in his honor.

Sidney Sherman Bridge in Houston, Texas, crossing the Houston Ship Channel, is named in his honor.

This Texian General Sidney Sherman (and not Union Army Major General William Tecumseh Sherman) was the namesake of the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado engine the General Sherman, the first railroad locomotive in Texas