An American Bonaparte?

Kaze

Banned
There was a rumor that William T. Sherman might have thought of it. Here is the premise:
Sherman had yet to be informed of Lee's surrender, his armies were marching north. He could have taken matters in hand, continued onto Washington DC and make himself dictator, and as dictator he would hang all the southern soldiers and former southern loyalists.
Then came the shooting of Lincoln. Sherman rejected the plans on the idea that the nation had suffered enough.
But one could take Sherman to have him avenge the shooting as dictator for life.
 
There was a rumor that William T. Sherman might have thought of it. Here is the premise:
Sherman had yet to be informed of Lee's surrender, his armies were marching north. He could have taken matters in hand, continued onto Washington DC and make himself dictator, and as dictator he would hang all the southern soldiers and former southern loyalists.
Then came the shooting of Lincoln. Sherman rejected the plans on the idea that the nation had suffered enough.
But one could take Sherman to have him avenge the shooting as dictator for life.

This is the same Sherman who refused to stand for public office normally IOTL despite an excellent chance of winning something if he'd cared to. Ambrose Burnside had a highly successful postwar political career, for comparison. The idea that a guy like that was anywhere close to desiring dictatorial authority seems really, really hard to buy.
 
This is the same Sherman who refused to stand for public office normally IOTL despite an excellent chance of winning something if he'd cared to. Ambrose Burnside had a highly successful postwar political career, for comparison. The idea that a guy like that was anywhere close to desiring dictatorial authority seems really, really hard to buy.
Also, when you look at the terms he offered Johnston, they don't look like someone who would summarily hang Confederates.
 

Kaze

Banned
This is the same Sherman who refused to stand for public office normally IOTL despite an excellent chance of winning something if he'd cared to. Ambrose Burnside had a highly successful postwar political career, for comparison. The idea that a guy like that was anywhere close to desiring dictatorial authority seems really, really hard to buy.

I suspect the rumor has it origins in Atlanta. But maybe it is because of that rumor he refused to stand in the first place - he was afraid that someone might think it did not have its origins in Atlanta.
 
Are we talking about an exact expy? The US wasn't build upon centuries of semi to total absolutist rule, followed by the removal of the nobility, provincial special rights, etc. France was rather more compact. For Napoleon you had a lot of war weariness, plus he was able to hide his defeat in Syria and abandonding his army. That sort of stuff is rather harder to hide from the American public and their love for gossip and sending letters everywhere. an important aspect would also be how Napoleon pushed through his increased dictatorship by using the Roman style laws and form of government being set up before he got power, and continued it, seeing himself as more a successor of the Romans than Charlemagne. The US may have had a Senate, but it the House of Representatives was clearly based upon the House of Commons, as well as (well, just an assumption) the various colonial legislatures and local town halls.
 
There was a rumor that William T. Sherman might have thought of it. Here is the premise:
Definetly just a rumor. Keep in mind, when there was a suggestion that he be promoted to Grant's rank for his March to the Sea, with some implications of replacing Grant, he refused it. Yes, one letter was sent to Grant, so some might suggest he was just trying to play it smooth. Considering the other was to his own brother, a Senator, and you can see he clearly wanted to get the message across,

Sherman said:
General Grant is a great general. I know him well. He stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he was drunk; and now, sir, we stand by each other always.
 
Top