November 23, 1861 (Friday): Finding Work For Sherman

General William T. Sherman

SPECIAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE MISSOURI, Numbers 8. November 23, 1861. 

Brigadier General W. T. Sherman, having reported for duty in this department, will proceed at once to visit the different stations of the troops in this department, and will report, during his progress, to these headquarters the number and effective strength of the several regiments and companies, the State from which they came, the character of arms and ammunition, their equipment of clothing, wagons, tents, &c., the means of obtaining subsistence and forage, their drill and discipline, the character of defenses, if any, and their ability to serve the guns in position or harnessed up, and generally all things considered to give the commanding general an idea of their real condition for service. He will also report upon the routes of rivers or railway upon which these troops depend for their supplies or transportation, and such other matters as may seem to him proper to communicated.
By order of Major-General Halleck: 


J. C. KELTON,
Assistant Adjutant-General. 

Official Records, Series. I, Vol. 8, Part 1, Page 374.

Sherman had been persistently negative about Union prospects since he arrived in Kentucky and unfavorably impressed political leaders in the state.  In addition, newspapers picked up accounts of his nervous manner and speculated regarding his mental health.  Sherman himself acknowledged being under an oppressive mood and was relieved of command on November 15.  Halleck believed the temporary duty, described here, would allow Sherman to recover.  This would turn out not to be the case, as he would have to be sent home to visit his family in December.