1879 Speech Quotes
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I've been where you are now and I know just how you feel. It's entirely natural that there should beat in the breast of every one of you a hope and desire that some day you can use the skill you have acquired here.
Suppress it! You don't know the horrible aspects of war. I've been through two wars and I know. I've seen cities and homes in ashes. I've seen thousands of men lying on the ground, their dead faces looking up at the skies. I tell you, war is Hell!
Context
This line was spoken by William Tecumseh Sherman in a speech to the graduating class of the Michigan Military Academy (June 19, 1879).
After helping lead the Union Army to victory in the Civil War, General Sherman spent time in his post-war life speaking about his experiences. Though he apparently gave variations of this speech many times as he spoke to America's future fighters, the message was always the same. Don't go into war expecting it to be a barrel of monkeys. War is actually pretty terrible.
Shmoop has never personally been to war, but we've gotta admit he's got a point. Shooting and stabbing and fighting in hand-to-hand combat doesn't sound like our idea of heaven. War is a grisly business where people die and lands are destroyed. Yup, war is pretty much hell.
Where you've heard it
Whether you're antiwar or a total hawk, you've gotta admit General Sherman is right—war is no tea party.
Additional Notable References:
- War is Hell is the title of a 1963 Korean War film where the war is, well, rather hellish.
- "War is the H-Word" is an episode of Futurama, though we're gonna guess this war is a whole lot less awful.
- On an episode of The A-Team, Murdock tells his troops that war is hell, but they also know a whole lot about that place, right?
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Who could think a statement of such blunt simplicity could ever be pretentious? Say this with the right grizzled look and you'll have people thinking you're a master of the art of war in no time.