William T. Sherman’s Army career wasn’t going too well after graduating sixth in his class at the U.S. Military Academy in 1840, according to his biography from the Civil War Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to the “preservation of America’s hallowed battlegrounds.”

He resigned his commission in 1853, going into banking for a few years before becoming the superintendent of the Louisiana Military Academy in 1859.

But when state succession and Civil War loomed a short time later, Sherman headed north. Rejoining the Army, Sherman was made a colonel of the 13th U.S. Infantry.

Later, of course, he would go on to lead troops throughout the South as a general, including his infamous “March to the Sea,” capturing Savannah, Georgia, in 1864.

Despite his abhorrence for the war, based on other quotes, Sherman’s sense of duty is reflected in today’s maxim.

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