The General Sherman Tree

ECW welcomes back Nate Pederson.

The largest tree in the world is named after William Tecumseh Sherman. Located in Kings Canyon National Park in California, the giant sequoia tree is about 29 miles away from its symbolic compatriot, the General Grant Tree, featured in the most recent entry in this series highlighting photo postcards from my collection.^[1] The two trees hold the current records for the largest trees by volume on the entire planet. Sherman narrowly edges out Grant, weighing in at 52,500 cubic feet of volume, while Grant comes in at 46,608 cubic feet.

The two trees, in other words, are truly giants, befitting their namesakes.

The General Sherman Tree, measuring 275 feet high and with a base circumference of 102.6 feet, was “discovered” by Euro-American settlers in the late 19th century. James Wolverton, formerly a first lieutenant in the 9th Indiana Cavalry, has official credit for naming the tree “General Sherman” in 1879, honoring the general he so admired from his service in the American Civil War. The 9th Indiana Cavalry served directly under Sherman’s command during the Atlanta Campaign from May – September 1864.

In 1886, seven years after Wolverton named the tree, the land surrounding it was owned by the Kaweah Colony, a utopian socialist community whose members were exploring (with an eye to logging) the giant sequoia groves of central California. The colony’s members, however, were not happy that the tree was named after Sherman, flagging his participation in the Indian wars and the forced relocation of indigenous people following the Civil War. The colony instead christened the tree with a new name, honoring an individual they did admire… Karl Marx.

The Kaweah Colony disbanded and dispersed from the area in 1892, following the establishment of Sequoia National Park and the loss of their logging claims. The “Karl Marx tree” again became known as the “General Sherman tree” and could now enjoy permanent federal protection. The same 1890 legislation that established the Sequoia National Park also created General Grant National Park nearby to protect the General Grant tree. The General Grant National Park was eventually absorbed into Kings Canyon National Park, now co-managed along with Sequoia National Park by the National Park Service.

For Civil War buffs – and anyone with an interest in gigantic trees – the two trees are easily visited in a single day, thanks to the establishment of the Generals Highway that connects them.

Nate Pedersen is a writer and historian in Savannah, Georgia. He is the co-author of Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything. His website is http://natepedersen.com.

Endnotes:

[1] “General Sherman Tree” Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service.