The legitimate object of war is a more perfect peace.

Attributed to Union General William T. Sherman, the line frames war as instrumentally justified only insofar as it produces a durable, improved peace. It implies that military action is not an end in itself (nor a venue for glory), but a grim means to restore or create political order. Read alongside Sherman’s broader reputation for “hard war,” the sentiment can be taken as a rationale for decisive, even severe measures: if war is undertaken, it should be prosecuted in a way that shortens conflict and prevents its recurrence. The quote also carries a moral constraint—war’s legitimacy depends on the quality of the peace that follows, not merely on victory.