They also elected as vice president of SVRR the future American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman, who was at that time the head of the banking house of Lucas & Turner in San Francisco. William Sherman, contacted his brother John, who had recently been elected to Congress, for help in obtaining federal land grants for the railroad, but to no avail.
They also chose William Tecumseh Sherman, who was at that time the head of Lucas & Turner banking house in San Francisco, as vice president of SVRR.  William Sherman contacted his brother John, who had recently been elected to Congress, for assistance in securing federal land grants for the railroad, but to no avail.