 Active in public and business affairs, Sherman contributed money, labor and personal influence to the location and building of the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark Railroad and the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad becoming a director of both organizations.When the American Civil War broke out he organized and was chairman of the military committee of his county, and was appointed as commandant of the military camp in Mansfield.Later he was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as one of the commissioners to settle war claims in St. Louis, Missouri.