The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-01-20
SHERIDAN'S REAL RIDE.

/
writes the following account of that mucl
Wanted exploit OF the now world famou
Piegan slayer and Louisiana bandit
srhasher
| THAT BATTLE.
In company with some fifty thousand othe
misguided patriots, was at Cedar Creek, Va
on the morning of October -, 1864. In this
as indeed in several other comfortable pan
ticulars, one Philip I'll. Sheridan had the ad
vantage over me- He was sat Winchester
twenty miles away" He had been there
number of days. Sagacious Jubal Early wa
not long in learning that the Yankee army o
the Shenandoah was under the command of
chap who was consuming his nights il
carousing and his days in sleeping off tn
fumes, a score Of miles to the rear of hi,
| forces.
Jubal Early's principal informant was Ger
tain Gen. Mosby then a rebel guerrilla chief
tain whose cutthroat atrocities were censureC
even by the most despairing Of Confederates
now a crony Of Grant and Sheridan, anG
Southern John the Baptist of the third-tern
Messiah. Gen. Early shrewdly reasoned that
if with his own small command he could only
fully surprise the Federal forces, tie latter
Supplied and headless, could be routed 0ack
to Harpers Ferry.
OUT OF THIS REASONING
by Gan. Early and some OF its hap-hazlrd con-
sequences, there grew one of the most amazing
circumstances ever fostered by uncouth des-
tiny. reputation for generalship was plas-
tered to a man who practically was not in ac-
ton at all Philip II. Sheridan became
famous, and has remained SO with growing
glory ever since, on account of battle in
which he did not participate. His memory
has been embalmed in lying doggerel as the
hero of wild ride which he never made. Art
has perpetuated the falsehood and Romance
has been called in to further eternize q ro-
nance greater than itself.
His reputation rests on the Winchester ride
Maidens recite, school-boys decaim, grave
history actually accepts as accurate the
verses Of Buchanan Reid, aud irresponsible
doggerel makes pilgarlic illustrious. Had
those half dozen stanZas never been written
the citizens Of Louisiana might not to-day be
flushing impotenuy under the stigma of this
stubby despots insult. Did poets license
and poets imagination ever lead a more de-
spicable hero to fame Note the facts.
THE CASE AS IT WAS
The Sixth, Eighth and Nineteenth Army
Corps lay across portion Of the Shenandoah
Valley, previous to the memorable battle
There had been triHing engagements at Win
chester and Fishers Hill, in which the Con
ederates had given way to the large Federal
orce All was serene on the latter side, as it
was known that Sheridan was away, eyery-
body believing of course that the general in
command of au entire army would not be
'arousing in distant town if there was any
special danger of an enemy S attack. Nobody |
lad the slightest idea that Early would assail: |
east of all persons did Sheridan dream OF |
uch thing.
The Confederate force was known to be |
more than a third less than Sheridan's, and SO |
confident was the latter Of his commands |
atety that a weak place of encampment was
elected, and no attempt made at tortifying.
lis "valley campaign" since grown so mys-
erlousiy famous, was over as he thought. He |
1as awaiting orders as to what to do with his
seless infantry, expecting daily it would be
ent for to return to Washington, thence to
rant in front Of Petersburg
Gen. Early, finding his adversary's instruc-
ons were to fight nothing but cauteens and
ottles in midnight revels 1T Winchester con
eived the idea Of surprising his opponents
legions. His hope was to make
le surprise complete, and then pulve1ize the
lemy in detachments before it could form
ITO anything like column. Failing in this
g believed he could at least cripple the Fed
ais SO severely that they would be harmless
~ Oi the Sc:tSOn. |
THE SURPRISE WAS PERFECT
/ the Eighth and Nineteenth corps. What {
rt Of a general must Sheridan have been to ,
thinly picket his force that the enemy t
'uld steal III between the lines and catch |
70 whole corps in bed n? Shefidan's igno-
nee and carelessness in this affair was hid | G
u III the enchantment of subsequent happy S
ok, and one of the most criminal surprises q
the war faded in the glamour of the sham i
lie from Winchester twenty miles away f
ms. Wright, Ord and several of his minor d
icers, had frequently demonstrated with {
m for the lightness of his outposts But 7
erldan was cavairyman, and his faith in I
1t branch OF the service was above all coun- d
b
Never you fear any rebels surprising our Il
'kets, was his answer to one remonstrance b
this sort. "My riders can smell a John I
ten miles oil. Besides, there are not five
ndred rebels in one body within thirty n
les of here" II
WHAT HE KNEW ABOUT INFANTRY. N
Il was his first campaign as an infantry COM N
nder. He had many times petitoned z
ant for ga whole army" but now that it e,
$ given him, he conducted his operations IL
'cisely as though he was only at the head Of m
AIRY. He allowed a great encampment Of al
antry and artillery to be left utterly inse- e,
re, as II IL were merely riders biyOuac til
ere every man had a horse tethered beside N
q as he slept, ready to mount and skip to tn
ETY. at the first note Of danger.
0he completeness of the surprise may lie til
ged when it is known that the Confederates til
re III the company streets Of Federal regi- th
hts OF the Eighth and Nineteenth corps Be- III
} the members Of the latter were awake. th
The first knew of the battle Of Cedar TO
elk, said a New York officer to me, "was Of
g rebel poling his head into my tent while re-
as yet dark and roaring, come out Of los
!, you Yankee son Of gun l bolted st
ough the back canvas and got away in ha
dark, with nothing but shirt and drawers in
alb
he astonished soldiers of the two corps in
stion, such of them as were not shot and
tured, came tumbling half-dressed back to
re the Sixth corps was getting into line of
lie. The latter organization, under COM by
I'd of Gen. Wright, alarmed by the racket, llv
time 70 get somewhat in fighting condition. ags
. Earlys force had actually not been large lea
ugh to reach out to where the Sixth corps