Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-20

The Fact and the ROmance-An Absurd
Story Imputed to Gen. Eckert.


a, d reality. The further we are removed
from the events of 1879 the more c0piOus
becomes the supply of information relat-
ing to that stirring period, and the
abundance of the supply involves
the anxious student of the history
of the time in a labyrinth of cOnf,i-
sion. He might get along in some fash
ion with the disputes, the conflicts of fact
and opinion between actual participants
in the great prominent events of the
but when it comes to injurious
fiction put forth in the guise and with all
the assurance Of historical truth, the
student may we'll throw down his books
in despair, and the surviving veteran may
we'll wonder whether it was really the
war of the rebellion. or some other war,
that he was engaged in.
These reflections are naturally suggest
ed by an article in a late number of the
Philadelphia Press, by Mr.. Frank A.
Burr, on "Sheridan's Ride" That very
dramatic incident has been related 80
often, both i'm prose and verse, by people
who saw or knew OF it (including Gen.
Sheridan himself) and by people who had
the great advantage of not seeing nor
knowing anything personally about it,
and who, therefore, could draw upon their
imaginatiOns tor their tacts-that we had
a right TO suppose that the subject was
safely removed beyond the domain of pure
historical fabrication. 1t seems that we
were mistaken, and that a gentleman now
comes forward and publishes in a repu-
table journal, under his own name and
upon the alleged authority Of two Of the
best known public men in the country,
viz: Mr.. james E. Murdoch, the actor,
and Gen. Thomas t. Eckert, Manager of
the Western Union Tele= raph Company
account of tho a N Tnf.i1anfc Of
Sheridan reforming his beaten army near
MiddletOwn. about noon of October 10,
1864, which is entirely at variance with
every account of the affair hitherto pub
lished, and which magnifies tenfold the
dramatic side OF it. The statement, in
brief, is that about midnight of October
IS Secretary Stanton and Gen. Sherid n
were IN consultation at the War Office
IN Washington, and Gen. Eckert then
Superintendent of military telegraphs.
was at an instrument in an adjoining
room; that the latter received and brought
to the other two dispatch from Win
chester to the War Office in the words:
There is danger here; hurry Sheridan to
the 'front.'" that the railroads from Wash
mgtOn to Winchester via Relay House
and Harper's Ferry, a distance of $50
miles, were at once cleared by telegraph.
and that Sheridan, with single engine,
dashed over the route i'm the quickest time
ever known on the Baltimore and Ono
Railroad. reaching Winchester after the
battle was on, and there at once mounted
his black PAGER and rode to the front.
All this might well be passed hy as .
silly piece OF sensational war scrihbling.
nineteen years after the event, but for the
use Of the two names already menUIt ned,
which is calculated to give credence to
the story among thousands who have not
the ar ipforrn finn Dooncoor,,
to detect its falsity. After giving the de-
tails of this new ''Sheridan's Ride" which,
by the way, would require tie alteration
of the last line of the first stanZa of Reads
lyric to something like this:
And Sheridan one hundred and forty-fve
miles away"
the author saws: '"ThS is the true story
Of Sheridan's ride, 1 might almost say the
official story" Then, after giving Mr.
James h. Murdoch as his authori V, he
quotes the language of the latter to him
self as follows: Nv hat l have told you |
got directly from Gen. Eckert himself,
who sat with his nand on the kew, ar
ranged and watched every stage of Sheri-
dams ride from Washington to Cedar
Greek. He now manages the Western
Union Telegraph Company, anil SCiU bear
IoitReSS IL these facts"
1t would be a curious study, like that
Va a. obCiAA StllC hllONu do TO6SlD.'f VI
find out just what it was that Gen Eek
ert said to MIR. Murdoch that became the
foundation of a garTulOus communication
from the latter to the author of this cock
and-buli story that is now so impudently
put before the public as genuine histOri-
cal detail. Gen. Eckert's statement would
he interesting. though it could hardly be
comfortable for either Mr.. Murdoch or the
cOncOcter of this thrilling fiction.
A few words as To no aCtllai facts No
veteran of the Army OF Shenandoah who
went through the battle of Cedar creek
and the writer of these paragraphs has the
honor to be One-need be told that the at
tack of the COnfederates on the lett of that
army occurred from one to two hours be.
tore sunrise; that it was entirely unex-
pected; that, while the Confederate army
was known 10 be in the immediate front,
nothing alarming had occurred for more
than tWenty-fOur hours, and hence the
utter impossibIlity OF any alarm being
Ielt over the situation at Winchester,
more than fifteen miles TO the north. Such
4 dispatch as that quoted could not, in
the nature of things, have been sent from
Winchester to Washington on the
night of the 18th, for the reason that
there was no "danger' at or near Win
chester at that time, nor was any appre-
hended there until as late as O'clock on
the morning of the 18th, when the fugi-
tiVes from the battle began to pour into
the town. A better reason why no such
dispatch was sent would be because Gen.
Sheridan was at Winchester on the even
ing and all the night of the 18th, and was
as ignorant as any one else OF the impend-
ing storm. 1t seems pity to spoil such
u high cOlOred romance as this of Mr..
Burr and Mr.. Murdoch, but after saying
so much we can do no less than to let
Gen. Sheridan himself tell the story in a
few words. We quote from his report.
page A, part ,, Supplemental Report of
the Committee on the Conduct Of the War:
After sending this notes | continued
through Manassas Cap and on to Pied
mont, and from thence By rail to Wash
ingtOn. arriving on the morning of the
18th. At II O'Clock IN. / returned by
special train to Martinsburg, arriving on
the evening of the 18th ut Winchester. in
company with Coils. Thorn and Alex
ander, of the Engineer Corps, sent with
me by Gen. Halleck. At about
O'Clock on the morning of the 18th OF
October an officer on picket at Winches-
ter reported artillery firing; but supposing
it resulted from Reconnaissance which
had been ordered for this morning, paid
no attention to il, and was unconscious Of
the true condition Of affairs until about 8
O'Clock, when, having ridden through the
town of Winchester, the sound of the
artillery made battle unmistakable, and
on reaching Mill Greek, One-half mile
south of Winchester, the head of the
fugitiVes appeared in SIGN, trains and
men coming to the rear with appalling
rapidity."
Other authorities are on hand, fixing
the exact time OF Gen. Sheridan's depar-
ture from Washington and arrival at
Winchester: but the above ought to be
sufficient, even for Mr.. Burr and Mr.. Muir
dOch. We would observe, in conclusion,
that such publications as this article in
the Philadelphia Press are not without
their uses. We might be permitted To
style them the historical dime novel class;
and we would certainly place them one
grade higher in the literature Of the day
than the pamphlet publications relating
to the exploits of the James brothers ami
the road agents of the wild West. But
the writers of this style OF narrative must
he ingenious. The man who drew pic
ture and labeled it This is IA horse" was
honest; he did not claim it to be hon or
an angel, and people who will put such
high bosh as this New Sheridan's Ride
before the public ought to tell their read
ers frankly that it is fiction. Many years
have elapsed since the war, but ii is too
early yet to allow such stuff to pass as
truth. j. +. Il.
NOTE.-An additional link of absurtlity
in this story is that, owing to the activity
of Mosby and his troop, the railroad from