, 1884-12-17
SHERIDAN'S RIDE.
NEW FACTS ABOUT LITTLE PHlGs
FAMOUS EXPLOIT.
Interesting Incidents Noted on the spot
by n Busy Man About camP-How
Sheridan Got the Bulg.
on Them"



general coming on the scene on that occasion
riding his big black horse (which was given
10 him by some Michigan friends, and, by
the way, / have heard the cavalrymen curse
that horse in vigorous terms. He was the
fastest walker in the army, and whent the
general was riding at the head of the column
on the march the rest of the would
be kept on a little jog-trot about half of the
time, and any cavalryman knows how trying
that is, esl e-ially for the non-combatants,
such as cooks, camp carriers, etc, who are
loaded down with camp and garrison equip
age. l could always tell at night when l
heard our cavalry marching near me II the
general was in the lead by the jingle OF tin
and iron kettles as they closed up in the rear.
Well, this painting that l mention shows the
general with sword in hand, a broad
brimmed stiff regulation hat, with waving
plume on his head and looking very much
excited, as, of course, he had a right to be
under the circumstances
But the artist drew very largely on his
imagination II would be hard to exagger
ate the beauty and majesty Of the horse, for
he was the beau ideal OF a war horse-big,
black, vigorous, %champing his bit, nostrils
red and dilating, his long tail swinging to
and fro like a banner-it would be hard to
picture anything more striking or grand
than the big black on that occasion. But as
to the general, excepting that his eyes were
blazing and fierce, there was not much signs
of excitement shown by him.
He wore some of the regulation uniform,
but not much. On his head was n little
round cap, such as German students wear.
In his right hand he held n small riding
whip, which, judging by the wells on his
horses tanks, had been indu 'triou ly used.
He was splashed with md ami hnd n big
1.s.A .tr1a. 49, .~u ut..-k 100. hi -
Of "been-to-a-wake look" II he had any
~gauntlets they were in his pockets. as he
rode on the hill beyond Middletown he was
met by one OF Gen. Toterts aids, who was
mounted on a big gray horse nearly as large
as Rienzi
The officer jumped the stone wall and
Joined the general just as he came in sight Of
the field, and rode side by side towards a
group near the woods on the right of the
pike in the rear OF the Sixth corps, where
Gems. Wright. Emory and Torbert and their
stats were gathered.
asked the aid afterward what the general
said when he Joined him. He replied:
swell, the generals first words were, 1T was
just such a DID mess out west as this that
gave me my brigadier star in the regular
army, and I'm going to make it a double
star this time He then asked, Where is
Wrightf " and soon after Joined the other
generals. 1 had been riding along behind as
fast as my little mare could jump, when the
general looked back and said: Scout, hunt
up the ammunition wagons and order them
up Back in the rear on the valley pike the
generals staff were making their way up as
fast as they could. l transferred my orders
TO one of the aids, for l knew tho demoralized
teamsters would not pay much attention to
a man in a blouse, and then turned and rode
back after the general
When 1 reached the group on the hill 1 saw
Gen. Wright sitting on the ground, the tip
OF his chin had been cut away by a bullet
early in the morning, and he was otherwise
harmed probably, as he seemed to be dazed
and not to have his wits about him for the
time. Gen. Emory, sold Bull Of the Woods, -
as some Of his wild young calvary staff
called him, commander of the Nineteenth
corps, stood by with his hands crossed behind
his back, looking down at Gen, Wright.
Gen. Torbert leaned on his horse and pulled
his mustache, and Gen. Sheridan wa quietly
asking questions from all Of them. In a few
moments he knew all they could tell him,
and pulling a dispatch book from his pocket
began by writing something which he put in a
little dispatch envelope and addressed, and
then looking up his eye fell on me and
blazed up in a moment. He said, "What in
the ID are you doing herel 1 thought /
sent you after the ammunition wagonsl7 l
explained matters to him. He gave me u
sharp look and said: you've got u healthy
gall to order my staff officers about Take
this dispatch to Winchester as quick as you
can, and then away he rode down tho line.
Presently one Of the staff came galloping
after me before l had gotten more than a
mile beyond Middletown, and took the dis
patch and told mo to go back, and said he
was to go to Winchester and order up all the
~stragglers, and would attend to the dispatch
himself.
so back again l went and rode about all
the rest OF that busy day, getting what In
formation l could and carrying orders for
any one who wanted me. Igave the new
paper correspondents considerable informa-
ton, which they worked up to suit them
selves. The best account of the fight was
written by the correspondent of The World.
Near the close Of the fight l was near Gen.
Torbert, on the left, when Gen. Sheridan
came flying across the pike, jumping the high
stone walls on each side. He said, In his
earnest, quick way: "Torbert, 1 took the old
Sixth corps In and drove them from the
woods and over tho hill and away from the
stone walls, and l have got the bulge on them;
and now, Torbert, l want your cavalry to do
your best, and when 1 go back l am
going in with everything, and II you and
Merritt and Custer do your work well we
will ave them on the run in half an hour
and history shows that they did do their
work well. Considering the fact that the
Eighth corps was not engaged during the day,
and that full one-third Of the rest OF the COM
mand, except the cavalry, were ~skedaddlers,
and that about half Of the artillery were
captured early in the morning. it was an
even fight, and Gen. Sheridan won it by god
hard knocks and bulldog fighting. Gems.
Wright, Torbert and Emory would undoubt-
edly have made n good fight of it II Gen.
Sheridan had not come up from Winchester,
but 1t took Sheridan to get the "bulge on
them
Holding the Stakes.