Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-02-15
AT CEDAR CREEK.
HOW SHERlDAN's RIDE LOOKED TO
A SPECTATOR.
me Roar That Passed Along the Line
q Good Thing"-A Battery Playing
Havoc with an Ammuni.
tion Train.

fGen. James NJ Comley in The Enquirer.l
The following account Of how "Sheridan's
Ride" looked to a spectator At one end Of it
was copied by Mr. Whitelaw Reid from my
private diary lent him for "Ohio in the War"
and / know it is true: Crook was lying a rod
u two to our left Hayes and l were to
eethsr with our commands, He was badly
bruised by his fall when his horse was killed
ander him, and had several slight wounds
beside. He was teasing me and grumbling
because We did not advance, instead of wait
ing for the enemy.
Suddenly there is dust in the rear, on
he Winchester road, and almost before we
are aware, a fiery-looking, impetuous, DASH
ing young man in full majorgenerals uni
form, and riding furiously a magnificent
MACK horse. literally hecked with foam, and
10 poetic license about it, rxins up and
springs of by Gen Crooks side. There is q
perfect roar as every body recognized Sher-
idan. He talks with Crook a little while,
cutting away at the top Of the weeds with
his riding g-whip. Gen Crook speaks half-a-
dozen sentences that sound . great deal like
the whip, and by that time some Of the staff
are up. They are sent flying in different
directions Sheridan and Crook lie down
and seem to be talking, aud all is quiet
sgain, except the vicious shells OF the differ
ant batteries and the roar OF artillery along
the line After awhile Col (James W. ] For
syth comes down to our front and shouts to
the general: The Nineteenth corps Is
closed up, SIR Sheridan jumps up gives
one more cut with his whip, whirls himself
around once, jumps on his horse and starts
up the line. Just as he starts he says to our
men: we are going to have a good thing
on them now, boysp ltdon't sound like Cic-
ero or Daniel Webster but it doubled the
force at our end Of the line Il may say,
now, that it don't sound even like Buchanan
Raad]
"And SO he rode of, long wave Of yells
rolling up to the right with him We took
our posts, the line moved forward-and the
balance of the day is already history"
suppose there is no necessity for burden
ing you with description Of our part in the
advance, as there is no dispute as to our be-
ing there, or as to our place in ths line One
incident may be Of interest AT one of the
pauses in this forward movement our COM
pany was delayed by very high railfence
II can hardly believe such ia fence was left,
but it was) Crook was on his horse, and had
passed the fence when Hayes climbed up,
and, by holding to one Of the stakes and
standing on tho rider was more elevated
than Crook, and could use his glass more ef-
fectively. He was able thus to give Crook
some important information, which / did not
hear. But the result was that Hayes mounted
his horse and dashed to the front at head
long gallop, ahead Of his infantry. l have
learned since that he found Capt Dupont,
who was moving down the pike, and under
his immediate orders Capt Dupont passed
through Middletown at q swinging trot,
with his own battery, going to the front.
Hayes, being very we'll mounted, and free
to ~cut across" got ahead out Of sight, and
on the eminence near where our camps had
been founi Gen. Sheridan, entirely alone,
using his glass in the most excited manner.
As soon as be saw Hayes he yelled at him:
IF had battery here we could knock
h-n out of their train and capture all their
artillery Hayes answered: "An right,
general; I've got just what you want, COM
ing as fast as it can!' He galloped back to
Dupont, who Immediately started all his
horses at a gallop. and came down the pike
like q whiriwind. Ths first shell he fired lit
in the very midst Of narrow place where
the head of the enemy's retreating column
had got gorged by attempting to pass too
many abreast Gen. Hayes has described
the scene to me vividly, and 1t is enough to
make one get up and give three cheers all
alone by himself to think of it as he describes
it-shell after shell dropping in the ttickest
OF the throng, drivers cutting traces and
scampering out Of it, teams, ammunition,
caissons and cannon abandoned and left lit
orally piled up by the gorge.