The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-09-19
PHILIP lei. SHERIDAN.

A Military Leader Who Poss esses the Great
Qualities of Napoleon.
"Gath's" Washington Letter.
One Of the surviving characters of great
period about Washington is Philip Sheridan.
He is the General of the Army, and is having the
customary scrmmage with the scriveners of the
War Office. IL Grant taught all the Jomini
generals that true strategy consisted in whack-
ing the enemy wherever you see him, Sheridan
was the whaeker. Not even Grant could think
fast enough for him. and he often had to
beseech the General to let him at the
enemy and warm him, without spending
any more Of the public money. You will
find In Grants reports, made immediately at
the close OF the war. that when he went up to
Winchester or Whereabouts and found Sheridan
he declined to let Sheridan attack the enemy;
but he became moved by Sheridan's confidence
and reluctantly acceded to his request.
The immediate consequence was the closing
up of the Shenandoah Valley to any more raids
in the rear of Washington City. Sheridan drove
Early into this pass and atmosphere, and when
the Confederacy attempted to send up
Longstreet and once moro make an i'm
preston on the Valley the endeavor
resulted III another dispersion of particles. Then,
when Sheridan told to get his command to-
gether and raid through the mountains to North
Carolina and join Sherman some powerful grav-
ity of common sense led him instead to join
Grant. And when he had doubled the enemy
w atsFive Forks and broken his lines, he had to
allowed to pursue him, and he pursued him
to Appomattox and peace. Whatever can be
said for Grant in the last rear of the war
applies to Sheridan. He reached the head of the
army when Sherman was retired, and since that
time, without any loss of moral confidence or
mental force, he has been a most inoffensive
active spirit at the head of the small regular
army, thinking with it and of it. The people do
not know what to expect when Sheridan shall
pass away. We have soldiers, it is true, but the
great historical group of them discloses only
this man as the last important relic
his success as soldier was
accomplished by any cabal He was imperious
In the instant Of action and would have no
Sinking of duty pleading of the ancient
privileges to stay in the rear when he was in the
front. The time had come when every man.
private. or general demanded tc expose
himself and take his chances and complete the
enormous sacrifice of life and property. 1t is
no disrespect to Grant to say that to his closing
military career Sheridan had the influence of one
of the Geographic relay batteries upon a message
which has run thousand miles and is wavering
whether to go further when new battery takes
it up and speeds it on
The political part OF the war was all done
when Sheridan reached his climax, and he re-
ceiyed no benefit whatever from the politicians.
VINO can tell at this moment what politician
backed Sheridan9 Grant. we all know was
backed by Washburne and others until after he
came East, when Lincoln himself was at
his back, and Stanton and Seward. Shcr-
loan nau notDlng TO rely upon but the I'M
preston he could make upon Grant by vic
tory He gave Grant great trophies, and
mostly withheld himself and never permitted his
name to enter into political convention, and
when, after Grant had followed the ignis fatuus
OF a third term, and could not be nominated
Sheridan halted the first attempt to in
troduce his name as an alternative The
younger generation may we'll desire to SEQ
this man while he is vet among us. Though
he Is comparatively young for one of
his work, the exposures of the war, natural
bodily ailments temperament. ETC.. indicate
that he may not always be at hand. More than
any man in commission he possesses the genius
of broad warfare and local warfare together, the
two qualities which signallzed Napoleon, who
could fire upon the mob In the crowded streets
of Paris and save the government, or charge
with the standard at Lodi, or when on the re-
treat from Russia and guard every frontier of
France at once. Grants generalship was the
genius OF common sense and of appropria-
tons; he accepted in three cases out of four
proposition made TO him by another
man. When he got to Chattanooga Grant
found a plan of battle matured. looked it
over and said: Every we'll" When he got to
the Army of the Potomac he looked it over and
thought Meade was no worse than some other
selection might be- and left HMM charge When
he had got to the front at Petersburg and could
apparently get no further he visited Sheridan
heard his suggestions, and finally said: ''Well.
go and try" But who gave Sheridan sugges-
tioEs? / have observed that in the battle reports
of the war almost the only romantic ones are
those of Sheridan; not the romance of exaggera-
ton, but the romance of happy temperament
in love with war as a thing of bright action and
perceiving new things in it whenever the rising
moon put the enemy in profile as he retreated
Tha Fair Sax in Pms