The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-06-07


There were scores OF more brilliant
graduates and no one thought OF pre-
dieting . great future for Sheridan. ~
Gen, Sheridan's mother says that no
one recommended her son for the West
Point appointment. There was Vacan.
cy. and after several applicants had been
examined and failed Sheridan wrote to
Gen. Thomas Ritohey, the Congressman
from that district and secured his APP
pointment, passing the examination
successfully.
Sheridan was first sent to Texas from
West Point and served in that State for
two years. He was then detailed to-
California and remained there until the
outbreak Of the civil war in 1851. In
May, 1851, Sheridan was made Captain
of the Thirteenth Infantry and appoint
ed Chief Quartermaster and Commissary
Of the army in southwest Missouri.
Gen. Sheridan's career from that time
reads almost like a romance. In less
than year he held commission OF a
Brigadier General in the regular army.
At 80 he was Major-General in the
regular army, and something almost un.
precedented in the history OF military
men.
Gen. Sheridan served under Gems.
Halleok and Grant in the West, and
made record as a brilliant and gallant
fighter who was stranger to fear. He
was conspicuous in the battles Of Perrys.
vile, Murfreesboro. Chickamauga and
Corintk. When Grant came East in
1854, to take command of the Army OF
the Potomac, one of his first orders was
one directing Sheridan to report to his
(Grant's) headquarters. Sheridan was
given by Grant the general command Of
the Federal cavalry during the battle OF
the Wilderness and to the final surren.
der of Lee at Appomattox. Gen. Sheri.
dan gained most of his fame in the East
under Grant. He drove Early and Ros-
ser out of the Shenandoah Valley, rode
twenty miles from Winchester to Cedar
Creek, and turned what promised to be
serious defeat into a most brilliant
victory. For this be received the thanks
of Congress and had his name immortal.
lied. The story OF 'Sheridan's Ride 10
familiar to every schoolboy in the land.
On the LIST of April, 1865, Gen. Sheri-
dams command met Lees army at Five
Forks and added another to his list of
victories. The defeat Of the Confederates
at Five Forks led to the subsequent
evacuation of Richmond by them and TO
Lees surrender at Appomattox Court
House nine days later Sheridan was
present with Grant at Lees capitalization,
Sheridan's successes in the Richmond
campaign were closely allied to those of
| Grant.
The Shenandoah valley as shown above
was the great storehouse of the Con-
federacy. 1t Is rich and fertile and fur
nished the supplies that kept the Con-
years. Sheridan laid waste the Shenan
the boast when he left it that a crow
would be compelled to carry its rations
with it IN crossing the valley. The de-
struction Of the Shenandoah Valley was
unquestionably great blow to the Con.
federacy.
In 1869 Sheridan was promoted to be
Lieutenant General. He succeeded Gen.
Sherman in command of the army in
1885, Gen. Sherman going on the retired
list under the compulsory retirement act
passed by Congress, forcing army officers
to retire at the age of a.. Under this
act Gen. Sheridan would not have been
eligible for retirement until 1895. With
him expires the rank of Lieutenant
General. Gen. Sheridan succeeded Gen,
Hancock in command at New Orleans
during the reconstruction perion. While
there he was in frequent conflict with
the civil authorities, for he did not seem
to appreciate the distinction between
civil and military law.
Gen, Sheridan, says the New York
Work. of recent date, has the reputation
of being a profane man, and one who
could scarcely give an order on the field
of battle or elsewhere without punctuat.
ing it with picturesque oath. Reports
Of this character have given Gen. Sheri-
dan considerable annoyance, and he has
received letters from clergymen and
others demonstrating with him for his
alleged profanity. Those who know
Sheridan best say he does not deserve
the reputation of of profane man, that
he is quite the opposite and only in
dulges in strong words on great occasions
when the ordinary vocabulary would
not do justice to the subject.
Much OF ShRridan's reputation as a
profanity expert may be attributed to
Buchanan Reads poem describing Sher-
dams famous ride from Winchester to
Cedar Greek. Sheridan, according to
Read, rode down the line with terri |
BILE oath, which was 30 soul inspiring as
TO bring the demoralized and scattered
soldiers back to their senses and instill
them with new courage.
Sheridan was accompanied on that
ride to Cedar Creek by two staff officers,
Brig Gen. George A. Forsythe and Col. |
O'Keefe. This is what Sheridan said. |
according to Gen. Forsythe, when he
rode up and met his soldiers fleeing
from the enemy; Boys, those Of you who
are not towards follow me, for I'll sleep
in that camp to night or I'll sleep in |
hell I The effect OF these words, Gen.
Forsythe says, was magical. The boys
turned with q cheer and followed Sheri- |
dan to man.
A few years ago Gen. Sheridan, in
conversation about the origin of Mr.,
Reads poem and how it came to be
written, said that the idea was first sug
gested by James E. Murdoch, the elo-
cutionist and actor of Cincinnati, Mr..
Murdoch was around Sheridan's head
quarters after the battle of Missionary
Ridge. He was there to bring back the
body OF his son, who had been killed in
dCllOhs luClu 40 pOhlC III kGttlIk
the body, as the enemy occupied the
ground where his son fell. Mr.. Read
was also at Sheridan's headquarters fire.
quently. The General said; On Sun
days he (Murdock) always used to recite
poems to the troops around headquarters
and there was one Of Browning's that
the boys never missed a chance to call
for. 1t was a great favorite with me,
don't you know, just as it was with the
soldiers, and we never let the old man
off without his reading it. 1t was the
old story OF the ride from Client to AK.
We'll, you see, after the battle of
Cedar Creek there was published in
Harper's Weekly a story Of my ride from
Winchester and q picture Of me on the
back of old Rienzi. Murdoch had agreed
to reeite poem at the Sanitary fair
that was being held at Cincinnati at that
time, and Read had promised TO write
new and appropriate for him.
But when Murdoch called on him for
the manuscript, the afternoon he was to
recite, he hadn't touched q pen to paper
said he didn't know what to write
about, Well, Murdoch had just seen a
man who was in the battle and was full
of the story being friend Of mine, you
see, so he pulled the copy of Harper's
Weekly from his pocket and repeated 10
Read all that the officer had told him.
Read jumped up and locked himself in
his room, wrote the poem off-hand in
an hour and got his wife to make copy
and hand it over TO Murdoch before
dark. The latter was delighted with it
and read it at the Sanitary fair that
night
When did you first see it?'
The first | saw Of it was in the news