The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1888-08-18
SUPERIOR, WIS.,. SATURDAY. AUG. IS, 1883.
GEN. PHILIP Fl. SHERIDAN.
Memorial Address by the Rev. F. II.
Wright, at III. E. Church, Sunday
Evening, August ~, 1888.

minutes address is sadly dispropor.
Tomato, so no attempt will be made in
that direction. 1t will be enough tc
review some incidents in his life which
will give us some idea of the greatness
of the man.
1t was not his lot to be born in q
palatial residence, or of so-called
noble blood, but it was his lot to be
born of honest parents, in land ot
freedom, where all can be true noble.
men if they wish, without the en-
hlazoned escutcheon to declare it. A
one-story frame house on South street
in Somerset, Ohio, was honored as bis
birth place, and March 9th 1881 was
the date recorded of his birth. His
parents were poor, so as soon as Phi
was able to walk he was set to work
around the house, doing chores and
making himself generally useful. He
had very little schooling, but such as
it was did him good service. Still he
made no pretensions to scholarly at
talnments, preferring something with
dash and daring to the calm thought
fulness Of a student. His chief delight
as a boy was 20 have charge of iuye-
nile show, of which he was at once
proprietor and performer. The adj
mission fee was from three to FIVE pins
and after the show was filled he would
vacate his position as doorkeeper, and
assume the position of entertainer by
his slack rope performances. If a
menagerle was attached to the show
he was the one chosen to do the deed
of daring, and rush into the lions den
which was a large box with wooden
laths nailed to the front side, and gen.
orally containing two or three dogs
and number of cats, with which he
used to tussle, much to the amuse-
ment of the Juveniles assembled
With something of premonitory dis
position, he took delight in drilling
his young companions, and awkward
squads though they were, he soon
showed the result Of his training or
them.
sighting Phil" he was at the time
of the war, and long before the wal
he was known among his boyish com
rades by the same appellation. Thrill
ing experiences of his dash and dar
ing was the order of his youthful days
and an old resident Of Somerset tell:
the following story:
Phil was little bit ola fellow. but I guess h,
whipped every fighting lad in Somerset. He be
came early IN lie most daring horseback rider
His first experience us caValrymau was on IN,
back ofan ugly beast without strap of leathe
anywhere about him. The crittcr started into I
terrific run and did not halt until he came TO
tavern some ten miles away There he ran int,
the stable shed. Sheridan hung on like an IuIia1
ana dia not seem in the least frightened. Wher
asked how he had managed to stick. the FIVE
gear-od boy answered: I'd been told how to 4,
1t. ! Just Rugged his neck and stuck my knee
in his side. No one had ever before succeeded
III clIl'giag 10 the horses back.
The general of Americas cavalry
was budding forth, and it was only {
question of time and circumstance.
that arrested the pent-up spirit. Like
Grant, and in fact like all men, he
was the creature of circumstances. |
40 civil war had DEVASTATED the coun
try, the chances are that both Grant
and Sheridan would have lived their
day i'll humble spheres of labor, bu
the circumstances of that thrilling anC
terrific struggle for liberty and unior
made the men. The attack on For
Sumter was the occasion of theil
birth in the national arena, and the
Union imperiled made them the he
roos Of the Union.
In his early years he evinced thai
spirit which knows no surrender, no
even to the pedagogical demands o
a country school teacher. The story
told of him is very amusing. Wher
a boy Of ten years of age, and attend
ing school, he was continually getting
into scrapes with his school master
Patrick MeNaliy. The old man wa.
Sheridan's best friend, but the troubl,
was that the boy did not know it, anc
got the idea in his head that the
teacher was trying necessarily to pick
a quarrel with him. One morning
Phil got earlier than usual to schoo
not to show his diligence however
but haye his vengeance on the teacher
Making sure that Mr.. McNallv woulC
be the first to enter the school house
he arranged bucket of cold water OF
the top of the door, which would fall
when the door was opened, allowing
the water 10 escape but leaving thu
bucket suspended. The poor peda
gogue was drenched to the skin b,
the shower bath, and vowed yengeanc,
ON the perpetrator of such practical
joke. After considerable questionin!
of the boys it was soon discovered VIII,
was the culprit, and with blood in hi
eye the teacher made rush for youn!
Phil. The boy outran the teacher
called his favorite Newfoundland doc
10 the rescue, and soon had the doc pur
suing the pursuing teacher. He man
aged to climb up an apple tree befor,
the dog reached him, and then Phi
and his faithful dog held the vantag,
ground. Nothing but unconditional
surrender would satisfy the genera
in embryo, and after thorough un
derstanding with his merciIess discip
Hnarlan. but much abused teacher
that he would throw down arms
young Phil called off the dog and re
turned triumphant to school. Sheri
dan afterwards said that McNalh
kept his word with him strictly. bu
that he had TO take two whippingS
henceforth, for every offense commit
ted in that school.
At the age of twelve, Phil had to o,
10 work. He found employment in .
hardware store. where he RENAME,
four months, and then sought and oh
tanned better place as dry good
clerk, and was on the fair way to sue
cess as mercantile man. But on
day he read of a vacancy at Yves
Point, and the military spirit imme
dlately asserted itself. and strik;n,
out on his own merits, he made