davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17

SHERIDAN MOVING UP THE RAPPAHANNocK
was then without fame or influence. He had
been sent to West Point practically by a
political accident, and his family, who lived
down in the little Ohio village, had no means
of impressing themselves upon the governor.
Each new regiment that was called out had
a dozen aspirants for the colonelcy, with
social and political power to throw into the
scale to help their ambitions.
Just after the battle of Shiloh Pope's army
was brought up to swell Halleck's forces.
Among these troops was the Second Michigan
cavalry, and with the other troops it fretted
and grew half demoralized with the slow
and uncertain policy which characterized
Halleck's operations after the frightful
wrestle on the banks of the Tennessee. Its
colonel, Gordon Granger, was made a briga-
der general about this time. He was a reg
ular army officer, who had been promoted
from a captaincy to its command while it
was stationed in st. Louis. His discipline
was severe, but it made the regiment eff
cient beyond almost any other body of troop
ers then III the service. His promotion left
it in a condition to be very S On democrat
lied, and il soon came to neeo firm COM
mander. Capt. Russell A. Alger, now gov
ernor of Michigan, saw this process going on
- At' WA Nt+AAlNAs tANA II W uHltbi
to Governor Austin Blair, then visiting the
army.
Capt. Alger had been on picket duty all
night of the 9th Of May, and early on the
morning Of the 25th reported to Gen. Gordon
Granger upon some matters of detail, which
was his duty as acting field officer of the day
in front of an enemy. After the business of
the moment was over the condition of the
Second Michigan cavalry became the subject
of discussion. Gen. Granger, who still took
an interest il its welfare, had been casting
about iNr some regular army officer who
would be his fit successor at the head of this
splendid regiment. He had been over to
Halleck's Headquarters the day before Capt.
Ayers visit and had met Sheridan. This
morning = 70 and Alger talked he said:
Il hav' la man who will make your
regiment q. -pod colonel"
"Who Is ltF' asked Alger, earnestly.
Capt. Phil. Sheridan. of the Thirteenth
infantry" replied Granger. "He is now over
at Halleck's headquarters, acting as a COM
missary on his staff. He is just the man you
want, but I doubt whether Governor Blair
will commission another regular army officer
to command a Michigan regiment. He
thinks that we are too severe in our disci-
pline and that the troops do not like u.s."
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17
wishes, but I want no higher honor. I am
now q colonel of cavalry"

He took command at once and his first ap-
p%earance at dress parade caused a litter to
run along the line; he was so short and stout.
But he soon had the regiments respect, and
W en-, O few days after, he led the noted
cavalry pursuit of the retreating Confeder-
ates, his men saw that he was indeed a SOL
der. On the LIST of July he defeated the Con-
federate Gen. Chalmers at Bonneville, for
which he was commissioned b~rigadier gen.
eral. Capt. Afger greatly distinguished
himself in the same battle, and was made q
major. In another month Sheridan was in
command Of a brigade, his commission as
brigadier general following a month later.
He was at the same time transferred to
the Army of the Ohio. At the battle Of
P~erryville, Oct. 8, 1862, he commanded
q division. 1t Is singular that at
this battle, which was probably one
of the worst managed on the Union side dur
ing the war, there was present a man who
two years afterwards was recognized as one
of the great generals of the age. The circum-
stance goes to show how little chance there
Is for a subordinate In war to achieve any
thing while directly under another's orders.
But Sheridan's most brilliant success in that
army was at Murfreesboro, where his divi-
sion held the right wing.
An attack on his front had been met and
the enemy driven back, when, by the giving
way of the two divisions on his right, his
flank became exposed to the advancing foe.
Hastily forming a new line under cover of a
charge, he made a brave resistance for ar
hour, when he was again compelled to take
up a new line, this time connecting with
Negley, of the center wing, the two
divisions repulsing three desperate assaults
by four divisions of the enemy, when, Sheri-
dams ammunition giving out, he ordered
a bayonet charge and withdrew his lines from
the field. But by this obstinate resistance
priceless time had been gained for Rosecrans
to make his new dispositions. Then came a
commission as major general Of volunteers,
under which he commanded divisions at
Chickamauga and Chattanooga, and in the
Knoxville campaign, which raised his repu-
tation so high that he was ordered to the
Potomac,
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17
A COMMANDER.

When Grant was called to the east In the
spring of 1864 it brought a great change for
Sheridan. Grant has thus described the cir
cumstances of the appointment of Sheridan
to the command of the cavalry forces of the
Army of the Potomac:
''In one Of my early interviews with the
president ! expressed my dissatisfaction with
the little that had been accomplished by the
cavalry so far in the war, and the belief
that it was capable of accomplishing much
more if under q thorough leader. 1 said l
wanted the very best man in the army for
that command. Ralleck was present and
spoke up. saying, How would Sheridan dor
I replied, The very nan 1 want The presi-
dent said l could nave anybody 1 wanted.
Sheridan was telegraphed for that day, and
on his arrival was assigned to the command
of the calvary corps with the Army of the
Potomac"
Grants army crossed the Rapidan and be-
gan operations against Lee on May 4, 1864.
On the 9th Sheridan started on a raid against
the enerny's lines of communication with
Richmond. He destroyed the depots and
other property at Beaver Dam and Ashland,
advanced to the outer works of Richmond,
defeated the Confederate cavalry under Gen.
Stuart and rejoined Grants army on May
-. l. l'l hlONbt CAlttltiOD Oi OuIC .
against the Virginia Central railroad. After
routing the enemy's cavalry at Trevilian
Station and destroying part Of the railroad
he returned to the White House on the 10Th.
In August the middle military division"
was constituted and intended to oppose the in
cursions of the rebels from the Shenandoah
valley into Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Sheridan was appointed to the command.
He attacked the Confederate general Early
on the 10Th of September near Winchester,
defeated him and took several thousand pris-
oners. Six days later he was again victori-
Gus at Fishers Hill, and pursued the enemy,
driving him through Harrisonburg and
Staunton.
Immediately after the battle of Winches-
ter Sheridan was made a brigadier general
in the regular army. While he was absent
from his command Early suddenly attacked
the Union army at Cedar Creek and Stras-
burg on the 18th of October and succeeded
in driving the Federals about three miles
with much loss. 1t was upon this occasion
that Sheridan made his famous ride. Hur-
rying toward the battlefield he rallied his
men with remarkable power of inspiration
and converted disaster into victory. This
achievement stamped him as one of the
ablest generals of the war. He was ap-
pointed a major general of the regular army
in place OF Mcclellan, who had resigned.
Poetry, romance and the drama have so
idealized the events of that autumn that one
hesitates at detail; but even the prosiest de-
tails, by eye witnesses, are thrilling. Here
is the plain statement of a scout the first to
meet Sheridan after his noted "rfle:"
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17
SHERlOAN'S MILITARY CAREER.

Sheridan entered the Military academy at
West Point in 1S4S, when he was Il Years Of
age, and was graduated in the class with Nc
Pherson, Schofield, Terrill. Sill and the Con-
federate general, Hood. He was attached by
brevet to an infantry regiment then stationed
in Texas, where he saw his first service
among the Apache and Comanche Indians.
For two years he remained in the field, but
his relations with his commanding officer not
being of a pleasant nature he sought Z
ordered elsewhere. In 1855 he was n
full lieutenant, transferred to the
infantry and ordered to join his re-lll,
Oregon.
His services there were highly value.
especially his administration Of the affairs of
an indian reservation. In April, 1861, the
army officers at the distant post of Yamhill,
Ore, were thrilled by the news that civil war
had begun, and in the heated discussion that
followed il was agreed that the war would
last at least a year and a half, and
the young lieutenant declared his firm
resolve to win a majors commission in this
war or die in the attempt" Only ten months
later that lieutenant was a brigadier general
of United States volunteers, and two years
later a major general; the war closed with
him as major general in the regular army, a
maj of note in all the military circles Of the
world, and outranked in the United States
only by Ulysses S. Grant and William T.
Sherman. In all military history there is no
other instance of so rapid a rise, so fairly
won, so nobly sustained in wal and peace, or
so modestly borne in all the duties and rela-
tons of life.
The contrast between the very slow pro-
gress Of the young soldier up to a captaincy
and his rapid advance Immediately after is
startling; it Is in itself a good index of the
wonderful growth the country was making
in those stirring years. Graduating from
West Point in 1858, he had started as brevet
second lieutenant. had been several years in
reaching a first ~lieutenancy, and fought the
Apaches in Texas and the Yakimaws in
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17
GEN. PHIL SHERIDAN.

Phil Sheridan's boyhood was one of rude
freedom, plenty of plain food and not a little
adventure; but it was certainly not one of
culture or luxury, for his parents were the
plainest of plain Irish workers, who had
come to America without means and "held
their own we'll" Indeed the father re-
manned a working man almost to the close of
his life, and the mother, who still lives, is of
the most muscular Irish stock; but they were
persons of high character and some influence,
as was shown at the time their son applied
for a cadetship at West Point. Little Phil
was decidedly 'tough"-in both the mean
ings of the word in the west. He was, SO
his mother and early companions say, ex-
tremely tough in fiber, las healthy as a pine
knot" 1t is not probable that he ever cost
his parents So in medicine. But he was also
q trifle tough" in the slang meaning of the
word, a fighter and prone to mischievous
pranks.
Few can recall any foreshadowing of
future greatness in his boyish actions. He
was simply a merry, healthy boy, fond of
activity and quick of apprehension. An old
resident who had known him from infancy,
when appealed to for some "reminiscences that
would show the future man in the boy, pom
dered a long while and finally said: "Well,
liz No' iiShtN ipiiNA Va M " dii't NV I'll ehiNA
of the widest" And there is philosophy in
the remark, for the saddle is the true seat of
empire; the equestrian nations are the con-
querors; riding is good training for ruling;
and did not Homer mean it for his highest
compliment when he called his hero 'horse
riding Hectorg' So the following story cur
rent about Sheridan's boyhood has the air of
truth.
When he was about s years old some older
boys persuaded him to mount a horse in the
pasture without saddle or bride. The fright
ened animal dashed madly away, jumped
the fence and soon disappeared on the road,
the little fellow clinging to his name. Nor
did he stop till he reached the shed of a
tavern ten miles away, where he had often
been fed. The curious crowd at the tavern
asked the boy:
who taught you to rider
"Nobody," was the answer.
Did nobody ever tell you how to sit on a
horsef'
so, yes, Bill Seymour told me to hold on
with my knees, and l did"
This was Little Phil's' first cavalry
charge, and the comment of the horsemen
who knew the vicious character of the ami
NAL was, THAT boy has pluck enough for
an Indian fighter"
His time when not at school or engaged in
doing chores was largely devoted to the
Juvenile show business, where a charge of
from three to five pins constituted the admis-
sion fee.
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17

"He wore some of the regulation uniform,
but not much. On his head was a little round
cap, such as German students wear. In his
right hand he held q small riding whip,
which, judging by the welts on his horses
TANKS, had been industriously used. He was
splashed with mud I'M had a big daub under
one eye, which gave him a sort of been to a
wake look If he had any gauntlets they
were in his pockets. As he rode on the hill
beyond Middletown he was met by one of
Gen. Torbert's 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 cam 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 We're gathered.
II asked the aid afterward what the gen.
eral said when he Joined him.. He replied;
Well, the generals first words We're. at was
Just such a id mess out west as this that
gave me my ~brigadier star in the regular
army, and In going to make it a double
star this time He then asked, Where is
Wrightf' and soon after joined the other
generals | had been riding along behind as
fast as my little mare could jump, when the
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17
SHERIDAN'S FIRST RIDE.

Phil was invariably the ''slack rope per-
former" and if a menagerie was attached he
performed the feat Of going into the lions
den," which was a large box with wooden
Stats nailed on the front side and generally
contained two or three dogs and a number of
cats. He also took a great fancy to drilling
and had a company of eighteen or twenty
OF his playmates. His old playmates
and the older people generally say he
had a mania for riding vicious horses, and,
although young n small for his age, he
never found a horse hat he could not man
age. Phil was known as a good dispositioned,
manly boy, but was as wild as any of them,
and stood ready to assert his boyhood at any
time with bare knuckles if necessary, though
he was by no means quarrelsome. And this
disposition evidently stuck in him some time,
for while in West Point he was put back a
year for whipping a member of a higher
class, and was thus five years in the course.
Still he graduated at %
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17

INTERIOR sHERIDAN'S WASHINGTON HOUSE.
1t is furnished in excellent taste. The por-
there's are superb Navajo blankets. There are
Indian and war trophies, gifts commemor-
ating his victories and many interesting por-
traits upon the walls and shelves. One Of
the most valued objects is President Lincoln's
letter to the general, thanking him for his
superb work in the Shenandoah valley. A
statuette of Sheridan as he appeared on his
famous ride to Winchester has always been
greatly valued by Little Phil" 1t is the
work of Mr.. f. ]. Kelly, of New York, and
Sheridan says it is absolutely accurate.
There is also in the parlor a portrait of him.
self, taken in 1851, when he had just put on
his captains straps.
Gen. Sheridan's office is in the war depart
ment building on Pennsylvania avenue. The
room is a large square one on the main floor,
and its windows overlook Pennsylvania ave-
nue. to the north and the White House
grounds to the east. The generals desk
stands in a corner, and when he sits behind
it the light falls over his shoulders, and upon
the faces Of his visitors. These visitors,
by the way, are always interested in
the large cases filled with curious pottery,
Indian blankets, bows, arrows, clubs and
other things picked up in the Indian
country both before and after the war
of 1861. From the walls look dow portraits
of Gems. Jackson, Worth, Zachary Taylor,
Logan, blair, Meade and Mcpherson. Then
there are plenty of pictures of hunting scenes
in the far west. Upon a small easel just be-
You'd the generals desk rests a picture, by De
Thulstrup, of the famous charge at VIM
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17

Oregon, served as guide and guard TO explor-
ing expeditions and fretted against the dull
routine of frontier posts for five years longer
before he became a captain. Then came his
opportunity, and in less than three years he
was ranked with Marlborough and Massena,
among the great commanders who can
wrest victory from the jaws OF defeat.
Five years later he was the guest
of EN- error William, with him over
lookin the bloody fields which changed the
map of central Europe. Vet it was Decem-
Der of 1861 before he got a chance 70 make
the first move towards winning hat major B.,
commission" and then only as chief quarter.
master to the army in southwest Missouri
After the battle OF Pea Ridge he was SEM {
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17
THE SHERIDAN FAMILY.

The Sheridan family consisted of John
Sheridan, father of the general, who died
Thursday, May 5, 1875, in the 18th year of his
age; Mary Miner Sheridan, his mother, who
Is still living in the suburbs of Somerset, and
who is IS years of age; Patrick H. Sheridan,
who was born April 10, 1927, and died Oct.
z, 1851, and was buried at Somerset
Patrick Sheridan and a sister who died on
the way to this country, who were born in
Ireland; Philip II. Sheridan who was born
March 8, 1881; his sister Mary, who was born
June 4, 1884; John L. Sheridan, who was
born April 2, 1887, and Col. NJ. V. Sheridan,
who was born in 1910.
In 1851 they moved from the house then
occupied to a house one mile from town,
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17

SHERIDAN AND GEMS. CROOK y CUSTER.
1t was now breakfast time. Governor
Blair was now nearly thirty miles away and
thera wa M +in,a 70 Ia Ioct Con Grornar
called an orderly, had Capt. Ayers horse
fed and insisted on his taking his morning
meal with him. During breakfast the sub
iect of Can't Sberidan's apnointment was
earnestly discussed. Before thew had fin
ished the meal Lieut.. Frank E. Walbridge.
uuartermasrer Of the Second Michigan cav
alrv. rode up. Can't. Alger asked permis-
sion to take him for his interview
with Governor Blair. Gen. Granger as.
sented and the two officers ! enared
for the Journey. II was parhans half
past 8 in tie morning when. armed with an
earnest request Tor Sberidan's annointment
they left tbe from Of the Federal lines and
rode swiftly To- Pittsburr LANDING. and il
lacked but half nm hour Of the steamers do
parture with Governor Blair on hoard whom
the two officers reached him. The condition
of the regiment was presented bv Cant AL,er
in a few words and both he and Tieut Wal.
bridge strongly URGED fine foroe of Cen
Granrer's recommendation The qovernor
Welded and directed his adiutant General
Cen John Robertson 70 vvrite tho orJer H.
seized a half s6eat ~ naner md 80. -0
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17

where Gen. Sheridan's father had a
contract IN the old Scioto and Hook.
ing Valley railroad. The contract
proved Improbable, as the road, after
about two years, was abandoned, and
the contractors lost all they had put
Unto it. This, however, seemed to
be the old gentleman's misfortune in life, as
he Jared but little if any better as a contrac-
tor on the GAINESVILLE and Maysville turn
PIKE, which was built through Somerset.
Mrs. Sheridan, who is a woman of indie
fatigable energy, was ever ready to cheer
her husband and lend every assistance. The
financial reverses did not discourage her in
the least, but seemed to increase her deter
mination to overcome the obstacles thrown
in their path. She was strong, both mentally
and physically.
After the failure Of the railroad the Sheri-
dan family removed to the old homestead,
and remained there until 1856, when they
built the house in which old Mrs. Sheridan
now resides, Gen. Sheridan having bought
eighteen acres Of land and furnished his
parents the means with which to erect the
building.
Somerset was the county seat in 1918, and
the population for forty years past has not
varied far from 1900. The old residents add
some interesting stories to those above re-
lated. They say that though the family was
poor and Pills school days few, he was al
ways somewhat of a leader among the boys.
He was not only trustworthy and clear
headed, but it was noted that he was unusu-
ally persevering and not afraid of hard
tasks; so Mr.. Talbot, a'small dealer in hard
ware, employed him as clerk and urged him
to study history and mathematics, in which
he made rapid progress. He also clerked a
short time for Mr.. Henry Detton. And
while in that line a strange and ambi-
tious idea entered the boys head. Without
consulting any one, without an indorser or
testimonial, the 17-year-old boy wrote TO
Gen. Thomas Ritchey, representing that dis
trict, and asked for the appointment as cadet
at West Point. 1t was in the year 1913. Irish
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17

And Sheridan twenty miles away.
And wider still those pillows of war
Thundered along the horizons barr:
And louder yet into Winchester rolled
The roar of that red sea uncontrolled,
Making the blood Of the listener cold,
As he thought Of the stake in that fiery fray,
And Sheridan twenty miles away.
But there is a road from Winchester town,
A good, broad highway leading down;
And there through the flush of the morning lighr,
A steed as black as the steeds of night,
Was seen 10 pass, as with eagle flight.
As If he knew the terrible need, d,
He stretched away with his utmost speed;
Hills rose and fell; but his heart was gay,
With Sheridan fifteen miles away.
Still sprung from those swift hoofs, laundering
south,
The dust, like smoke from the lannon's mouth;
Or the trail of q comet, sweeping faster and
faster,
Foreboding to traitors the doom OF disaster.
The heart of the steed, and the heart Of the
master,
Were beating Ike prisoners asSaulting their walls,
Impatient To be where the battlefield calls;
Every nerve OF the charger was strained to full
play,
With Sheridan only ten miles away,
Under his spurning feet, the road
Like an arrowy Alpine river flowed,
And the landscape sped away behind
Like an ocean flying before the wind.
And IN steed, like a bark fed with furnace Ire,
Swept on, with his wild eye full of fire.
But lol be is nearing his hearts desire;
He is snuffing the smoke of the roaring fray,
With Sheridan only five miles away.
The first that the general saw were the groups
OF stragglers, and then the retreating troops;
What was done-what to do-a glance told him
both,
And striking his spurs, with a terrible oath,
He dashed down the line, mid a storm of huZzas,
And the wave of retreat checked its course there,
because
The sight of the master compelled 1t to pause.
With foam and with dust the black charger was
gray;
By the flash Of his eye, and his red nostrirs play,
He seemed 10 the whole great army TO say,
~ have brought you Sheridan all the way,
From Winchester town, to save the day."
Hurrah, hurrah for Sheridani
Hurrah, hurrah for horse and mani
And when their statues are placed on high
Under the dome Of the Union sky,
The American soldiers temple of fame, %
There with the glorious generals name .
Be it said in letters both bold and bright; 7
Here is the steed that saved the day 7
By carrying Sheridan into the fight,
From Enthusiastically miles awayr"
Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-17
THE FAMOUS RIDE.

The history of this incident is not specially
exaggerated in the noted poem, which has an
interesting history Of its own. Thomas
Buchanan Read, the author, was appealed to
at the breakfast table in Cincinnati by Mr..
Murdoch, the %tragedian and elocutionist,
who had been giving readings for the benefit
of wounded soldiers and was to have a sort
Of grand reception that evening. Mr.. Read
confessed that the subject overpowered him,
and added, you can't order a poem as you
would q coat"