The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-09-20
ALGER ON SHERIDAN.
At the Army of the Cumber.
land Reunion.
BRIEF SKETCH OF HIS CAREER
A Question About the Status of the
Chinese Bili-General News
Notes.
The Army ofthe Cumberland.

The Army of the Cumberland.
CHICAGO, September 19.-The nine
tenth annual reunion of the Army OF
the Cumberland met here to-day. One
hundred and fifty were present. Gen
eral Rosecrans was called to the chair
and received with applause. General
Fullerton moved that a committee be
appointed to consider the question of
erecting an equestrian statue to SherI-
the matter was laid over and then .ol-
lowed the appointment of the various
committees.
A meeting was held at Central Music
Hall this evening, at which General
Russell A: Aiger, of Michigan, deliv-
cred an eulogy on General Sheridan, of
which the following is a summary:
General Alger began his address with
life, touching upon the circumstance
Point. service as a lieutenant of in
and Washington Territory, his recall
1861 and assignment to duty as chief
that this great military genius was not
given an independent command until
May 25, 1862, when Governor Blair, of
Michigan, appointed him colonel of the
Second Michigan Cavalry.
General Alger continued: He was a
resolute man, and his command soon
learned the fact that, unless in camp,
two parties We're in constant danger
the enemy and themselves. He was
always genial and easily approached,
except in battle, when his whole nature
seemed changed, and woe to the man
who crossed him while the fightwa on.
Speaking of the fact not a year since,
when told he was always ugly III battle,
he replied, 81 guess that's SO; it was
the way always fought"
Summing up, a sketch of Sheridan s
methods in preparation and in battle,
Alger said: such was the combina-
tion-a knowledge of the topography of
the country, position and strength of
the enemy; quick perception and deci-
sion: heavy and intrepid blows, which
gave him the success that crowned
him among the foremost generals of
modern history. Sheridan never lost
a battle, he seldom made an attack
that was not successful; and, like a
mighty rock standing in the sea,
where the waves strike it only to
be divided and shattered so
no enemy's host was ever hurled upon
his command but to be BROKEN. Those
who saw a handful of men defeat ten
times their number at Bonneville; those
who stood in the cedar brakes at Stone
River and witnessed the Iepulse OF the
proudest army ever sent by the rebels to
the west; those who were with him in
the seven miles of fire at Mission Ridge;
those who were with him in that hell of
fire at the Wilderness. served under him
in the great cavalry fights of Yellow
Tavern and Treville Station those who
passed with him through the terrible
battle of Winchester, those who helped
demolish Eariy's victorious army at
Cedar Creek and those who followed at
Five Forks-all joined in the acclaim as
each victory in turn increased his be-
wildering fame, GROWING him with the
plaudits of the world. One of the
strong characteristics of General Sher-
idan was his intense devotion to the
cause of the North. Soldering, with him,
was not a mere occupation. road to
crafty personal ambition, but he be-
lieved intensely that the rebel crown
was a crime and that it ought to be
punished. 1t was this intense earnest
ness that made his success. His ap-
pearance on the field at any time
during battle, ALWAYS created the widest
enthusiasm. He handled a regiment
as though it was an ermy, and an army
was handled by him as though it was a
regiment
After quoting Grants and Sherman IS
opinions of Sheridan, the speaker said j:
"Sherldan's post of war was conspic-
uous; it attracted attention at once, and
became theme for orators,
artists and historians to dwell
upon. Other men have served their
country well and died hoping the
future generations would do them
justice Sheridan was happy in living
in the glory of his own fame and his
fondess friends can hope for no more
than that the future may concur with
his own time. in doing him honor"
The speaker then touched upon the
pension question. He said there were
about 100000 veterans in the country
who were dying at the rate of about
10000 per year, and added: 'The
comrades of our gallant Sheridan
ought to be the nations wards and
not the nations paupers. A grateful
country should rise up to give them
their Just reward and place them
beyond the possibility of suffering
during the few years yet allotted to
them"
The speaker closed with an eloquen,
apostrophe to the dead general.