St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-08-07
"REMINISCENCES.
Friends Of the Dead Soldier Tell
of His Sterling Worth.

Friends Of the Dead Soldier Tell
of His Sterling Worth.
New YORK. Aug. 6.-Gen. w. T.
Sherman has been so anxious during
the entire illness of Lieut.. Gen. Sheri-
dan that he has taken especial pains to
keep himself informed, and when the
danger has been particularly threaten
ing has remained up all night in order
that he might receive the dispatches
from Washington. When informed by
reporter that his old friend and COM
| rade was dead, Gen. Sherman was yisi-
bly, affected, despite the fact that he had
expected the sad intelligence, and was
to some extent
PREPARED FOR IT.
sheridan was eleven years younger
than l." said Gen, Sherman, mus
ingly. ''fOr he was born in 1881. To
Mrs. Sherman and myself he was al
ways comparatively young man. In
the0rdlnary course, Phil should have
outlived me; now, that he is gone, the
people of this country have lost a gal
liant and great soldier.
''ln November. 1868, Gen. Grant sue
ceeded to the command of all the armies
IN the Mississippi valley, including the
department. of the Cumberland. At that
time Sheridan commanded a division OF
the army of the Cumberland, under
R0SecranS, and
BORE A CONSPICUOUS PART
in the battle of Chickamauga. In the
battle of Missionary Ridge, under the
immediate supervision of Gen. Grant,
| he commanded a division, which again
attracted Grants attention by its spe-
cial gallantry in charging upon and pur-
suing the enemy. That was in NOYem-
Der. 1868.
"When, subsequently, Gen. Grant
went East as commanding general of
all of the armies of the United States,
he took Sheridan with him as one whom
he would surely need, and assigned him
to the command of the cavalry CORPS in
the
ARMY OF THE POTOMAC.
"Sheridan's history is identical with
that of the Army of the Potomac until
he was detached by Grant and sent to
the Shenandoah valley. He there dis
played the unqualified characteristics of
a general in command of a separate
line of operations. His dispositions and
maneuverS at Winchester were admira-
bic in all their details, and his success
was corresponding.
''He closed the Shenandoah valley for
ever to the operations of Lees army as
A BASE OF SUPPLIES,
and line for diversions into Maryland
and Pennsylvania. The battles of Cedar
Creek and Fishers Hill compare
with any example in ancient or modern
history to illustrate the force of the
man to turn the tide of defeat into vic
tory. Finally the battle of Five Forks,
which he fought, was the real cause of
Lees abandonment of Richmond and
the collapse of the whole Confederacy."
GEN. sCHOFIELD.
Eyes. have just heard of Gen. Sheri-
dams DEATH" said Gen. John NJ. SchO-
field last night, land l am endeavOring
to recover from the shock given me by
the news. l had entertained hopes that
he would ultimately recover from the
attack. therefore his death has made the
blow all the more severe now that the
end has come. deeply regret the loss
the
ARMY HAS SUSTAINED,
and l have lost very dear comrade and
lifelong friend. Sheridan and were
at West Point together. He entered
the academy in 1913 and | came the fol-
lowing year. We graduated in the same
class, however, in 1858, as did also Gen.
James b. Mcpherson, who was killed
in 1864 at Atlanta while repulsing
sortie. John B. Hood, who rose to the
rank of general in the Confederate
service, was likewise fellow classmate
of ours. All four of us were warm
friends through all our lives. For
Sheridan | always
ENTERTAINED A DEEP AFFECTION,
a sentiment knew he returned. Nc
Pherson cherished the same feelings
for Sheridan and myself as we did for
him. Though Hood was on the other
CT INF hn <.S
the United States government only re-
GREETED that his different idea of duty
had separated us from pleasant COM
rade.
Regarding Gen. Sheridan's military
career, do not know that l can say
anything to add to his fame. Both
Grant and Sherman have taken oc-
caSion in their memoirs to speak of
Sheridan in the highest terms, and l
consider the estimates of these
TWO CHIEF COMMANDERS
are just and their praise well deserved.
Grant knew Sheridan best, and his
tribute to his gallant subordinate is one
of the many touches which have re-
vealed to us the true character and
generous nature of the greatest soldier
of his time. To Sherman my dead
friend was best known as a young Off
Ger, full of dash and vigor, yet he saw
enough of him to know that Philip 81.
Sheridan was
NO COMMON SOLDIER.
s"To me Sheridan was always the beau
ideal of true soldier and really great
commander. He is one of the few
American officers who attained high
and responsible rank through his
natural force of character and his mill
/ tary genius. He was marked man,
even at West Point, for he displayed at
that early stage in his military life the
same sterling qualities which subse
quently made him prominent chief
actor
F IN OUR NATIONAL HISTORY
''Of course you know l was not pres
ent in the Shenandoah valley during
Sheridan'S famous campaign, but / have
had the scenes in the battles of Win
chester and Cedar Creek wildly de-
scribed to me by competent eye wit
neSSes. From these descriptions l be-
came convinced that these important
victories were not only gained by his
military skill, but were due in a great
measure to his SOldierly qualities and
Il his personal magnetism and electrical
influence ouer his troops. Every officer
| have ever met, whatever rank he
might have held, who served under
Sheridan in the West or in the East.
has shown by his language that he
hOnOred and loved him. That is some
thing you cannot say of every man who
wore the shOulder-straps of a general
MESSAGE TO CONGRESS.