Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-02-01

is dead. General Philip Henry Sheridan is
dead. General Sherman, who was born be-
fore either of these men, is still alive and
vigorous. He will be 70 years of age on
February 8. A variety of suggestions have
been circulated as to the manner in which
the event should be celebrated. New York
ers have shown a willingness to celebrate IN
the most elaborate manner the anniversary
of the birth of the distinguished General
who is now one Of her citizens. With re-
gard to this fact many mistakes have been
made. 1t was at first contemplated to give
a magnificent reception in the Union League
Club, preceded by great banquet. Presl-
dent Harrison, his Cabinet and 900 dlstln-
guished men and women were to be invited
to do him honor.
WILL CELEBRATE HIS BIRTHDAY.
But these reports are all wrong. There
| will be celebration of the old hero's birth
day. It will not be a public one, however,
so far as the old soldier is concerned. He
will celebrate the day at his own camp fire,
and about him will be the members of his
own family and the commanders who were
with him in the many battles in which he
has figured from the time when he was in
| Florida, in 1S4O-42 fighting the Seminoles,
| down to date. OF course John Sherman,
his distinguished brother, Senator from
| Ohio, and the Junior of the General by but
| a trife more than three years, will be an i'm
portant figure at the quiet celebration which
will be held in General Sherman's house.
| General Slocum, who commanded the right
wing of General Sherman's army in the
| famous march from Atlanta to the sea, will
be another figure. Major General John M.
| Schofeld. now the chief General of the
| American armies and who was one of the
most brilliant of Sherman's commanders.
will in all probability be present, and there
will be others of the men who fought under
| the old veteran who Will be there.
| But some who were very near to him Will
| be missing. Grant, Hancock and Sheridan
| are dead. General James Mcpherson, who
was General Sherman's close friend, did not
| live to share in his chiefs triumph. Gen
eraI George II. Thomas is among those who
have gone to the land of shadows. General
| Judson Fitzpatrick, who was among General
| Sherman's cavalry commanders, is at rest.
In fact the General has outlived most of his
| cotemporaries.
"You may say for me-" said General
| Sherman TO the writer, that shall have
some of my old comrades at my house on
| the evening of the anniversary Of my birth
| day, when will be 20 years old. This is
| no rupture of any arrangement with the
Union League Club. 1 made the arrange
ments Tor my birthday celebration long
time ago and they have not been changed.
GOOD TALKER.
Whether or not there will be toasts offered
| and replied to at the dinner that will be held
| in General Sherman's house, that veteran
warrior will not say. II, however. it comes
| down to a matter OF an atter-dlnner speech,
! General Sherman can be relied upon to hold
! his own with the best of those who may be
| ,rit 10 Wa
wears ago, and his memory is surprising to
one who does not know its compass. ..:--
| In New York to-day General Sherman is
| considered raconteur and man about town
| in the best sense of the terms. He ranks in
| this respect with Chauncey NJ. Depew, Gen
| eraI Horace Porter and other famous men.
| There is, of course, difference between the
men. Ii, for instance, Governor David
Bennett Hill and Chauncey M. Depew
meet at some public dinner each is likely to
throw few darts at the other, all in good
humor. Neither DR.. DepeW nor Governor
Hill would think of taking the same lib
erty with General Sherman. Of course
| there is more than one reason for this. In
| the first place the old General has fought
| his battles, and while holding to the views
| that he always held he is not given in his
nublic addresses to fight his battles over
again In the second place, while
| General Sherman is, to some extent, lrascl-
ble at the first view, it is we'll known
that he is one Of the most approachable men
in New York, and that he never refuses any
one of his old men who come to him for as
sistance If the man is at all deserving. He
is not mixed up in any business schemes.
| He is one Of the figures pointed out when he
appears at the clubs or at one OF the hotels.
] In short, General Sherman Is one of the
features of New York He objects to this,
| for to him it seems that he is merely
curiosity, Just as the Bartholdi statue, the
obeIisk in Central Park and other things
are. OF course no one looks at the matter
in the same light. And yet the manner in
which the old soldier is pursued justites
him in his desire to escape from most of the
persons who are constantly in pursuit OF
him for any or no reason.
CHANGED WITH TIME.
General Sherman does not look as he did
when he left West Point, something like
half century ago, just at the time that the
United States had the Florida trouble on
hand. 1t could scarcely be expected that
he should. Yet he wears his 20 years well,
and while he is not so vigorous as he ap-
peared a few years ago he is still a sturdy
old man, who seems likely to celebrate a
good many birthdays. When one considers
that the veteran General was in active sery-
ice for nearly half a century, during which