New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-06-09
,SUERI d. n.
us CHARACTERISTICS AS SOLDIER
AND COMMANDER.

AND COMMANDER
GENERAL SHERIDAN. ny General Henry err as r.
Davlcs With Portrait and Maps. 70 VII. be-.
Il Annlc,on & CO. Great Commanders S"fira)
This is a sober. military study 81 "A career when
WAS wholly that OF soldier. General Dawes
whose lamented death occurred few months
aga commanded a brigade In the cavalry corps
Of the Army Of the Potomac. ana ne wrote u
the remarkable achievements Of that Hls'ih-
y,,,shcd organization with the skill and famnar-
,,, ., ono who had shared all It's hardshlps ana
ali TIC exnloits But he was far from agreeing
,,,th that English critic who saw In Shcrdah
only a dashing cavalry officer. for az ne poih'''
ont "during three years OF active service that
Gencral sheridan passed In the Civil war h'
vss engaged but eight months as COMMANDER
81, mounted troops alone" From his work the
,,orroasion obtained Is that OF "A man VINO WAS
can,h,. NJ the highest military achevemcn''
who ~ he had been called to the chief comin"n"
~ the armies Of the Union In time OF war ""u''
have been as efficient and succoss'ui IA NJ "'S
In the various positions which he occupied HIS
most marked characteristic was MS seH-r'n'"'''
This was largely native to his character but II
had hcen strengthened by the service when ne
,erformed on the frontier In times when lndlah
wars were frequent, and when the management
81 tribes Of turbulent savagcs required almost
the same determination that was deinanhea ior
the control Of large bodies OF troops. Sh'rldah
had the build which II has been saih Is lh"'S-
pensable for a man Of the highest genius lie
was short. but powerful: the distance between
his heart and his head was az short as possible
and his physical strength was such as To Dear
well the extreme mental activity which thoSe
conditions implied The consequence was ODD
vious in his conduct. His thought was quick
and accurate One looks In vain through th.s
volume for the trace Of serious error III MS
views Of any situation In which ne was pihced
or Of any indecison as 10 what his instant course
Of action should be. He had the capacity OF
reserved man to awaken the enthusiasm OIL
Others by word. yet without seeming to thrust
his own personality forward. In a time when
excess Of speech customary and pardonabie
in the majority Of men, he was one VINO spoke
with careful thought upon the conditions OF the
movement He could assume an air OF rash
e,oerness as when he revived the spirits OF his
troons at Winchester but behind all this dash
tbere was the force of cool calculation upon al
the observable chances OF the battlefield Moth
ing could be further from the truth. according
TO General Davies than the common impression
that Sheridan was only a "hard-ridlng. hard
fighting and reckless soldier. whose fame ant
success were due to desperate personal courage
and impulsive combativcness which, aided by
exceptional good-fortune. had obtained for hin
rank and distinction" He certainly intimate:
/ that II there had not been so many genera
officers Of another kind In the armies of Tho
United States. Sheridan never would have gained
an exceptional reputc for rashness or despera
! ton.
The battle OF Winchester In its vivid alterna
tions Of failure and success will probably Away
seem to the popular mind the best index OF Sheri
dams power a commander But General Da
vies has shown that 1t was chapter Of accident'
The splendid legend OF Sheridans Ride is only
legend yet his arrival on the field after a hast
gallop Of two miles was as opportune and seem
ingiy as well designed as though he had ridden II
a couple Of hours whole days march. But
battle which he did not plan. and only came u
! time save. not the one by which to 1udg
his powers His individuality as a man thorough
ly trained in the art Of war evnced in his uu