The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-06-03
His natural or, the Generals
chief support on ma. I occasion"
"Was Sheridan drinking MANI"
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man would not have kept an unbroken
bottle OF whisky in his saddlebags for
a whole month. No! (most emphatical-
ly) No! he was not drinking man.
There seems to be proneness among
people to ascribe to prominent men all
sorts of vices, generous and otherwise;
and many persons seem to have the idea
that Sheridan was hard drinker. On
the contrary. in the five years 1 was on
his staff, both in the field and travelling
under circumstances of great physical
and mental fatigue and worry, never
saw him under the influence of liquor in
the slightest degree.
HE rarely drank when alone, and
neither at the table nor in company did
he ever indulge to excess. During the
last two years OF his life he suffered
greatly from stomach trouble, and any
vigorous exercise would weaken him;
but even then his drinking was moder-
ate. The General was often misjudged
in regard to this habit, owing to his
high color and often flushed face. But
the secret of that was an abnormally
high pulse, which beat from fifteen to
twenty more strokes to the minute than
that of the ordinary man.
I'm other respects, also, Sheridan was
markedly different, physically, from
other men, His face was most express
i've. He had arched, heavy eyebrows,
from underneath which large, piercing
black eyes looked out at you. One
could tell from his eyes in a moment
whether he was fercely angry or only
indignant; whether he was serious, sad,
or humorous, without noticing another
feature OF his face. I never saw eyes
which showed so many shades OF feeling
as those of Phil Sheridan. His mouth
was firm and his chin square and agrees
sive. He had a bullet-sfaped head and
mediunl-sized ears, behind each of
which there was a peculiar development
which gave him the appearance of hav-
ing great force of character.
"His shoulders were broad and his
chest deep; he had long arms and large
hands, while his legs were short and his
feet small Although he was but five
feet six inches in height, still the great
length OF his body made him look over
six feet when in the saddle,
"Sheridan's most distinguishing traits.
apart from his military genius, patriot
ism, and love for his family, were I'M
yielding loyalty to his friends and con-
siderateness for dumb animals.
GAS I said before, Sheridan was par
ticularly loyal in his nature and was
especially attached to the men he knew
in his early days before he came into
prominence. He was fond OF Colonel
Lawrence Kip and OF both the For
sythes, also OF General Fitzhugh,
Colonel Newhall, and DR.. Morris J.
Asch, now of New York, and in after
years he always spoke of them with
great affection. He had a strong regard
for Grant personally and most exalted
faith in the military skill of that great
leader.
Give often heard him say that Gen
e1al Wesley Merritt was one of the best
officers he ever had under his command,
and that he had great confidence in his
judgment, skill, and persistence under
any conditions requiring the exercise of
those qualities. The general would new
er allow anybody to speak disparagingly
of one of his friends. If such thing
were attempted, no matter by whom, he
would automatically change the sub
ject; but if the offense were persisted in,
he would say, I've shown you that the
person is friend OF mine and I will not
permit you to talk against him.
II once essayed to compliment him
upon the possession of this trait in so
extreme degree, and he seemed sur
prised that I should have noticed it at
all. "A man doesn't make friends light
ly,' he said, and when he does he must
stand by them for better or worse. I
certainly should expect my friends to
do as much for me- Apart from friend
ships of his own, the habit of backbit-
ing was one for which he had an abso-
lutte detestation. He used to say, "A
man who speaks we'll OF others speaks
we'll of himself He made few intimate
friends, but he regarded his staff officers
a part not only Of his official household
but of his personal family as we'll. When
the war was over and he was placed in
command of large military department
he was always easily accessible to every
one, although he would brusquely dis
miss anybody who sought to use him
for personal ends, and he was remarka-
bly, quick at detecting such motive, no
matter how adroitly it might be yelled.
"Phil Sheridan had been on the plains
so long that he loved the life and all
that contributed to it, except Indians Git
was he who said, The only good Indian
I ever met was dead one), and it is
doubtful whether he would unnecessarily
have killed even single redskin. But
what he particularly and continually de-
plored was the gradual and wanton ex-
tinction of the big game of the Rockies
and the plains. He could find no Ian
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