The National tribune., 1901-11-21
SHERIDAN'S RIDE.
Gen. Hayes's Orderly Writes of the Battle of
Cedar Creek.

dar Creek Bridge; the Pike separating the
Nineteenth and Sixth Corps from Gen.
Crooks command. | shall not dwell upon
the merits of either corps. The men who
stood by their guns on that October morn
ing We're as brave a body of men as ever
tramDed sod.
/ believe the Army of West Virginia.
as body, has felt grateful to the Sixth
and Nineteenth Corps for their timely as
siStance rendered on that occasion; but,
for the sake of truth, when body of sol
derS sleeping in their tents are surprised
and volley after vOlley fired into them.
how can any reasonable being expect
more than what was accomplished by the
Army of West Virginia? The soldiers
that formed that body We're too well
known, the inscriptions on their flags rep
resent many battletieldS, and speak much
in their praise, and those, especially,
drilled under our much-lOved and admired
Maj.-Gen. George Crook.
The writer remembers how dense the
fog was that morning and how our men
were shot down before getting in line.
In falling back David McCombs, Chief
Bugler at Gen. II. Il. Hayes's Hcadquar-
tels, and myself, thinking we were going
to the Pike Gnstead were going toward
the deployed skirmish lines of the en-
emyD, had diSmounted to pick up an ar
ticle or two, and were remountinG when
the rebel skirmish line walked right onto
us. We started down grade, in the Oppo-
site direction, when they blaZed away at
us. They aimed too high and we were
soon envclOped in fog.
! counted a dozen of our men stripped
of their clothes, all shot on the picket line
that morning, and a number Of our men
could he seen all day with gun in hand
in their drawers, not having had time to
put on clothes, only time to grab Il gun
and get in line.
Since the war ] have noticed in art
stores and galleries pictures and chrOmos
representing Gen. Phil Sheridan as he ap-
people talking and looking at these pic
lures. and school boys speaking of Gen.
Sheridan riding 30 miles from Winches-
ter to the front. Those false impressions
made by the poet give rise to the belief
of the school boy, as well as older minds,
as to the distance he rode. The poem
was written by r. Buchanan Read, and
recited at Pixies Opera House, in sCincin-
natl. Ohio, Nov. ], 1864, by James Il.
Murdoch. 4 memorial tablet in honor Of
II. Buchanan Read was put up on the
front Of the Garret homestead, East
Eighth street, Cincinnati, Ohio, with the
following inscription: Here 7. Buchan-
an Read wrote 'Sheridan'S Ride Nov. |,
1864"
Now as to the panic before Gen. Sheri-
dan rode up. The truth is our lines were
formed good while before Gen. Sheridan
put in an appearance. / well recollect
when he dismOunted ut Gen. X. II.
Hayes's Headquarters, near the Valley
Pike. There were at that time lying on
the grass Maj.-Gen Geo. Crook, Gen. Du-
vail and Gen. X. Il. Hayes. Gen. Crooks
conversation at that time pertained to a
move on the enemy, when Gen. Sheridan
appeared. Gen. Sheridan dismounted and
asked Gen. Crook if the lines We're all
closed up. Gen. Crook replied in the af
irmative, and said all was ready for an
advance.
/ held Gen. Shcridan's horse till his
Orderly came up. No other escort came
with Gen. Sheridan to Gen. Hayes
Headquarters. Farther down the lines
Tony Forsythe, his Chief of Staff, joined
him, and no reinfOrcements came to our
aid. The lines Of the Sixth Corps We're
changed some prior to the general ad-
vance, as the Army of West Virginia lay
near and to the right of the National
Pike, a mile or little over north of the
village Of MiddletOwn, and as Gen. Sher-
idan rode from Winchester TO the front,
it being only 121a miles TO the north of
the town and 11la miles, scant, to Gen.
Hayes's Headquarters near the Pike;
now, from north end of Middleton to the
Cedar Creek Bridge is two and a half
miles, and from the bridge to Strasburg
is three miles; by this it will be seen that
for Gen. Sheridan to have covered the
20 miles TO the front he would have had
to ride two miles beyond, or south, of
Strasburg, or seven and half miles
farther than when he met Gen. Crooks
command on the direct line to Cedar
Creek Bridge, on the National Pike.
i have written articles for different pa
pers on the fight of the 18th of October
at Cedar Greek. | came near being cap
tured, as well as shot, on that occasion.
| have in my memory recollections of dis
tances between many places, and ! find
am correct on all of my former writings
by letter | have before me, from Mr..
James w. Larrick, Of MiddletOwn, Va.
He says: you would scarcely know this
now by what it was in 1864.
Much Of the timber has been cut away,
other fields have grown up in bushes, new
farms have been laid off and new build
ings built, and to the eye scarcely a trace
of that terrible carnage is left. / lived
in 1864 in the same house in which | am
now living, where my father lived and
also my grandfather before him, in what
is known as Larrick's Hotel, although it
is not run as hotel at present. Gen.
Phil Sheridan stopped over night at this
house on his last visit TO the Valley Il
short time before his death. Senator
Cameron, of Pennsylvania, was with him.
In the July n901) issue of the Ladies'
Home Journal is picture of this house,
the old tavern, also the old dollhouse just
north Of it; both are at the north end of
on the Valley Turnpike
Our supply train came up on the even
ing of Oct Is, and our ratiOns would have
been issued to us on the morning of the
18th, but the "Johnnies" issued them
without our consent. | had a rooster, a
fine bird; it was my intention to have it
in good order and give it to Gen. Il. B.
Hayes on Christmas day, but on regain
ing camp his feathers were all | could
discover. If this should meet the eye of
the one who captured my rooster | should
be glad to hear from him.-S. :. HAM
MITT, Co. Il, 36th Ohio; Orderly for Gen.
Rutherford b. Hayes; Long Beach, Cal.
Recollections of the Orphan Company.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Being
subscriber to The National Tribune, /
read Comrade Peck's very interesting mar
rGtive. l could see "Neighbor" Bill Cron-
ley, MarkwoOd, Rankin and all the others
he speaks OF as l read. l much wonder If
any remember our intellectual school? If
Peck Judging by his experience at the
crossing of the Arkansas), or Rankin ever
shot anybody! | was an escort to Paw
nee Fork early in 81, escorting three Of
ficers who were going South through the
Kiowa country. l remember Lieut. Kelly,