The Washington herald., 1910-12-11

TO Bonneville, where he was 10 destroy
the supplies Of the enemy and cut the
railroad connections He fought his first
battle at Bonneville little later as an
officer in command of two regiments of
cavalry, or ST men He defeated Gen.
Chalmers. who went into the fight with
1900 bayonets, sending Capt Russell A.
Alger and ninety men TO attack the en-
envy in the rear and having a locomotive
engineer blow his whistle SO as to de-
ceive the COnfederates into believing that
reinforcements had arrived on the field
The battle Of Bonneville made Sheri-
dan brigadier general of infantry, and
he fought afterward as an infantry com
mander at Perryville. Stone River. Mis-
sionary Ridge, Chickamauga, and Look
out Mountain. He had twenty-five regi-
ments and six battaiions. all Western
troops, at Missionary Ridge Early in
March, 1864, Grant was put in command
Of all the armies. He wanted. he said.
the best man for the cavalry. Haneck
suggested Sheridan.
The very man. Grant replied.
SO Sheridan was ordered 10 Washing
ton and given command of the cavalry
corps of the Army of the Potomac. lie
was thirty-thTee years old and looked
younger, because he was only five feet
and five inches tail and weighed but 115
pounds. Although he knew Grant and
Halleck slightly he was a stranger 10
everybody else in Washington. After
meeting Secretary Stanton he went 10 the
White House. President Lincoln toorx
both of his hands and joculariy remarked:
Who has ever seen a dead cavalrymsn?
Sheridan reached this city on the morn
ing OF April l. He left for the front at )
o'clock IN the afternoon. And that is the
way his career as a cavalryman began
The surrender at Appomattox occurred 1
year and five days later"
Getting Into the Army.
How did you get into the army" I
asked.
My parents were devout Catholics and
l was a student at ST Joseph's College.
which was connected with the Dominican
monastery at Somerset Ohio. where we
lived. Most of the students came from
the South and promptly went home at
the outbreak Of the war between their
States and lie North. The college.
therefore, was closed. / found employ
ment IN a st. Louis hardware store as
a clerk. l Joined my brother however.
after Gen. Halleck detailed him for duty
as quartermaster of the army in South
western Missouri. Later. / obtained a
commission as second lieutenant of volun-
teers, serving as Gen. Sheridan's aid dur
ing all his campaigns and az ing as hts
military secretary until his death"
Tell me about your experience the
first time you were under fire." l said
1t was at Bonneville. I recolIect that
l wished / We're somewhere else,
feeling that returned at the beginning of
every subsequent battle and was ex-
perienced by all the soldiers ] knew. ex-
cept. Maj. George A. Forsyth, whom I
mentioned in talking about Cedar Creek.
Forsyth was ready any time to risk
his life, even though Il was not actually
necessary. and seemed to take joy in
entering a fight Wounded four times
during the civil war, he was afterward
wounded three times by Indians. He is
living now in Massachusetts. having been
retired from the army six years ago as
a colonel"
clearly" z
on. Stone River. or Murfeesboro, as it
Is called, which was fought thirty two
miles from Nashville. starting on the last
day IN 1862 and continuing until the night
OF January 3. IL was a bloody contest
between small armies evenly matched.
Rosecrans having 1900 men and Bragg
g, 500 Sheridan lost 10 per cent of his
troops. -Four OF MS brigade commanders
were killed. Four other officers aban-
doned their regiments. When the battle
was over Sheridan formed his division
into hollow square, marched the four
towards into the center, and had his col
ored body servant take their swords and
cut the buttons and shoulder straps from