The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1914-01-17
Miscellany
Sheridan at GravelOtte.

Before all those within whose knowl.
edge it lies have passed away, a per
manent record should be made of Gen.
eral Sheridan s activities at the battle
of Gravelottc.
General Sheridan left no public nc
counts of his activities on that day. He
would not. He was present as neu.
| tral spectator, a nopcombatant,
For him to have claimed or even 10
have admitted an active part in the
German victory would have brought ou
his head such a storm as even the hero
of Five Forks could not defy.
That the German leaders eagerly
sought his advice is an established fact
which reflects only credit upon the cnl,
pire makers.
The known facts nre these: Upon his
arrival in Germany General Sheridan
was rushed post haste to the front. ar
rIving there on the eve of the battle OF
Gravelotte. He did not participate in
laying out the plan of battle, but after
the battle was joined he stood with Bis
marck throughout the engagement. AS
the matter was told to the editor of the
Tribune many years ago by an eye
witness, Bismarck ceaselessly dues.
toned Sheridan as to bow the battle
was going, what the great American
generals did in similar circumstances
and even what he would do were he in
command. Sheridan replied freely, and
did not notice, or did not care to notice,
that Bismarck sent galloper after gal
loper to Won Moltke, presumably car
rying Sheridan IS advice
Beyond this there IS q well authcnti-
Gated rumor that, detecting the signif.
cance Of movement by the French. he
caused the emperor-the cold man, -
as he called him-to be removed barely
in time to avoid capture.
There is another rumor, less we'll au-
thenticated, that, carried away with the
fire Of battle, he gave certain directions
for the maneuvering of cavalry.
The time has come for the settle
ment of rumors and the establishment
of the exact boundaries of Sheridan s
activities in this battle. This is owing
as much to the German generals as to
Sheridan IS military history, lest with
the passage of time Gravelotte NAV be
claimed to be Sheridan e, not Won
Moltke g, victory.
German military writers should not
minimize the great cavaIryman's g assist
auce. He was the only man present
who had ever commanded IN q hard
fought engagement Sadowa, Won
Moltke's first victory, being walk
over, as all battles with the Austrians
have been.
Only Sheridan's experienced eve
could detect wavering in the lines; only
Sheridan 3 ear differentiate between ac-
tual and feigned weakening of fire.
To have ignored this priceless asset
would have been the act Of the falling
Napoleon, not that Of a rising Bis
marck.
And be it further remembered that
the reputation of Won Moltke was not
then established; that of Sheridan was
world wide.
When General Grant, certainly a com
petent critic, told years afterward that
he considered Sheridan the greatest cav
airy officer of that or any other time
Bismarck acquiesced and added that il
was through copying Sheridan IS tactics
that Skobeleff alone of the Russian
generals captured redoubt at Plevna
America has gladly acknowledged and
clearly defined the assistance given her
by foreign soldiers-Rochambe La.
fayette, Won Steubeu, Eosciusko, Pu.
laski and others. It is time to estab
lish what part her greatest cavalry of.
ficer played in the drama of ls70.-
Chicago Tribune.