The Alaska daily empire., 1915-11-18
THE TRUTH ABOUT
 SHERIDANS RIDE
fPhiladolphla Ledgerl

Philadelphia Ledger)
 When you walk into 9 Philadelphia jewelry store almost the first person you see is Major William A. Wieder. scheirf This dobonaire, gray-mus- ! lached gentleman witnessed one of the most dramatic incidents of the Civil War
 The major is the identical man who started General Sheridan on his fa- nous ride from Winchester to Cedar Creek. Like the charge of the Light Brigade at Bolaklava. sheridan's dash into Q far-ol battle has been popular ized. and even immortalized by a poem
 Colonel Forsyth's recent death re- called this incident of the rebellion, SO ] asked the Major yesterday to tell me exactly what had happened.
 T was an officer on the staff of General Oliver Edwards" said he, land our brigade was stationed at Winchester as a garrison. Our head. quarters were in the fine home of a Mir. Logan. who was evidently a rich man. He had two pianos in the house and we lived in comfort.
 "Gen. Sheridan had been to Wash ington and on his return journey was to join his army I'm the valley he stopped to spend the night with Gen. eral Edwards and slept in a biz, com fortable room In our house"
 A popular yarn is to the effect that Sheridan was carousing in Winches. ter. and that was the reason he was absent from the army when it was surprised by the Confederatos on that early morning in October. 1864.
 'Tt was my duty as officer of the day to be up early' and when ] went out to see about the pickets in the morning after sheridans arrival, ] heard distinctly the cannonading far to the south. ! spoke to Q sentinel about it and he said he had heard it internationally for some time.
 "I hastened back to the Logan quar- ters. aroused General Edwards and informed him about what had heard. "'Tem General Sheridan that said he and walked to Little Phils room knocked on the door and was told to enter
 Sheridan was in bed. and when J related what had happened without a moments delay, he said: Send for my orderly
 "The orderly came Sheridan had breal1fasted immediately and in a very short time he mounted his coal black charger and galloped away'
 In his poem. which was written af- terward and which gained much pop ularity throughout the North, it being favorite with many actors, Thomas Buchanan Read takes poets license with geography:
 up from the South at break Of day Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay The affrighted air with O shudder
 bore
 Like a herald is haste Go the chief
 tain's door
 The terrible sounds of grumble and
 rumble Telling the battle was on once more, And Sheridan twenty miles away"
 "The truth was" said Major Weld ershiem, Sheridan was only twelve miles away, but that was enough. Sheridan. as the poet says, rode at full speed all the way: "The heart of the steed and the heart
 of the master
 Were beating like prisoners assault
 ing their walls. Impatient to be where the battlefield
 calls"
 When Sheridan on his foam-necked steed apepared like an apparihon be- fore the disordered and fleeing Un- ion troops they faced about, follow Ing him with a cheer. and won @ bat tle that had been lost. Like Lees famous gray horse, Traveller, and Well lington's Waterloo mount, Copenhag. en, Sheridan's Rienzi became quite as much Q hero as the General; By the flash of his eye and the red
 nostrils play
 He seemed to the whole great army
 to say:
 1 have brought you Sheridan an the
 way
 From Winchester down to save the
 day."
 -(Philadelphia Ledger)
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