Philip
Sheridan was born in Albany, New York, on 6th March, 1831. He studied
at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point
but was involved in a serious breach of discipline after attacking
another soldier with a bayonet. He graduated in 1853 and after joining
the United States Army spent most of the
next nine years defending frontier posts.
On the outbreak of the American Civil War
Sheridan was given an administrative post in St.
Louis. Accused of corruption, Sheridan was saved from being court-martialed
by General Henry Halleck who appointed
him colonel of the 2nd Michigan Cavalry. In July he led a highly successful
attack on the Confederate Army at Booneville,
Mississippi.
As a result of this action Sheridan was made a brigadier general.
He served with distinction at Perryville
(October, 1862) and Stones River (December,
1862) and Chickamauga (September,
1863).
In March, 1864, Ulysses S. Grant was named
lieutenant general and the commander of the Union
Army. He joined the Army of the Potomac and appointed Sheridan
as head of the Cavalry Corps. They crossed the Rapidan and entered
the Wilderness. When Robert
E. Lee heard the news he sent in his troops, hoping that the Union's
superior artillery and cavalry would be offset by the heavy underbrush
of the Wilderness. Fighting began on the 5th May and two days later
smoldering paper cartridges set fire to dry leaves and around 200
wounded men were either suffocated or burned to death. Of the 88,892
men that Grant took into the Wilderness, 14,283 were casualties and
3,383 were reported missing. Lee lost 7,750 men during the fighting.
After the battle Ulysses S. Grant moved
south and on May 26th sent Sheridan and his cavalry ahead to capture
Cold Harbor from the Confederate Army.
Lee was forced to abandon Cold Harbor and his whole army well dug
in by the time the rest of the Union Army
arrived. Grant's ordered a direct assault but afterwards admitted
this was a mistake losing 12,000 men "without benefit to compensate".
In May 1864 Sheridan led the attacks on Richmond.
During one of these battles at Yellow Tavern,
his legendary opponent, Jeb Stuart was
killed. Ulysses S. Grant rated Sheridan
very highly and in August , 1864 he gave him the command of the Shenandoah
Valley campaign. Sheridan and 40,000 soldiers entered the valley
and soon encountered troops led by Jubal
Early who had just returned from Washington.
After a series of minor defeats Sheridan eventually gained the upper
hand. His men now burnt and destroyed anything of value in the area
and after defeating Early in another large-scale battle on 19th October,
the Union Army took control of the Shenandoah
Valley.
On 1st April Sheridan attacked at Five
Forks. The Confederates, led by Major General George
Pickett, were overwhelmed and lost 5,200 men. On hearing the news,
Robert E. Lee decided to abandon Richmond
and President Jefferson Davis, his family
and government officials, was forced to flee from the city.
After the war Sheridan was military governor of Louisiana and Texas,
but his Reconstruction measures made him unpopular with President
Andrew Johnson and he was removed from
office. He remained in the United States Army
and in 1884 he succeeded William T. Sherman
as commander in chief. His autobiography, Personal Memoirs
was published in the year of his death.
(1)
Ulysses
Grant, Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant (1885)
The Shenandoah Valley was very important to the Confederates,
because it was the principal storehouse they now had for feeding their
armies about Richmond. It was well known that they would make a desperate
struggle to maintain it. It had been the source of a great deal of
trouble to us heretofore to guard that outlet to the north, partly
because of the incompetency of some of the commanders, but chiefly
because of the interference from Washington. It seemed to be the policy
of General Halleck nd Secretary Stanton to keep any force sent there,
in pursuit of the invading army, moving right and left so as to keep
between the enemy and our capital; and, generally speaking, they pursued
this policy until all knowledge of the whereabouts of the enemy was
lost. They were left, therefore, free to supply themselves with horses,
beef cattle, and such provisions as they could carry away from Western
Maryland and Pennsylvania. I was determined to put a stop to this.
I had previously asked to have Sheridan assigned to that command but
Mr. Stanton objected, on the ground that he was too young for such
an important a command. On 1st August, 1864, I sent the following
orders to Major-General Halleck: "I am sending General Sheridan
for temporary duty whilst the enemy is being expelled from the border.
Unless General Hunter is in the field in person, I want Sheridan put
in command of all the troops in the field with instructions to put
himself south of the enemy and follow him to death. Wherever the enemy
goes let our troops go also."
(2)
John Singleton
Mosby, letter to Philip
Sheridan (11th November, 1864)
Some time in the month of September, during my absence from my
command, six of my men who had been captured by your forces, were
hung and shot in the streets of Front Royal, by order and in the immediate
presence of Brigadier-General Custer. Since then another (captured
by a Colonel Powell on a plundering expedition into Rappahannock)
shared a similar fate. A label affixed to the coat of one of the murdered
men declared "that this would be the fate of Mosby and all his
men."
Since the murder of my men, not less than seven hundred prisoners,
including many officers of high rank, captured from your army by this
command have been forwarded to Richmond; but the execution of my purpose
of retaliation was deferred, in order, as far as possible, to confine
its operation to the men of Custer and Powell. Accordingly, on the
6th instant, seven of your men were, by my order, executed on the
Valley Pike - your highway of travel.
Hereafter, any prisoners falling into my hands will be treated with
the kindness due to their condition, unless some new act of barbarity
shall compel me, reluctantly, to adopt a line of policy repugnant
to humanity.
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