Military officer; born in
Albany, N. Y., March 6, 1831; graduated at
West Point in 1853; served with much credit in
Texas and
Oregon, doing good service in the latter region, and settling difficulties with the Indians; was made captain in May, 1861, and during the summer was president of a military commission to audit claims in
Missouri.
In December he was made chief commissary of the Army of the Southwest, and was on the staff of
General Halleck at
Corinth, performing the same duties.
In May, 1862, he was made colonel of the 2d Michigan Cavalry; on June 6 defeated
Forrest's cavalry, and on July 1 repulsed and defeated a superior Confederate force under
Chalmers at
Booneville, Miss.
He was then at the head of a brigade of cavalry, and was made brigadiergeneral.
In August he defeated
Faulkner's cavalry in
Mississippi.
Late in September he took command of a division in the Army of the Ohio, and led another division at the
battle of Perryville.
He also commanded a division with great efficiency in the
battle at Stone River, and for his services there he was made (Dec. 31)
major-general of volunteers.
He afterwards rendered signal service in the battles of
Chickamauga and
Missionary Ridge, when he was transferred to the Army of the Potomac (April, 1864) as chief of cavalry.
When the
Federal army emerged from the
Wilderness, in 1864,
General Sheridan was sent to cut
Lee's communications with
Richmond.
This was the first of the great raids of that leader in
Virginia, and was a short but destructive one.
He took with him a greater portion of the cavalry led by
Merritt,
Gregg, and
Wilson, crossed the
North Anna on May 9, and struck the Virginia Central Railroad, capturing
Beaver Dam Station.
He destroyed 10 miles of the railway, its rolling stock, 1,500,000 rations, and released 400 Union prisoners on their way to
Richmond.
There he was attacked by
Stuart and his cavalry, but was not much impeded thereby.
He pushed forward, and on the morning of the 11th captured Ashland Station, on the
Fredericksburg road, a few miles from
Richmond, where he destroyed the railroad for 6 miles and a large quantity of stores.
He was charged with menacing
Richmond and communicating with the Army of the James, under
General Butler.
A few miles from
Richmond he had another sharp contest with
Stuart, and drove him and his cavalry towards
Ashland.
Stuart was killed, and
General Gordon was mortally wounded.
Sheridan still pressed
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on, and made a dash upon the outer works at
Richmond.
Custer's brigade carried them at that point and made 100 prisoners. The inner works were too strong for cavalry.
The Confederates gathered, and in a fight
Sheridan was repulsed.
He led his command across the
Chickahominy, fighting a Confederate force at
Meadow Bridge; destroyed a railway bridge; rested three days at Haxhall's Landing, on the
James, and procured supplies; and then, by way of the
White House, leisurely returned to the Army of the Potomac.
In the campaign against
Richmond until August, 1864, he did signal service in making destructive raids on
Lee's communications.
On Aug. 1 he was detached to the
valley of the Shenandoah, where he defeated the
Confederates in several en gagements.
During this campaign Gen-
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eral
Wright was defeated by
General Early on Oct. 18, 1864, at
Cedar Creek (q. v. ).
Sheridan at the time was in
Winchester, and as soon as he got the news he rode to the front at a swinging gallop, rallied the Nationals, and crushed
Early.
Sheridan's ride has been immortalized in poetry, art, and song.
Sheridan left
Winchester on Feb. 27, 1865, with about 10,000 men, composed of the divisions of cavalry of
Merritt and
Custer.
To the latter division was added a brigade of
West Virginia troops under --
Colonel Capehart.
Sheridan's troops moved rapidly up the Shenandoah Valley towards
Staunton.
On the way they met
Rosser, with 400 men, who was disposed to dispute the passage of a fork of the
Shenandoah; but he was soon chased away, and the column moved on to
Staunton and Rockfish Gap.
Early, with 2,500 men behind strong intrenchments, was at
Waynesboro to dispute their passage.
Custer soon routed him, capturing 1,600 of his men, with eleven guns, seventeen battle-flags, and 200 loaded wagons, with a loss of less than a dozen men. This finished
Early as a military leader.
The raiders destroyed Confederate property in the vicinity valued at $1,000,000. During that night
Sheridan went over the
Blue Ridge in a drenching rain, and entered
Charlottesville late the next day, where he waited for his pontoons and ammunition to come over the mountains.
In the mean time his troops destroyed bridges, factories, depots, and the railway in the direction of
Lynchburg for about 8 miles. Satisfied that the latter place was too strong for him, he divided his force and pushed for the
James River.
Rains had so swollen the river that his pontoons would not span it. Proceeding eastward, he destroyed the
James River Canal (then the chief channel of supplies for
Richmond) and numerous bridges.
This produced the greatest consternation in
Richmond.
The Confederate government prepared to fly, and the families of officials packed for a journey.
The Congress, made nervous, wanted to adjourn and depart, but they were persuaded to remain.
From
Columbia, where
Sheridan rested a day, he dashed off to the Virginia Central Railway, which he destroyed for the distance of 15 miles. Then
Custer in one direction, and
Devin in another, made complete destruction of railways and bridges, as well as supplies, in
Lee's rear, inflicting a more serious blow to the
Confederate cause than any victory during the last campaign.
Sheridan then swept around by the
White House, and joined the army before
Petersburg on March 26.
He had disabled fully 200 miles of railway, destroyed a vast number of bridges, and property to the value of several million dollars.
After the war he was in command in
Louisiana and
Texas, and enforced the “reconstruction” acts there, for which he was removed by
President Johnson in August, 1867.
He was made lieutenantgeneral in March, 1869, and general of the army, June 1, 1888.
He died in
Nonquitt, Mass., Aug. 5, 1888.