Sheridan, Philip Henry

Life Span
to
    Full name
    Philip Henry Sheridan
    Birth Date Certainty
    Exact
    Death Date Certainty
    Exact
    Gender
    Male
    Race
    White
    Sectional choice
    North
    No. of Spouses
    1
    No. of Children
    4
    Family
    John Sheridan (father), Mary Meenagh (mother), Irene Rucker (wife, 1875)
    Education
    West Point (US Military Academy)
    Occupation
    Military
    Relation to Slavery
    White non-slaveholder
    Military
    US military (Pre-Civil War)
    Union Army
    US military (Post-Civil War)

    Philip Henry Sheridan (American National Biography)

    Scholarship
    Sheridan found the cavalry units in Virginia widely scattered, their camps filthy, the horses broken down, and the men poorly armed. While he straightened out the routines, reestablished discipline, and cleaned up the camps, he became convinced that the Cavalry Corps was being misused carrying messages, escorting infantry officers, patrolling enemy territory, and guarding a perimeter sixty miles in circumference.

    As Grant's brutal overland campaign toward Richmond began in the spring of 1864, Sheridan argued repeatedly with the commander of the Army of the Potomac, Major General George G. Meade, over the proper use of cavalry. After one especially heated exchange on 8 May, Sheridan, flirting with insubordination, demanded permission to mass the cavalry, go out into enemy territory, and whip the enemy cavalry under the legendary Jeb Stuart. When Meade complained to Grant, the general in chief responded mildly, "Did he say that? Well, he generally knows what he is talking about. Let him start right out and do it."
    Thomas A. Lewis, "Sheridan, Philip Henry," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/05/05-00703.html.
    Date Event
    - In Georgia, advancing Union forces suffer a very heavy defeat near Chickamauga Creek
    Famed Confederate cavalry leader J.E.B. Stuart is mortally wounded in the stomach at Yellow Tavern
    In the Shenandoah Valley, Union forces triumph at the hard-fought Third Battle of Winchester
    - In western Virginia, Union forces drive Confederates from entrenched positions at the Battle of Fisher's Hill
    In the Shenandoah Valley, Union troops under Sheridan turn defeat into crushing victory at the Battle of Cedar Creek
    Union cavalry General George Custer leads a delegation to present captured battle-flags to the War Department
    At Dinwiddie Courthouse, Horatio Collins King performs the heroics for which he will later receive a Medal of Honor
    In Dinwiddie County, Virginia, the Union's Fifth Corps capture a vital crossroads at the Battle of Five Forks
    At Jetersville, Virginia, Sheridan's Union force blocks the Confederate Army's retreat to Danville
    In Amelia County, Virginia, Union forces consolidate to block General Lee's retreat towards Danville
    In Virginia, CSA corps commander General Richard S. Ewell is taken prisoner, along with four of his generals
    At Sailor's Creek, the Army of Northern Virginia loses almost a quarter of its remaining strength
    In Virginia, Custer's cavalry captures vital supplies and blocks the Confederate retreat at Appomattox Station
    At dawn, the Army of Northern Virginia makes one last effort to break out the Union encirclement
    In Washington D.C., thousands watch as the victorious Army of the Potomac parades through the city
    Union General Philip Sheridan calls the mayor of New Orleans "a bad man" and recommends his removal.
    In Brownsville, Texas, General Philip Sheridan removes General John Sedgwick from his command.
    President Johnson appoints the commanders of the five new military reconstruction districts.
    Fifth District military governor General Phil Sheridan removes several New Orleans officials from office.
    Fifth District military governor General Phil Sheridan removes from office the sitting Louisiana governor.
    Fifth District military governor General Phil Sheridan removes the sitting Texas governor from office.
    President Johnson relieves Fifth District military governor General Phil Sheridan of his duties.
    The controversial Texas military governor Major General Charles Griffin dies of yellow fever in Galveston.
    The Union League of New York City hosts a massive reception for General Philip Sheridan.
    Chicago Style Entry Link
    Hergesheimer, Joseph. Sheridan: A Military Narrative. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931. view record
    Hutton, Paul Andrew. Phil Sheridan and His Army. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1985. view record
    Morris, Roy. Sheridan: The Life and Wars of General Phil Sheridan. New York: Crown, 1992. view record
    Sheridan, Philip Henry. Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan, General, United States Army. 2 vols. New York: C. L. Webster & Co., 1888. view record
    Tremain, Henry Edwin. Last Hours of Sheridan’s Cavalry. New York: Bonnell, Silver & Bowers, 1904. view record
    Wittenberg, Eric J. Little Phil: A Reassessment of the Civil War Leadership of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2002. view record
    How to Cite This Page: "Sheridan, Philip Henry," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/12308.