SHERIDAN 



5348 



SHERIDAN 



in Albany, N. Y. He was graduated at West 

 Point in 1853, and before the outbreak of the 

 war between the states learned something of 

 actual fighting in wars with the Indians. A 

 lieutenant at the 

 outbreak of the 

 war, he won rapid 

 promotion, at- 

 taining the rank 

 of brigadier-gen- 

 eral of volunteers 

 in July, 1862, and 

 of maj or-general 

 the following De- 

 cember. Mean- 

 time he had given 

 an excellent ac- 



* t U' i* GENERAL PHILIP 



count of himself SHE RIDAN 



at Booneville, 



Perryville and Murfreesboro. In 1863 his di- 

 vision fought so gallantly at the Battle of Chat- 

 tanooga that Grant, who was seeking an "active 

 and energetic man, full of spirit and vigor and 

 life," made him commander of the cavalry of 

 the Army of the Potomac. 



Sheridan took up his new command in April, 

 1864, and rendered valuable service throughout 

 the summer by protecting the flanks of Grant's 

 army and- harassing his opponents. His best 

 opportunity for brilliant service came in Au- 

 gust, however, when he was given charge of the 

 Army of the Shenandoah. His defeats of Early 

 at Opequon Creek, Fisher's Hill and Cedar 

 Creek, in the Shenandoah Valley, and his ruth- 

 less devastation of that fertile region must be 

 counted among the blows against the Confed- 

 eracy that hastened its fall. When the Battle 

 of Cedar Creek was begun Sheridan was at 

 Winchester, twenty miles away. Hearing the 

 sounds of fighting, he galloped toward the scene 

 of battle and turned defeat into brilliant vic- 

 tory. This now famous ride is the theme of a 

 well-known poem by Thomas Buchanan Read, 

 which contains these lines: 



With foam and with dust the black charger was 



gray, 



By the flash of his eye, and his nostril's play 

 He seemed to the whole great army to say, 

 "I have brought you Sheridan all the way 

 From Winchester, down to save the day !" 



These exploits in the Shenandoah brought 

 Sheridan the rank of major-general in the regu- 

 lar army, in November, 1864. During the re- 

 mainder of the war he was one of Grant's most 

 efficient aids, and was present when Lee sur- 

 rendered at Appomattox. 



After the war Sheridan commanded in turn 

 the Department of the Gulf, the Fifth Mili- 

 tary District in Louisiana and Texas and the 

 Department of the Missouri. When Sherman 

 succeeded Grant as general, in 1869, Sheridan 

 became lieutenant-general, and on Sherman's 

 retirement in 1884 Sheridan was appointed com- 

 manding general of the United States army. 

 In 1870 he went to Europe to study operations 

 in the Franco-German War. His Personal 

 Memoirs were published in 1888. B.M.W. 



SHERIDAN, RICHARD BRINSLEY BUTLER 

 (1751-1816), a British dramatist whose fame 

 rests chiefly on two comedies, The Rivals and 

 The School for Scandal. Both are classics of 

 English drama, ranking among the best come- 

 dies produced in England since the time of 

 Shakespeare. Sheridan was born in Dublin, 

 Ireland. Though he studied law his fondness 

 for writing caused him to take up literature as 

 a means of livelihood, and in 1775 The Rivals 

 was successfully produced in London. In the 

 same year his comic opera The Duenna was 

 staged. This played for seventy-five nights, a 

 sensational "run" in those days. Sheridan soon 

 after purchased the Drury Lane Theater and 

 managed it until 1809, when it was burned. 

 This disaster cut off the greater part of his in- 

 come, and during the rest of his life he was in 

 serious financial difficulties. At one time his 

 friends had to raise money to obtain his re- 

 lease from a debtor's prison. 



Sheridan was very popular among the lit- 

 erary men of his time, because of his wit and 

 charming personality, and he belonged to Dr. 

 Johnson's famous Literary Club. Besides the 

 comedies mentioned, his principal works are a 

 farce called Saint Patrick's Day and a comedy 

 entitled The Critic. He also won a name as 

 an orator during a Parliamentary career of 

 twelve years, especially for his speeches against 

 Warren Hastings. 



Consult Bettany's Sheridan and His Circle. 



SHERIDAN, WYO., the county seat of Sheri- 

 dan County and an important live stock cen- 

 ter, is centrally located in the state near the 

 northern boundary, and on the Chicago, Bur- 

 lington & Quincy Railroad. Prominent build- 

 ings are the state hospital, city hall, courthouse 

 and Carnegie Library. Sheridan is the ship- 

 ping point for an extensive agricultural and 

 stock-growing country, in which there is also 

 some coal mining. Fish and game are abun- 

 dant in this section of the state. Sheridan was 

 settled in 1882, and was incorporated the fol- 



