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Lieut. Gen. Philip Sheridan

 

 

 

Born: March 6, 1831

Albany, New York

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Died: August 5, 1888

Nonquitt, Massachusetts

 

1853: West Point Graduate

1853: Brevet 2nd Lieutenant

March 1861: 1st Lieutenant

May 1861: Captain

May 27, 1862: Colonel

July 1, 1862: Brigadier Genral

December 31, 1862: Major General

1969: Lieutenant General

June 1, 1888: Full General

Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan

by Mathew Brady or Levin C. Handy

1848: Obtained appointment to West Point

3rd Year was suspended for a year for fighting with a classmate

1853: West Point Graduate 34th out of 52

1853: Commissioned a Brevet 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to 1st U.S. Infantry Regiment at Fort Duncan, Texas

Then to 4th U.S. Infantry at Fort Reading, California and spent most of his time in Pacific Northwest with a topographical survey mission to the Willamette Valley in 1855

Became involved with the Yakima War and Rogue River Wars being wounded when a bullet grazed his nose on March 28, 1857

Fall 1861: Traveled to Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis

Upon arriving at new post, made a courtesy call to Maj. Gen. Halleck, who commandeered his services to audit the financial records of Maj. Gen. Fremont who was tainted with charges of wasteful expenditures and fraud leaving 12 million in debt

Halleck was impressed and kept Sheridan for a staff officer and was appointed Chief Commissary officer of the Army of Southwest Missouri

January 1862: Reported for duty to Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis

March 7-8, 1862: Battle of Pea Ridge

Discovered officers were engaged in profiteering and refused to pay for stolen property. When ordered to pay, Sheridan refused and was arrested for insubordination, but Halleck's influence seems to have ended the formal proceedings

April 29-June 10, 1862: Siege of Corinth

May 27, 1862: Appointed Colonel of 2nd Michigan Cavalry

July 1, 1862: Battle of Booneville - Held back several regiments of Brig. Gen. Chalmer's cavalry

and reported critical intelligence about enemy dispositions

Impressed the division commanders, including Brig. Gen. Rosecrans, they recommended his promotion to Brigadier General. Promotion was approved in September, but dated July 1st.

October 8, 1862: Battle of Perryville

December 31, 1862-January 3, 1863: Battle of Stone's River

June 23-30, 1863: Tullahoma Campaign

September 20, 1863: Battle of Chicamauga

November 25, 1863: Battle of Chattanooga

May 5-6, 1864: Battle of the Wilderness

May 11, 1864: Battle of Yellow Tavern, which mortally wounded Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart

May 28, 1864: Battle at Haw's Shop

June 1-12, 1864: Battle of Cold Harbor

June 11-12, 1864: Battle of Trevilian Station

June 24, 1864: Battle of Samaria (St. Mary's) Church

Valley Campaign of 1864

Army of the Shenandoah

August 7, 1864: Harper's Ferry

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September 19, 1864: Battle of 3rd Winchester

September 22, 1864: Battle of Fisher's Hill

October 19, 1864: Battle of Cedar Creek

November 4, 1864: Major General in Regular Army - 4th Ranking general in U.S. Army

March 1865: Moved to rejoin the Army of the Potomac at Petersburg

March 2, 1865: Battle of Waynesboro

April 1, 1865: Cut off Gen. Lee's lines of support at Five Forks forcing Gen. Lee to evacuate Petersburg

April 9, 1865: Blocked Gen. Lee's escape, forcing the surrender at Appomattox

May 17, 1865: Grant appoint Sheridan as commander of the Military District of the Southwest with orders to defeat Gen. Kirby Smith. He was to restore Texas and Louisiana to Union control. However, Smith surrendered before Sheridan reached New Orleans

Grant gave permission to Sheridan to assemble a force of 50,000 in three Corps and quickly occupied the Texas coastal cities and along the Texas/Mexico border

March 1867: Appointed military governor of 5th Military District (Texas and Louisiana)

President Johnson removed Sheridan from his post stating to Gen. Grant, "His rule has, in fact, been one of absolute tyranny, without references to the principles of our government or the nature of our free institutions.

While Sheridan was assigned duty in the West, he was sent to Louisiana on two occasions to deal with problems lingering from Reconstruction

With the Sioux and Cheyenne conducting raids on mail coaches, burned the stations, and killed the employees, Grant turned to Sheridan

September 1866: Sheridan arrived at the former Fort Martin Scott near Fredericksburg, Texas where he spent three months subduing Indians in Texas Hill Country

August 1867: Grant appointed Sheridan to head Department of Missouri to pacify the Plains

Winter 1868-1869: Winter Campaign in which he attacked the Cheyenne, Kiowa and Comanche tribes in their winter quarters, taking their supplies, livestock and killing those who resisted

After Grant's election to president, Sheridan was promoted to General of the Army and appointed to command the Military Division of the Missouri

Sheridan applauded the buffalo hunters: "Let them kill, skin and sell until the buffalo is exterminated."

Sheridan's department conducted the Red River War, the Ute War and the Great Sioux war of 1876-1877 which resulted in the death of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer

November 1, 1883: Sheridan succeeded General Sherman as Commanding General of the U.S. Army and held the position till his death

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Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: New York: David McKay, 1967. p 747-748

Philip Sheridan. 18 September 2020. web. 21 September 2020.

Philip Sheridan - Union General. 2020. web. 22 September 2020

Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, 1964. p 437-439

Wheelan, Joseph. Terrible Swift Sword The Life of General Philip H. Sheridan. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2012.

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