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Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a
Union general in the American Civil War, and an important figure afterward.
Early life and the Mexican War
Sheridan was born in Albany, New York, but grew up in Ohio. He
graduated from West Point in 1853 near
the bottom of his class, having missed a year after assaulting a fellow cadet with a bayonet. Sheridan led troops at the Mexican border and hastened the
collapse of the regime of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico.
The American Civil War
Recognizing Sheridan's aggressive spirit, General Ulysses S.
Grant gave him command of his cavalry in 1864, and soon after of the Army of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. Sheridan laid waste to the
valley, cutting off grain supplies to the Confederate armies.
Many Northerners regarded the devastation he brought to the Shenandoah Valley as military necessity, but to Southerners it was
needless destruction. His policies — and those of William Tecumseh Sherman — had a brutal effectiveness — they destroyed the Confederate
will to fight.
In the final stage of the war, Sheridan forced General Robert E. Lee
to retreat to Appomattox Courthouse and surrender.
Reconstruction
Sheridan served as military governor of the Fifth
Military District (Texas and Louisiana) during Reconstruction; his policies toward
former Confederates were so harsh, with charges of "absolute tyranny," that he was removed by President Andrew Johnson.
Campaigns against the Native Americans
He was transferred to the Department of Missouri in 1867. He was to confine Great Plains Native
Americans to reservations. His campaign was brutal. It saw
excesses of killing and routine breaking of treaties as whites settled on native lands.
He attacked the natives in their camps in the winter, expecting — correctly — that this would give him the element of
surprise, taking advantage of the scarce forage the natives had for their horses. He once remarked, "If a village is attacked
and women and children killed, the responsibility is not with the soldiers but with the people whose crimes necessitated the
attack."
There is a widely-told story of Sheridan's campaign against the natives. Some natives reputedly told Sheridan, "We're good
Indians," to which Sheridan is often quoted as having replied, “The only good Indians I ever saw were
dead.” He later denied ever saying it.
His policies showed him worthy of it. His victories were sometimes regarded massacres; he attacked Chief Black Kettle, on reservation soil, a peaceful chief. It had a
brutal effectiveness, persuading other bands to quit their traditional ways and move to the reservations.
Final days
He was commanding general of the United States Army from
1884 to his death in 1888.
His legacy
Fort Sheridan in Illinois was named to honor General Sheridan's many services to Chicago.
The M551 Sheridan tank is named after General Sheridan.
Sheridan appeared on a $10 Treasury Note, issued in 1890 and 1891.
External links and references
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