Sheridan Philip Sheridan

[BillO]

He was the perfect commander to help end the Civil War.
Applying the same methods in the West was disastrous.
The indigenous people were not enslaving anyone or trying to conquer anyone.

The man was fairly competent as an infantry leader. Way out of his depth anywhere else.

 

[BillO]

I know hard core Southerners hate him with a passion and I dont think that was because he was shy or unsuccessful in causing harm to the enemy. You have to take into account that it took a while for the Union Calvary to get up 2 speed. They did not have good horsemen nor good horses. The Northern horses were by and large draft animals. Equestrian sports were Southern Phenoms pre war. Sheridan is hated in the South as much as anyone and I think he was no more ruthless than Jackson. There has to be a good reason for that

It hurts to get beaten but to be used by a drooling idiot really hurts.

 

[Bee]

At the end of Little Phil, Eric Wittenberg reviews his case, and weighs in on Philip H. Sheridan, and here are his conclusions:

Sheridan Reassessed

Having laid out the evidence, the question of whether Philip H. Sheridan deserves the lofty reputation bestowed upon him by history remains to be answered. After thoroughly reviewing the evidence, the following conclusions jump off the page:

Sheridan was not the great commander of cavalry: In fact his tenure as leader of the Army of the Potomac's Cavalry Corps was lackluster at best. He rarely defeated Confederate horsemen, and his tactics were unimaginative and not particularly effective.

Sheridan's performance in the Shenandoah Valley was also lackluster. Given the tremendous numerical superiority that the Union Army of the Shenandoah enjoyed over Early's Army of the Valley, something would have been dreadfully wrong if Sheridan hand not defeated Early.

Sheridan had a wide streak of insubordination , and was not dependable in a subordinate role. On more than one occasion, this an refused to obey the lawful orders of a superior officer. Instead of receiving the normal penalty for such conduct-- a general court-martial -- Sheridan consistently received the reward of being placed in the independent command.

Sheridan's inability to recognize his own character flaws meant that others who drew his ire had their lives and careers cavalierly ruined, with not hope of redemption. Sheridan betrayed the trust of his oldest, and best friend George Crook, and took advantage of him to advance his own career. [insert Warren removal here also]

Sheridan tended to prevaricate in an effort to improve his standing in the eyes of those reviewing his actions. Some of the lies were relatively harmless, such as the myth of where he was born. Others were far more egregious. As an example, his bald-faced lies about besting the Confederate cavalry in every engagement during the Overland Campaign of 1864 are so blatantly false as to call into the question the credibility of everything that he wrote. Eric Wittenberg, Little Phil, [pg170-171]


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[Bee]

The removal of Warren seems to be a defining event in how some have come to view Sheridan, so that I have searched around to try and get as many perspectives on this as possible. Below is an interesting commentary on Sheridan's actions, because it separates the "fairness" of the removal from "right" to do so by the discretion left to him [Sheridan] by his commander, Grant.

Far more interesting is the debate over the relationship between Sheridan and V Corps commander Gouverneur K. Warren. Warren had enjoyed an uneven record as a corps commander and had poor relationships with Grant, George G. Meade, and Sheridan stemming from the first weeks of the Overland Campaign. These feeling resurfaced when Sheridan learned that he would have to settle for working with Warren rather than being given Horatio Wright's VI Corps for his swing around the Confederate right, although Wright had fought ably under Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley. One suspects that Grant took the unusual step of authorizing Sheridan to relieve Warren on the spot should Sheridan deem it necessary in part to calm Sheridan's irritation about having Warren instead of Wright. In the battle that followed, Sheridan found fault with Warren's performance, and relieved him of command. Believing that Sheridan's action was unjust, Warren spent the remainder of his life seeking a court of inquiry, which was blocked by Grant as general and president and did not take place until after Grant returned to private life. Whether Sheridan was fair is one question, but he clearly had the right to exercise the discretion left him by Grant, and he preferred to have V Corps commanded by Charles Griffin. Given the lack of confidence several generals had in Warren, perhaps it would have been wiser to relieve him of field command during the previous winter. To this day both Sheridan and Warren have their partisans https://cwcrossroads.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/april-1-1865-five-forks/​

 

[wausaubob]

Grant knew that Sheridan would fight often and aggressively. He also knew that Sheridan had converted to the total war methodology. In put Phil Sheridan in situations in which these characteristics were essential.

 

[wausaubob]

My recollection is that Grant took responsibility for relieving Warren and letting it happen the way it did was a mistake.
Warren had served well, but was ill fitted for what was required for the last two weeks of the war.
Aggressive action was required to prevent the war from being needlessly prolonged.

 

[Bruce Vail]

I thought that at the time he got a big accolades for it and was promoted.

I meant nobody on the CWT forum. As far as his promotion is concerned, as I say, Grant though he did a good job...

 

[cash]

The removal of Warren seems to be a defining event in how some have come to view Sheridan, so that I have searched around to try and get as many perspectives on this as possible. Below is an interesting commentary on Sheridan's actions, because it separates the "fairness" of the removal from "right" to do so by the discretion left to him [Sheridan] by his commander, Grant.

Far more interesting is the debate over the relationship between Sheridan and V Corps commander Gouverneur K. Warren. Warren had enjoyed an uneven record as a corps commander and had poor relationships with Grant, George G. Meade, and Sheridan stemming from the first weeks of the Overland Campaign. These feeling resurfaced when Sheridan learned that he would have to settle for working with Warren rather than being given Horatio Wright's VI Corps for his swing around the Confederate right, although Wright had fought ably under Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley. One suspects that Grant took the unusual step of authorizing Sheridan to relieve Warren on the spot should Sheridan deem it necessary in part to calm Sheridan's irritation about having Warren instead of Wright. In the battle that followed, Sheridan found fault with Warren's performance, and relieved him of command. Believing that Sheridan's action was unjust, Warren spent the remainder of his life seeking a court of inquiry, which was blocked by Grant as general and president and did not take place until after Grant returned to private life. Whether Sheridan was fair is one question, but he clearly had the right to exercise the discretion left him by Grant, and he preferred to have V Corps commanded by Charles Griffin. Given the lack of confidence several generals had in Warren, perhaps it would have been wiser to relieve him of field command during the previous winter. To this day both Sheridan and Warren have their partisans https://cwcrossroads.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/april-1-1865-five-forks/​

I agree with this assessment. Warren should have been relieved earlier. Perhaps if we look solely at Five Forks his relief wasn't warranted, but I tend to believe he was actually relieved for his earlier behavior and habit of irritating his superiors. I fault Grant and Meade for allowing him to remain in command for as long as they did.

 

[wausaubob]

I think Grant repressed the court of inquiry because he did not want to testify about Warren and why Grant was dissatisfied with him.
Some of these men simply got worn out.
It was very hard work.

 

[5fish]

Does General Sheridan get the credit he deserves for helping win the Civil War?

General Sheridan was the MVP for Grant...

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/phil-sheridan-mvp-of-the-civil-war.15004/#post-176173

 

[major bill]

It does appear that Sheridan has his supporters and his critics. Some see him as an agressive warrior and others believe he lacked ability. We as a group seem to love or hate agressive Generals.

 

[Jamieva]

He should have wiped the floor with Early in the Valley in a quick manner.

 

[wausaubob]

Sheridan was a relatively young and inexperienced commander. He learned fast. There were mistakes.
When the time came for the Army of the Potomac to close out the war, without Sherman's direct help, he did what was necessary to end the war quickly.
It was war.
There lots of reasons to not like the Generals that fought the war. They were killing fellow Americans. And then they weren't.

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

Here's one thing I've learned over the years. This is absolutely a true statement: Never try to teach a pig to dance. You will only frustrate yourself and annoy the pig.

Meaning, this time, I'm not going to take the bait.

 

[wausaubob]

Grant was a stubborn butcher. If you start a war, you may have to fight a stubborn butcher.
Sherman and his bummers destroyed a lot plantations in Georgia. If you undermine the power of the federal government, elements of anarchy may prevail.
Sheridan was a hard fisted self promoting man on the make. He was 77 years prior to Patton. These are the types of men that war promotes.
War is hell.

 

[wausaubob]

Democratic processes promote people who make bargains.
War promotes people who shoot to kill.

 

[Bee]

Grant was a stubborn butcher. If you start a war, you may have to fight a stubborn butcher.
Sherman and his bummers destroyed a lot plantations in Georgia. If you undermine the power of the federal government, elements of anarchy may prevail.

"Grant the Butcher" thread is over there, not here. I think you are on the wrong thread.

 

[Jamieva]

"Grant the Butcher" thread is over there, not here. I think you are on the wrong thread.

Theres also several ones about Sherman. Let's stay on topic

 

[Bee]

I agree with this assessment. Warren should have been relieved earlier. Perhaps if we look solely at Five Forks his relief wasn't warranted, but I tend to believe he was actually relieved for his earlier behavior and habit of irritating his superiors. I fault Grant and Meade for allowing him to remain in command for as long as they did.

There is a lot to ponder, for me the barely informed, in the passage that I quoted. I want to go back to Triumph Over Adversity and re-read what the professor has to say about the relationship between Grant and Sheridan. I also need to look at Warren prior to his association with Sheridan. Thus far, it seems that problems with Warren existed quite a bit before Sheridan.

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

There is a lot to ponder, for me the barely informed, in the passage that I quoted. I want to go back to Triumph Over Adversity and re-read what the professor has to say about the relationship between Grant and Sheridan. I also need to look at Warren prior to his association with Sheridan. Thus far, it seems that problems with Warren existed quite a bit before Sheridan.

The truth is that Warren probably should have been relieved in June 1864, but Grant, for whatever reason, couldn't pull the trigger. Warren was the worst sort of subordinate: the smartest guy in the room who knew he was the smartest guy in the room who questioned everything and seemed utterly incapable of just saying, "yes, sir." Perhaps it was that he actually was the smartest guy in the room. I won't argue for a moment that he should have been relieved. Indeed, he should have.

However, the specific reason why he was relieved by Sheridan was an injustice that happened because Grant lacked the moral courage to relieve him on his own. Instead, he left it to Sheridan, who thought nothing of ruining men's careers. That the court of inquiry exonerated Warren should tell you all you need to know.