SHERIDAN AT CEDAR CREEK

Inspired repulsed battalions to engage,
And taught the doubtful battle where to rage.
--Addison.


SHERIDAN AT CEDAR CREEK

General Sheridan took command of the Army of the Shenandoah in
August, 1864. His coming was the signal for aggressive fighting,
and for a series of brilliant victories over the rebel army. He
defeated Early at Winchester and again at Fisher's Hill, while
General Torbert whipped Rosser in a subsequent action, where the
rout of the rebels was so complete that the fight was known as
the "Woodstock races." Sheridan's plan after this was to
terminate his campaign north of Staunton, and, returning thence,
to desolate the Valley, so as to make it untenable for the
Confederates, as well as useless as a granary or storehouse, and
then move the bulk of his armythrough Washington, and unite them
with General Grant in front of Petersburg. Grant, however, and
the authorities at Washington, were in favor of Sheridan's
driving Early into Eastern Virginia, and following up that line,
which Sheri dan himself believed to be a false move. This
important matter was in debate until October 16, when Sheridan,
having left the main body of his army at Cedar Creek under
General Wright, determined to go to Washington, and discuss the
question personally with General Halleck and the Secretary of
War. He reached Washington on the morning of the 17th about eight
o'clock, left there at twelve; and got back to Martinsburg the
same night about dark. At Martinsburg he spent the night, and the
next day, with his escort, rode to Winchester, reaching that
point between three and four o'clock in the afternoon of the
18th. He there heard that all was quiet at Cedar Creek and along
the front, and went to bed, expecting to reach his headquarters
and join the army the next day.

About six o'clock, on the morning of the 19th, it was reported to
him that artillery firing could be heard in the direction of
Cedar Creek, but as the sound was stated to be irregular and
fitful, he thought it only a skirmish. He, nevertheless, arose at
once, and had just finished dressing when another officer came
in, and reported that the firing was still going on in the same
direction, but that it did not sound like a general battle. Still
Sheridan was uneasy, and, after breakfasting, mounted his horse
between eight and nine o'clock, and rode slowly through
Winchester. When he reached the edge of the town he halted a
moment, and then heard the firing of artillery in an unceasing
roar. He now felt confident that a general battle was in
progress, and, as he rode forward, he was convinced, from the
rapid increase of the sound, that his army was failing back.
After he had crossed Mill Creek, just outside Winchester, and
made the crest of the rise beyond the stream, there burst upon
his view the spectacle of a panic-stricken army. Hundreds of
slightly wounded men, with hundreds more unhurt, but demoralized,
together with baggage wagons and trains, were all pressing to the
rear, in hopeless confusion.

There was no doubt now that a disaster had occurred at the front.
A fugitive told Sheridan that the army was broken and in full
retreat, and that all was lost. Sheridan at once sent word to
Colonel Edwards, commanding a brigade at Winchester, to stretch
his troops across the valley, and stop all fugitives. His first
idea was to make a stand there, but, as he rode along, a
different plan flashed into his mind. He believed that his troops
had great confidence in him, and he determined to try to restore
their broken ranks, and, instead of merely holding the ground at
Winchester, to rally his army, and lead them forward again to
Cedar Creek. He had hardly made up his mind to this course, when
news was brought to him that his headquarters at Cedar Creek were
captured, and the troops dispersed. He started at once, with
about twenty men as an escort, and rode rapidly to the front. As
he passed along, the unhurt men, who thickly lined the road,
recognized him, and, as they did so, threw up their hats,
shouldered their muskets, and followed him as fast as they could
on foot. His officers rode out on either side to tell the
stragglers that the general had returned, and, as the news spread
the retreating men in every direction rallied, and turned their
faces toward the battle-field they had left.

In his memoirs, Sheridan says, in speaking of his ride through
the retreating troops: "I said nothing, except to remark, as I
rode among them 'If I had been with you this morning, this
disaster would not have happened. We must face the other way. We
will go back and recover our camp.'" Thus he galloped on over the
twenty miles, with the men rallying behind him, and following him
in ever increasing numbers. As he went by, the panic of retreat
was replaced by the ardor of battle. Sheridan had not
overestimate the power of enthusiasm or his own ability to rouse
it to fighting pitch. He pressed steadily on to the front, until
at last he came up to Getty's division of the 6th Corps, which,
with the cavalry, were the only troops who held their line and
were resisting the enemy. Getty's division was about a mile north
of Middletown on some slightly rising ground, and were
skirmishing with the enemy's pickets. Jumping a rail fence,
Sheridan rode to the crest of the hill, and, as he took off his
hat, the men rose up from behind the barricades with cheers of
recognition.

It is impossible to follow in detail Sheridan's actions from that
moment, but he first brought up the 19th Corps and the two
divisions of Wright to the front. He then communicated with
Colonel Lowell, who was fighting near Middletown with his men
dismounted, and asked him if he could hold on where he was, to
which Lowell replied in the affirmative. All this and many
similar quickly-given orders consumed a great deal of time, but
still the men were getting into line, and at last, seeing that
the enemy were about to renew the attack, Sheridan rode along the
line so that the men could all see him. He was received with the
wildest enthusiasm as he rode by, and the spirit of the army was
restored. The rebel attack was made shortly after noon, and was
repulsed by General Emory.

This done, Sheridan again set to work to getting his line
completely restored, while General Merritt charged and drove off
an exposed battery of the Confederates. By halfpast three
Sheridan was ready to attack. The fugitives of the morning, whom
he had rallied as he rode from Winchester, were again in their
places, and the different divisions were all disposed in their
proper positions. With the order to advance, the whole line
pressed forward. The Confederates at first resisted stubbornly,
and then began to retreat. On they went past Cedar Creek, and
there, where the pike made a sharp turn to the west toward
Fisher's Hill, Merritt and Custer fell on the flank of the
retreating columns, and the rebel army fell back, routed and
broken, up the Valley. The day had begun in route and defeat; it
ended in a great victory for the Union army.

How near we had been to a terrible disaster can be realized by
recalling what had happened before the general galloped down from
Winchester.

In Sheridan's absence, Early, soon after dawn, had made an
unexpected attack on our army at Cedar Creek. Surprised by the
assault, the national troops had given way in all directions, and
a panic had set in. Getty's division with Lowell's cavalry held
on at Middletown, but, with this exception, the rout was
complete. When Sheridan rode out of Winchester, he met an already
beaten army. His first thought was the natural one to make a
stand at Winchester and rally his troops about him there. His
second thought was the inspiration of the great commander. He
believed his men would rally as soon as they saw him. He believed
that enthusiasm was one of the great weapons of war, and that
this was the moment of all others when it might be used with
decisive advantage. With this thought in his mind he abandoned
the idea of forming his men at Winchester, and rode bareheaded
through the fugitives, swinging his hat, straight for the front,
and calling on his men as he passed to follow him. As the
soldiers saw him, they turned and rushed after him. He had not
calculated in vain upon the power of personal enthusiasm, but, at
the same time, he did not rely upon any wild rush to save the
day. The moment he reached the field of battle, he set to work
with the coolness of a great soldier to make all the
dispositions, first, to repel the enemy, and then to deliver an
attack which could not be resisted. One division after another
was rapidly brought into line and placed in position, the thin
ranks filling fast with the soldiers who had recovered from their
panic, and followed Sheridan and the black horse all the way down
from Winchester. He had been already two hours on the field when,
at noon, he rode along the line, again formed for battle. Most of
the officers and men then thought he had just come, while in
reality it was his own rapid work which had put them in the line
along which he was riding.

Once on the field of battle, the rush and hurry of the desperate
ride from Winchester came to an end. First the line was reformed,
then the enemy's assault was repulsed, and it was made impossible
for them to again take the offensive. But Sheridan, undazzled by
his brilliant success up to this point, did not mar his work by
overhaste. Two hours more passed before he was ready, and then,
when all was prepared, with his ranks established and his army
ranged in position, he moved his whole line forward, and won one
of the most brilliant battles of the war, having, by his personal
power over his troops, and his genius in action, snatched a
victory from a day which began in surprise, disaster, and defeat.

****

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