It makes me even now groan in spirit to recall the failures of Grant's subordinates who were removed from the immediate sphere of his influence; but when I think how charitable the lieutenant general was to them, it is not meet that I should complain. These short comings were galling and vexatious to him, imperilling the mighty plans he had so laboriously built up; but he behaved like a Christian in every disappointment and trial.
Several cavalry raids were organized, which inflicted severe injuries upon the enemy's communications south of Petersburg. The celebrated mine was sprung on the 30th of July, which blew up one of the most important of the rebel forts, involving a battery and the greater part of a regiment in its destruction; but the result, which had promised so well, realized nothing but disaster. As soon as Lee discovered that Hunter was retreating through West Virginia, he sent Jubal Early, with a picked force of twenty-five thousand men, down the Shenandoah Valley, to threaten Washington, and to capture it, if practicable, hoping thus to distract the attention of Grant, and cause him to relax the "anaconda" gripe in which he held the rebel army. This army swept fiercely down the valley, and driving the small Union force in the vicinity before it, crossed the Potomac. Strong bodies of cavalry, under Mosby, rushed through Maryland, plundering Hagerstown and Frederick City, robbing the stores, and extorting money from the people to save their houses from being burned. They destroyed a portion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and threatened Baltimore and Washington.
General Wallace gathered a force of eight thousand men, and attempted to dispute the passage of Early's army; but as the enemy were three to his one, he was compelled to fall back, though he fought a sharp battle before doing so. Washington and Baltimore were now greatly alarmed, and the citizens were called to arms. The enemy came within five miles of the capital. Grant sent the Sixth Corps, under Wright, and a portion of the Nineteenth, which had just arrived from New Orleans, for its protection. There was some heavy skirmishing near the capital, but the rebels soon retired. Wright was ordered to follow them; and, having overtaken Early, a smart engagement ensued, in which the enemy was defeated.
The Shenandoah region gave the lieutenant general a great deal of trouble. He found that Early had no intention of returning to Richmond, but had established himself in the valley; was gathering the rich harvests there, and sending large supplies to the rebel capital. He visited Hunter in person, and gave him particular instructions to follow Early, and to destroy all supplies; but finding Hunter willing to be relieved, he soon after assigned Sheridan to the Middle Military Division, which included all this section, and all the troops in Washington and its vicinity. The bold cavalryman was not only the most dashing officer in the army, but one of the best and most skilful generals. He soon brought order and harmony out of the confusion and complications which had so disturbed the general-in-chief. Grant cautioned him at first to avoid a general engagement, fearful, in case of defeat, of exposing Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the capital to new incursions.
Sheridan was full of fight, and saw his way clearly to a national victory; but he was too good a soldier to disobey his orders. Grant was willing to give the desired permission, but, not fully understanding the situation, or the views of his subordinate, he made a second visit to the Middle Division, and had an interview with Sheridan at his headquarters, near Harper's Ferry. High as his opinion had before been of the dashing soldier, the lieutenant general seems to have received a new revelation of his character and purposes on this occasion, as his enlarged sphere brought out his capacities; and he found it necessary to give him only that brief and singularly expressive order, "Go in!" Grant adds that he never found it necessary to visit Sheridan again before giving him orders.
Sheridan "went in"! He promptly attacked Early, fought him all day, and beat him thoroughly. The enemy lost five guns, fifteen battle flags, and five thousand prisoners. Not satisfied with this splendid result, he pursued the defeated foe up the valley, till the latter made a stand at Fisher's Hill. Here Sheridan "went in" again, routed Early, drove him from his position, scattering portions of his force among the mountains. Leisurely returning, he posted himself at Cedar Creek to rest his troops after their hard marching and fighting. Here, while Sheridan was absent at Winchester, his army was surprised and badly beaten. The guns were captured, portions of the force routed, and the whole compelled to retreat.
Sheridan was twenty miles from the scene of action; but hearing the distant booming of the guns, he mounted his good horse, and dashed away at a furious speed, and, in the midst of the rout, appeared upon the lost field, his charger reeking with foam. Dashing along the broken lines, then in retreat, he swung his hat in air, shouting furiously to the troops, "Face the other way, boys! We are going back." The stragglers began to rally at this startling presence on the field; and pushing to the main body, he electrified the army with his glorious spirit. "Boys, this would not have happened if I had been here," he called; "we are going back." Dashing here and there like a meteor among the troops, he re-formed the lines, and made his dispositions for a renewal of the battle. Before the arrangements were quite completed the rebels came down upon the lines again for a fresh and overwhelming assault. This time the onslaught was boldly and successfully resisted; and Sheridan, taking advantage of a momentary reeling of the enemy, charged upon them with infantry and cavalry, broke their lines, and thoroughly routed them. All that the rebels had was captured, including the guns and camp equipage which they had taken in the morning.
Sheridan, by his personal presence, by his magnetic influence, and by his unsurpassed military skill, had wrested victory from defeat. The one man had fought the battle, and had won it. For his brilliant achievement, he was made a major general in the regular army, in the place of General McClellan, who resigned to go into politics. Grant ordered one hundred guns to be fired from each of the armies around Petersburg in honor of Sheridan's victory. "Turning what bade fair to be a disaster into a glorious victory," said the lieutenant general, "stamps Sheridan—what I have always thought him—one of the ablest of generals."
Sheridan's victory also stamps Grant as the ablest of generals; for in the selection of his pet he displayed a knowledge of human character and a keen perception of the adaptation of means to ends, the want of which had caused so many other generals to fail. My friend Pollard is made especially mad by this episode in the Shenandoah Valley. He is particularly disgusted with the singular story of "the sudden apparition of General Sheridan on a black horse flecked with foam," though in the same chapter in which he alludes to the incident, he tells a story himself which would have made Baron Munchausen tremble for his reputation.