Philip Sheridan

Philip Sheridan

Union cavalry general raised in Somerset, Perry County, whose ride to rally his troops at Cedar Creek in 1864 became a national legend.

Born March 6, 1831, Albany (his own claim; disputed), NY
Died August 5, 1888, Nonquitt, Dartmouth

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At a glance

Born: March 6, 1831, Albany (his own claim; disputed), NY source
Died: August 5, 1888, Nonquitt, Dartmouth source
Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, VA source
Also known as: Phil Sheridan, Little Phil
Education: US Military Academy, West Point, NY, 1848-1853, graduate, 34th of 52
Known as: Military

Life story

Philip Henry Sheridan was the son of Irish immigrants. Wikipedia gives his birth as March 6, 1831, in Albany, New York, but he grew up in Somerset, Ohio, and at times named Somerset as his birthplace.

He worked in a store there until a local congressman nominated him to West Point in 1848. He graduated in 1853, 34th in a class of 52, and served on the frontier.

In the Civil War he rose from a Michigan cavalry colonel to a major general. He fought at Stones River, helped end the war in Virginia, and in 1864 led the Army of the Shenandoah, rallying his men at Cedar Creek.

He became commanding general of the Army in 1883 and General of the Army in June 1888, and died that August in Massachusetts. He is buried at Arlington. Somerset has a monument to him on its public square.

Ohio ties

Somerset (1830s-1848)
boyhood home; village school; clerk and bookkeeper in local stores Perry County · source
Somerset (1905-present)
site of the State of Ohio's equestrian Sheridan Monument, near his former house Perry County · source

Timeline

1831 Born, by his own account, on March 6 in Albany, New York, to John and Mary Meenagh Sheridan of County Cavan. source
1848 Entered West Point on the nomination of Congressman Thomas Ritchey, a customer at the Somerset store, after Ritchey's first candidate failed the mathematics exam. source
1853 Graduated from West Point 34th of 52 after a one-year suspension for fighting classmate William R. Terrill. source
1864 Rode from Winchester to rally his army at Cedar Creek, the episode of Thomas Buchanan Read's poem "Sheridan's Ride"; he renamed his horse Rienzi "Winchester." source
1888 Promoted General of the Army on June 1; died of heart failure at Nonquitt, Massachusetts, on August 5. source
1905 The State of Ohio erected Carl Heber's bronze equestrian statue of Sheridan on Somerset's public square. source
2018 A statue of his niece Nellie Sheridan Wilson, who led the drive for the monument, was placed directly behind it. source

What Philip is known for

Union cavalry commander, Shenandoah Valley campaign 1864
Commanding General of the US Army 1883-88

Stories

The niece and the penny fund

Somerset's bronze of Sheridan on a rearing horse, hat raised, was made by Carl Heber of New York and set in the traffic circle in front of the old Perry County Courthouse in 1905. Its inscription says it was erected by the State of Ohio. The drive behind it came from the general's nieces, Nellie Sheridan Wilson, the village postmistress, and her sister Mary. Nellie organised a penny fund among Somerset residents to pay for the granite base. In 2018 the village added a statue of Nellie herself, placed directly behind her uncle outside the former post office.

Source

A store clerk's appointment

As a boy in Somerset Sheridan worked in a general store and later became head clerk and bookkeeper at a dry goods store. One of the customers was Thomas Ritchey, the district's congressman. When Ritchey's first choice for a West Point cadetship failed the mathematics examination in 1848, he nominated the young clerk instead. Sheridan nearly lost the chance when he was suspended for a year for fighting a classmate, but he graduated in 1853.

Source

Honors and things named for them

General of the Army (1888)
Pictured on the 1890 $10 Treasury note
Sheridan Monument, Somerset, OH

Named for Philip Sheridan

Sheridan High School ("The Generals") (Thornville, Perry County) source

Family

wife: Irene Rucker Sheridan
father-in-law: Daniel H. Rucker

Sites to know

Homes, graves, markers, museums and monuments; the numbered ones are on the map.

1 Sheridan Monument, Somerset public square
Somerset (US-22 and OH-13 roundabout) Perry County · source
Nellie Sheridan Wilson statue
Somerset (behind the Sheridan Monument, outside the former post office) Perry County · source

Places in Ohio to see

Sheridan Monument (Old Perry County Courthouse square) (statue)
public square, Somerset, Perry County ZIP 43783 (approximate) · Somerset · Perry County

Ohio places

Where Philip Sheridan was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Lived: Somerset, Perry County (Sheridan Monument at the Old Perry County Courthouse on the public square) ZIP 43783 · Somerset · Perry County

Myths and corrections

Things often said about Philip Sheridan, and what the record shows.

Often said Sheridan was born in Somerset, Ohio.

The record Somerset is where he grew up, not a documented birthplace. Sheridan claimed Albany, New York, from about age 17, giving March 6, 1831. Other candidates are Boston, Ireland (County Cavan, argued by Eric Wittenberg from parish records and a marker at the parents' former house) and a ship at sea during the crossing; September 6, 1831 is also proposed as the date. Roy Morris suggests he claimed a U.S. birth to be eligible for the presidency. source

Often said His Albany birth is settled fact.

The record His Albany claim is unsupported by surviving records; Clio and other summaries treat his birthplace as uncertain, and a Wittenberg blog post calls a definitive answer unlikely. source

Often said The rearing horse on the Somerset statue means Sheridan died in battle.

The record This is an urban legend; Sheridan died of heart failure in 1888, and the pose is coincidence. source

Sheridan said he was born in Somerset, Ohio; the birth is more often placed in Albany, NY, and the question is unsettled.
Disputed: Besides Albany and Somerset, some biographers have suggested Ireland, Boston or a birth at sea, and the date of his birth is uncertain too.

Pictures

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"President Johnson's forgery" Fremont Weekly Journal, September 7, 1866
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A bronze sculpture of a man in Civil War-era uniform on horseback. He holds the reins with his left hand and h...
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Union and Confederate positions prior to Union infantry attack in Third Battle of Winchester that occurred Sep...
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Reverse of the Series of 1896 Silver Certificate. Busts of Ulysses S. Grant and Philip Sheridan.
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This is document pertains to: Copies of Military Telegrams Regarding Cheyenne Escapees and Cheyenne Women and ...
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