Sheridan’s Ride…The Other One

Mention “Sheridan’s Ride” to a Civil War buff and they’ll inevitably think of Sheridan furiously riding the ten miles back to his retreating army at the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864, rallying his army and saving the day.  It’s what I thought of when I ran across a poem entitled “Sheridan’s Ride” on page 1, column 5 of the July 3o, 1864 issue of the New York Irish American.  But I was wrong.  And I realized I was wrong when I realized I was looking at a paper published almost three months prior to the Battle of Cedar Creek.  This Sheridan’s Ride was written about the Army of the Potomac’s great raid south towards Richmond in May 1864 which culminated in the death of J. E. B. Stuart at the Battle of Yellow Tavern on May 12, 1864. So, check out this OTHER version of Sheridan’s Ride.  It’s not quite got the same ring to it as painter Thomas Buchanan Read’s infinitely more well known poem of the same name, but I found it interesting enough to post.  Enjoy!

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