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Description of  Personal Memoirs of P.H. Sheridan

General Philip Henry Sheridan was born on March 6, 1831 in Albany, New York. He is known for his services during the American Civil War, Indian Wars and later as the highest ranking general in the United States Army. After graduating from West Point Military Academy, Sheridan saw action during the early stages of the Civil War and went on to make an impressive service record in the western theaters against Confederate forces, where he gained the attention of General Ulysses S. Grant. When President Lincoln promoted General Grant to commander of the Union Army, Grant transferred Sheridan from the Western theater of war to command the Union Cavalry in Virginia. Confederate cavalry had routinely out preformed their Union counterparts since the beginning of the war. Sheridan changed that by launching aggressive raids against the already weakened Confederate rail and transportation infrastructure. Sheridan was ultimately responsible for trapping General Lee's retreating army and forcing the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. General Sheridan would go on to oversee reconstruction in Louisiana and Texas during the immediate post war years, and the pacification of the Native Americans living on the great plains. In 1888 he attained the rank of General of the Army, the highest rank in the United States Army at the time. Read more