General Philip H. Sheridan

This biography explores General Philip H. Sheridan’s impact on the United States during and after the tumultuous Civil War era, offering new insight into Sheridan’s changing perspectives on leadership and war and how various individuals, including family, authors, artists, and entrepreneurs, shaped Sheridan’s legacy after his death in the summer of 1888.

The son of Irish immigrants, Sheridan played a critical role in crushing the Confederacy during the Civil War, fighting to ensure the protection of Black people during Reconstruction and safeguard the political rights of Black people after the Civil War. He also exerted enormous influence as part of the federal government’s campaigns to corral Indigenous peoples on reservations in the 1850s and the decades after the Civil War, earning Sheridan the ire of Indigenous peoples and their allies. With an array of primary sources, maps, and illustrations, this volume enriches understanding of one of the most significant military figures in the second half of the nineteenth century.

General Philip H. Sheridan is an ideal resource for students and scholars interested in the Civil War, Reconstruction, and historical memory.