General "Sheridan had a penchant for galloping to the scene of a potential disaster to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The statue (of him) at Belmont and Sheridan (roads in Chicago) depicts him at the Battle of Cedar Creek, Va., rallying his panicked soldiers. 'Face the other way, men!' he repeatedly told them, according to the Tribune.
"'We're going back to our camp tonight or I'll sleep in hell!' He had been away from his troops, conferring with superiors in Washington, and heard the sounds of battle as he was returning via Winchester, Va.
"Then came band after band of terrified soldiers fleeing what surely seemed like a lots battle. (Fortunately the Confederates had stopped pursuing and were plundering the Union camps.) Had not Sheridan persuaded them to give it one more try, the Rebels would have advanced on the Union capital.
"Instead, Sheridan's victory helped seal the Confederacy's fate and made the reputation of the diminutive (his men called him 'Little Phil') as one of America's legendary generals."
--Old secesh
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