John,
All very valid points regarding Sheridan.
And I am hardly his greatest champion. And as the VIth Corps is very near & dear to my heart I know very well abour Cedar Creek and Sheridan's bogarting Wright's laurels.
That said, Warren had made a habit of being tardy and questioning orders ever since he had been placed in command of the V Corps durign the Overland Campaign. He was too deliberate and exacting for effective corps field command.
What was called for at Dinwiddie and 5 Forks was decisive, aggressive action. I know the roads were poor, the terrain heavily wooded and the troops were lashed by rain. But Warren's pacivity was a main cause for the V Corps in being too slow to prepare for battle.
And Sheridan did have authority from Grant to relieve Warren if Sheridan believed it was needed to achieve success. Sheridan grasped the vital significance here...that he had the chance to, finally, after 9 long months, to turn Lee's right flank on the Petersburg line. This he did, opening the way for the breaking of the Siege of Petersburg & Richmond. For all intents and purposes the war ended 7 days later.
As for Chamberlain...he was a great combat commander. He is looking over my shoulder as I type this from a paionting on the wall behind me. But Old Joshua was known to stretch a tale in the telling to make things out better for himself and his friends. And he was also guilty of the Eastern Army-Western Army bias towards Sheridan, Wilson, etc and otehrs who Grant had brought east.
I believe the right move was made for the Union...and that is what matters.
All very valid points regarding Sheridan.
And I am hardly his greatest champion. And as the VIth Corps is very near & dear to my heart I know very well abour Cedar Creek and Sheridan's bogarting Wright's laurels.
That said, Warren had made a habit of being tardy and questioning orders ever since he had been placed in command of the V Corps durign the Overland Campaign. He was too deliberate and exacting for effective corps field command.
What was called for at Dinwiddie and 5 Forks was decisive, aggressive action. I know the roads were poor, the terrain heavily wooded and the troops were lashed by rain. But Warren's pacivity was a main cause for the V Corps in being too slow to prepare for battle.
And Sheridan did have authority from Grant to relieve Warren if Sheridan believed it was needed to achieve success. Sheridan grasped the vital significance here...that he had the chance to, finally, after 9 long months, to turn Lee's right flank on the Petersburg line. This he did, opening the way for the breaking of the Siege of Petersburg & Richmond. For all intents and purposes the war ended 7 days later.
As for Chamberlain...he was a great combat commander. He is looking over my shoulder as I type this from a paionting on the wall behind me. But Old Joshua was known to stretch a tale in the telling to make things out better for himself and his friends. And he was also guilty of the Eastern Army-Western Army bias towards Sheridan, Wilson, etc and otehrs who Grant had brought east.
I believe the right move was made for the Union...and that is what matters.
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