Who exactly was Sheridan?
Sheridan Road is named for Lt. General Phillip Henry Sheridan who was born in 1831, the son of Irish immigrants. Sometimes known as “Little Phil” because of his short stature (5’5″), Sheridan first came to fame during the Civil War. As the Chief of Calvary of the Army of the Potomac, Sheridan secured his place in the history books on October 19, 1864 when he successfully transformed a surprise attack on his army by Confederate troops, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal Early, into a Union victory at Cedar Creek, Virginia. Sheridan’s actions that day are immortalized in the poem “Sheridan’s Ride” by Thomas Buchanan Read. After the war, Sheridan was given command of the Army’s Division of the Missouri in 1867 where he was charged with the controversial task of “subduing the Indians” and placing them on reservations. He moved the Division’s headquarters to Chicago and was in the city during the Great Chicago Fire of October 8, 1871. Chicago’s mayor, Roswell B. Mason, entrusted Sheridan with keeping th
