
Little Phil: The Life and Career of General Philip Sheridan
"A brown, chunky little chap, with a long body, short legs, not enough neck to hang him, and such long arms that if his ankles itch he can scratch them without stooping." (Abraham Lincoln describing Phil Sheridan) In the most popular narratives of the Civil War, Union Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman are celebrated as the Union’s most successful generals and men who revolutionized total warfare with the use of scorched earth tactics. Sherman’s March to the Sea continues to be one of the most famous campaigns of the war, and he is still widely reviled in the South because of it. Lost in this common narrative is the fact that Sherman’s March was preceded by a scorched-earth campaign that made Virginia howl, led by "Little Phil" Sheridan. The 5'5" Sheridan was one of the smallest and toughest fighters in the Union Army, whose capabilities as both a general of infantry and cavalry made him one of the most valuable and versatile officers in the North. A close associate