Post by elisabeth on Dec 28, 2007 8:03:03 GMT -6
Does anyone happen to know what Sheridan's movements were in his first couple of months in Kansas?
After officially taking over from Hancock the previous fall, he'd gone on leave for a few months. He got back to Leavenworth on February 28th 1868 (according to Minnie Dubbs Millbrook, Rebecca Visits Kansas and the Custers); March 2nd seems to be when he resumes his official duties. According to Jennie Barnitz (Life in Custer's Cavalry, p. 138) he's still at Leavenworth a week or two later. And whether or not he's left the post in the meantime, he's definitely at Leavenworth on April 14th, as there's a dispatch of his addressed from there. (Can't remember the source for that, alas; came across it somewhere on the web the other day.)
His own memoirs say that the first thing he did on arriving in Kansas was to go off to see the situation for himself -- going first to Fort Larned, and then to Fort Dodge. All the reference books I can so far lay hands on say much the same: that he went "immediately", or similar. But no-one appears to give a date for this.
What I'm struggling to make out is just how "immediately" this event happened. Barnitz mentions him "visiting us" at the 7th Cavalry's camp near Fort Hays on May 15th; at that time he's en route to Fort Wallace. He visits them again, at Camp Alfred Gibbs, at the end of May, this time with Sully in tow. Now ... is this mid-May excursion his first trip of inspection? Or has he gone out before, some time in March or April?
I realise this seems (no, is) a small and pernickety matter. But (a) it'd be nice, just out of curiosity, to know whether or not Sheridan's exaggerated his speed of action in his own version of events; and (b) I'm currently playing with some putting-two-and-two-together stuff, and need to be sure I'm not coming up with an answer of five. So if anyone does have a date for this, I'd be most grateful to hear it!
After officially taking over from Hancock the previous fall, he'd gone on leave for a few months. He got back to Leavenworth on February 28th 1868 (according to Minnie Dubbs Millbrook, Rebecca Visits Kansas and the Custers); March 2nd seems to be when he resumes his official duties. According to Jennie Barnitz (Life in Custer's Cavalry, p. 138) he's still at Leavenworth a week or two later. And whether or not he's left the post in the meantime, he's definitely at Leavenworth on April 14th, as there's a dispatch of his addressed from there. (Can't remember the source for that, alas; came across it somewhere on the web the other day.)
His own memoirs say that the first thing he did on arriving in Kansas was to go off to see the situation for himself -- going first to Fort Larned, and then to Fort Dodge. All the reference books I can so far lay hands on say much the same: that he went "immediately", or similar. But no-one appears to give a date for this.
What I'm struggling to make out is just how "immediately" this event happened. Barnitz mentions him "visiting us" at the 7th Cavalry's camp near Fort Hays on May 15th; at that time he's en route to Fort Wallace. He visits them again, at Camp Alfred Gibbs, at the end of May, this time with Sully in tow. Now ... is this mid-May excursion his first trip of inspection? Or has he gone out before, some time in March or April?
I realise this seems (no, is) a small and pernickety matter. But (a) it'd be nice, just out of curiosity, to know whether or not Sheridan's exaggerated his speed of action in his own version of events; and (b) I'm currently playing with some putting-two-and-two-together stuff, and need to be sure I'm not coming up with an answer of five. So if anyone does have a date for this, I'd be most grateful to hear it!