Personal Memoirs of P.H. Sheridan: General United States Army

Rating:
Summary: The life of a great Union general, in his own words
Review: The two-volume memoirs of General Philip Sheridan have been condensed in this edition to one paperback volume, thus making more accessible. Let me state up front that I'm giving this product four stars because of the edition. There is an introduction by Jeffry Wert, and that appears to be the extent of the work done in preparation for this volume's release. There are numerous spelling and mechanical errors (I'm not sure if these were Sheridan's or just the result of careless editing), and they are frequent enough to get really annoying really fast. ''m not talking about pre-standardized type spelling errors, or awkward, run-on nineteenth century sentences. No, these are just careless mistakes.

That having been said, this is a great volume of memoirs from one of the Civil War's most accomplished generals. I do not say great general, because whether or not he was great is still a topic of much controversy. There is no denying that Sheridan got things done, and that he won several important victories, but there is room for debate in the matter in which he accomplished things, and his treatment of subordinates in doing so.

Predictably, Sheridan paints a pretty rosy picture of himself in his memoirs. Still, to be fair to the man, he DID do an awful lot for the Union cause, and I don't think that his vainglory can be entirely chalked up to shameless self promotion. The fact is that he was a very key factor in several victories, and to take his part away from the narrative would be to distort the entire picture of what happened. "Little Phil" was almost always present and often in the fray during his decisive engagements. On the other hand, I noticed him dressing-down his role in some conflicts, whereas contemporary accounts praise his part to no end.

The great thing about memoirs is that we hear things straight from the mouths of those who took part in them, and are able to judge for ourselves to what extent their testimony is reliable. For me, at least, I will always feel that Sheridan's memoirs hold a certain bias, but I will nevertheless continue to hold this volume of personal narrative as valuable. (Note: this volume covers only to the point of Sheridan returning from Europe. There's nothing on the little Bighorn or later military activities here).

Rating:
Summary: If You Can't Afford the Original 1888 2 Volume Set...
Review: These are his own words set in one paperback novel. Gives you a perspective on the war from a leadership position. However, it doesn't have the maps and pictures that the original volumes sported.

Great personal recollections of a man who lead the troops fearlessly in the war.