Entering the valley with an army of forty thousand men, Sheridan swept Early and a Confederate force out of it, and then, to render impossible any Confederate raids thereafter with the valley as a base, rode from end to end of it, destroying everything that would support an army.  Early, meanwhile, had been reinforced, and, one misty morning, fell upon the Federals while they lay encamped at Cedar Creek.  The surprise was complete, and in a short time the Union army was in full flight.  Sheridan had been called to Washington, and on the morning of the battle was at Winchester, some twenty miles away.  In the early dawn, he heard the rumble of the cannonade, and, springing to horse, galloped to the battlefield, to meet his men retreating.

“Face about, boys! face about!” he shouted, riding up and down the lines; and his men saw him, and burst into a cheer, and reformed their lines, and, catching his spirit of victory, led by their loved commander, fell upon Early, routed him and practically destroyed his army.  Perhaps nowhere else in history is there an instance such as this—­of a general meeting his army in full retreat, stopping the panic, facing them about, and leading them to victory.

In the last campaign against Richmond, Sheridan’s services were of inestimable value; it was he who defeated a great Confederate force at the brilliant battle of Five Forks; it was he who got in front of Lee’s retreating army and cornered it at Appomattox.  He had his full share of honors, succeeding Sherman as general-in-chief of the army in 1883, and receiving the rank of general from Congress, just before his death five years later.  Grant, Sherman and Sheridan are the only men in the country’s history who have held this highest of military titles.

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After these three men, George H. Thomas was the most prominent commander on the Union side; notable, too, from the fact that he was a Virginian, and was considered a traitor by his native state for his adherence to the Union cause, just as poor old Winfield Scott had been.  He had made something of a name for himself before the Civil War opened, distinguishing himself in the war with Mexico and winning brevets for gallantry at the battles of Monterey and Buena Vista.  He won a decisive victory at Mill Springs early in 1862, and saved the army from rout at Murfreesboro by his heroic holding of the centre.  But his most famous exploit was the defence of Horseshoe ridge, against overwhelming odds, at the battle of Chickamauga.

The Union right wing had been routed, and the Confederates, certain of a great victory, turned against the left wing, twenty-five thousand strong, under command of Thomas.  They swarmed up the slope on which Thomas had taken his position, only to be hurled back with heavy loss.  Again and again they charged, sixty thousand of them, but Thomas stood like a rock against which the Confederates dashed themselves in vain.  For six hours that terrific fighting continued, until nearly half of Thomas’s men lay dead or wounded, but night found him still master of the position, saving the Union army from destruction.  Ever afterwards Thomas was known as “The Rock of Chickamauga.”