k will be remembered while literature lasts. One of its
dramatic incidents furnished the theme for the poet's song, and
"Sheridan's Ride," like Horatius, will remain until the imagination can
no longer be thrilled by the recital of the record of heroic deeds. Thus
doth poesy erect monuments, more enduring than bronze or marble, to the
memory of the brave.

Yet, the events of that day have been greatly misconceived.[37] The
imagination, inflamed by the heroic verse of Read, and unaided by the
remembrance of actual personal experiences in the battle, sees only the
salient points--Gordon's stealthy march along the Massanutten mountain;
the union troops, in fancied security, sleeping in their tents; the
absence of their great leader; the morning surprise; the rout; the mass
of fleeing fugitives; the victors in exultant pursuit; Sheridan's ride
from Winchester; the magic influence of his arrival on the field, in
arresting the headlong flight of the panic stricken mob; the rally; the
reflux tide of enthusiasm; the charge back into the old camps; the
glorious victory that succeeded humiliating defeat.

With all due allowance for poetical license, the conception of this
battle which long ago became fixed in the public mind, does a cruel
injustice to the gallant men who were maimed or killed on that hard
fought field. Enveloped in the mists of receding years; obscured by the
glamour of poetry; belied by the vivid imagination of stragglers and
camp-followers who, on the first note of danger, made a frantic rush for
Winchester, seeking to palliate their own misconduct by spreading
exaggerated reports of disaster, the union army that confronted Early at
Cedar Creek, for many years made a sorry picture, which the aureole of
glory that surrounded its central figure made all the more humiliating.

It is due to truth and justice that every detail of that famous fight
should be told, to the end that no undeserved shadow may rest upon the
fame of the men and officers who took part in it--no unjust stain upon
their record.

History, so called, has been misleading. It is true that Sheridan's
narrative sheds much new light upon his part in the battle, and General
Merritt, one of the leading actors, wrote a paper upon it for the
Century series though I doubt if it has been generally read, or if
read, effective in modifying preconceived notions. An idea of that which
has been written in the name of history may be gained from an extract
ta