e Sea.]

His soldiers admired him and gave him their unbounded confidence. One of
his staff said of him while they were on the "March to the Sea": "The army
has such an abiding faith in its leader that it will go wherever he
leads." At Savannah the soldiers would proudly remark as their general
rode by: "There goes the old man. All's right."

During the trying experience of this famous march, Sherman's face grew
anxious and care-worn. But behind the care-worn face there were kind and
tender feelings, especially for the young. Little children would show
their trust in him by clasping him about his knees or by nestling in his
arms. While he was in Savannah, large groups of children made a playground
of the general's headquarters and private room, the doors of which were
never closed to them.

While General Sherman, in Georgia, was pushing his army "On to Atlanta"
and "On to the Sea," Grant was trying to defeat Lee and capture Richmond.
With these aims in view, Grant crossed the Rapidan River and entered the
wilderness in direct line for Richmond. Here fighting was stern business.
The woods were so gloomy and the underbrush was so thick that the men
could not see one another twenty feet away.

Lee's army furiously contested every foot of the advance. In the terrible
battles that followed Grant lost heavily, but he pressed doggedly on,
writing to President Lincoln his stubborn resolve: "I propose to fight it
out on this line if it takes all summer."

It did take all summer and longer. Moreover, Grant found that he could not
possibly capture Richmond from the north. So he crossed the James River
and attacked the city from the south. Yet when autumn ended Lee was still
holding out, and Grant's army settled down for the winter.

PHILIP H. SHERIDAN

At this time one of Grant's most skilful generals and ablest helpers was
Philip H. Sheridan, who was a brilliant cavalry leader. As a boy he had a
strong liking for books, and especially those which told of war and the
lives of daring men. When he read of their brave deeds perhaps he dreamed
of the days when he might be a great soldier.

At the time when he came into most prominent notice--in the summer and
autumn of 1864--he was only thirty-three years old. He was short, and as
he weighed but one hundred and fifteen pounds, he was not at all
impressive in appearance, except in the heat of battle, when his
personality was commanding and inspiring.

[Illustration: Philip