ion,
he was an equal match for Stuart and his able lieutenants. If, in the
readjustment incident to the assumption by General Grant of the chief
command, Pleasonton could have been permitted to serve loyally under
Sheridan, who was his junior in rank, it would, doubtless, have been
better for both of them. He would have been obliged, to be sure, to
crucify his ambition and waive his rank, but his name might have been
linked with those of Gregg, and Merritt, and Custer in the record of
"Little Phil's" picturesque marches from the Wilderness to the James;
from Harper's Ferry to Cedar Creek; and from Winchester to Appomattox.
He left the army in whose achievements he had borne so honorable a part,
and no opportunities for distinction came to him afterwards. Others
wore the laurels that might have been his.

Soon after his arrival, General Sheridan reviewed the cavalry corps on
the open ground near Culpeper. There were ten thousand mounted men in
line, and when they broke into column to pass in review before the
assembled generals of the army, it was a magnificent spectacle. To this
day the writer's blood quickens in his veins and a flush of pardonable
pride mantles his face whenever he recalls the circumstance of one of
Custer's staff coming to his quarters after the parade, to convey with
the general's compliments the pleasant information that General Sheridan
had personally requested him to compliment the officers and men of the
regiment, on its excellent appearance and soldierly bearing on the
review. Only a short time before, General Kilpatrick had sent a similar
message after seeing the regiment at brigade drill. How cheering these
messages were; and how full of encouragement to the full performance of
duty in the trying times that were close at hand! Life is not too full
of such words of cheer, even when we do our best. It is not so much
admiration as appreciation that one craves from his fellow men,
especially from those who are by circumstance placed over him. But envy,
and malice, and a mean, begrudging spirit often stand at the door to
keep it out, when it would fain enter, bringing the sunshine with it.
There was nothing narrow or mean about Sheridan. Conscious of his own
greatness, he was too broad to begrudge recognition to others. When a
subordinate deserved commendation and Sheridan knew it, he always gave
it.

Although the movement of the army of the Potomac, which initiated in
Virginia the campaign of 18