P.H. Sheridan vs G.K. Warren: Five Forks–and a Knife in the Back

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In the closing days of the siege of Petersburg in 1865, Phil Sheridan and Gouverneur K Warren were engaged in overlapping offensive operations. Warren seized the White Oak Road while Sheridan got bloodied at Dinwiddie Court House. Warren was ordered to support Sheridan, while Sheridan was authorized by U.S. Grant to relieve Warren if he so chose. Sheridan did just that, only moments after the two won the Battle of Five Forks. Sheridan then accused Warren of being reluctant to fight. It took Warren 17 years to get justice.

The two generals could not be more different in personality, character, and education. Both graduated from West Point and, in the pre-war years, had decidedly different careers. When circumstances brought them together in 1864 during the Overland Campaign, a series of clashes between them ignited the spark that would result in Warren’s relief from command a year later. This is a study of two men, their interactions, and the abuse of power.

You may also like the following events from The Civil War Museum:

• This Sunday, 28th September, 01:30 pm, Lost Leviathans: Lake Michigan’s Largest Missing Ships—Two In Kenosha in Kenosha
• Next month, 15th October, 07:00 pm, Poe and the Peculiar in Kenosha
• This November, 11th November, 11:00 am, Veterans Day Ceremony in Kenosha