Confederate Waterloo by Michael McCarthy

Author:Michael McCarthy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Savas Beatie
Published: 2017-03-30T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

The Court of Inquiry:

Sheridan Takes the Stand

Major General Winfield Scott Hancock convened the court of inquiry on Governor’s Island in New York City on December 11, 1879. The other two members of the court were not present, so he adjourned the proceeding. When it started in earnest, both sides sought to establish the scope that the investigation would cover.

The court was officially charged with investigating the “imputations” made against Warren by Sheridan and Grant. Warren wanted a broader inquiry. “It was my intention in drafting my application for a court of inquiry, and it is now,” explained Warren, “to have the investigation take the widest scope . . . the court would give it.” He wanted an interpretation of the order given by the court “which will make the inquiry most thorough.”1 Sheridan, on the other hand, considered the entire proceeding unnecessary and demeaning. In his mind, Warren was proper treated in 1865, and no benefit attended a rehashing of vaguely remembered events.

The Army moved slowly. Preliminary matters ended on January 9, 1880, and the court recessed to give time for witnesses to assemble. Stickney called the first major witness to the stand on May, 4, 1880: Phil Sheridan. In an unusual tactic, Stickney and Warren decided to give their opponent the first opportunity to make his points. Allowing Sheridan to air all his critical comments at the beginning, they believed, provided Stickney with an opportunity to correct the record with his own witnesses. Forcing the other side to put all their criticisms on the table would allow Stickney and Warren to adapt their examination of witnesses to contradict Sheridan directly whenever possible. They also prepared an extensive cross- examination of Sheridan in an attempt to shake his credibility by goading him into making factual statements that later witnesses might contradict. Consistent with Sheridan’s high degree of self- confidence, he and Gardner seemed perfectly comfortable with this sequence. Sheridan committed only a few days to the entire hearing, so getting all his points out at one time probably seemed the most effective way to maximize the impact of his personal participation.

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