- description
- # Sheridan at Cedar Creek.
## Overview
This is a segment of a poem titled "Sheridan at Cedar Creek," extracted from the text file [battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt](arke:01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8) between lines 2388 and 2437. It is a part of the poetry collection [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9)
## Context
The segment is part of a larger collection of works by Herman Melville, contained within the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. "Sheridan at Cedar Creek" is preceded by the segment [The Battle for the Bay.](arke:01KG8AJNC7XD8EG7FK61TY6WFK) and followed by [In the Prison Pen.](arke:01KG8AJNC78TDEV5WBYGJ6D2ZH) within the poetry collection.
## Contents
The poem "Sheridan at Cedar Creek" commemorates General Philip Sheridan's victory at the Battle of Cedar Creek in October 1864. The poem is divided into four stanzas, each focusing on a different aspect of the event, using the metaphor of Sheridan's horse. The first stanza describes the urgency of Sheridan's ride to the battlefield. The second stanza celebrates the horse's role in turning the tide of the battle. The third stanza honors the horse for leading the charge that led to victory. The final stanza reflects on the cost of war, acknowledging the bravery of the leaders while lamenting the nameless soldiers who sleep in their graves. The poem references General Jubal Early, whose forces were defeated by Sheridan at Cedar Creek.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:28.548Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- Sheridan at Cedar Creek.
- end_line
- 2437
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 2388
- text
- Sheridan at Cedar Creek.
(October, 1864.)
Shoe the steed with silver
That bore him to the fray,
When he heard the guns at dawning--
Miles away;
When he heard them calling, calling--
Mount! nor stay:
Quick, or all is lost;
They’ve surprised and stormed the post,
They push your routed host--
Gallop! retrieve the day.
House the horse in ermine--
For the foam-flake blew
White through the red October;
He thundered into view;
They cheered him in the looming,
Horseman and horse they knew.
The turn of the tide began,
The rally of bugles ran,
He swung his hat in the van;
The electric hoof-spark flew.
Wreathe the steed and lead him--
For the charge he led
Touched and turned the cypress
Into amaranths for the head
Of Philip, king of riders,
Who raised them from the dead.
The camp (at dawning lost),
By eve, recovered--forced,
Rang with laughter of the host
At belated Early fled.
Shroud the horse in sable--
For the mounds they heap!
There is firing in the Valley,
And yet no strife they keep;
It is the parting volley,
It is the pathos deep.
There is glory for the brave
Who lead, and noblys ave,
But no knowledge in the grave
Where the nameless followers sleep.
- title
- Sheridan at Cedar Creek.