General Philip H. Sheridan (1831-1888), an 1853 graduate of West Point, was a lieutenant when the Civil War broke out. By the end of the war, he was commander of the Union cavalry.

He destroyed the Confederate supply line through the Shenandoah Valley and commanded troops at Petersburg that stopped Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from retreating and helped lead to Lee's surrender and the Union defeat of the Confederacy.