This is a quick hit kinda posting. A smattering of facts that by no means paints a complete picture of this man; just a few things and how they pertain to Yellowstone National Park.
Our story begins during the Civil War, in which Philip Sheridan was a general for the Union army. He was one of the first people to use “scorched earth” tactics, where he destroyed the economic infrastructure along with military targets in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. He is not looked upon favorably in that part of the country.
In 1867, Sheridan is appointed head of the Department of the Missouri. This puts him in control of all land between the Mississippi River and the Rockies, an area over one million square miles. Not long after this appointment, he brings his scorched earth tactics to bear on the West. During the Winter Campaign of 1868-1869, he attacks the Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Comanche peoples, burning their supplies and forcing them back onto the reservations.
As part of his campaign against the Indians, Sheridan promoted in Congress the wholesale hunting and slaughter of bison to deprive the Indians of their primary food source. He is quoted as saying, “Let them kill, skin, and sell until the bison is exterminated.” Professional hunters begin to trespass on tribal lands, and, by 1874, four million bison have been poached. The Texas legislature tries to outlaw bison poaching on tribal lands. Sheridan reacts by personally testifying the heroism of these poachers saying that each man deserves a medal “engraved with a dead buffalo on one side and a discouraged-looking Indian on the other.” These actions deliberately led to the massive destruction of bison across the country and making Yellowstone an island refuge for wild bison, where around 1900 less than 25 bison were found throughout the entire park. Yellowstone Villain.
Philip Sheridan did feel very strongly about Yellowstone National Park. He authorized Lt. Gustavus Cheney Doane to escort the Washburn/Langford/Doane expedition in 1870. He authorized Capt. John Barlow to escort the Hayden Survey in 1871. Barlow names Mount Sheridan in the southern part of Yellowstone for the General on this trip. As early as 1875, Sheridan was promoting military protection of the park.
The Department of the Interior granted the Yellowstone Park Improvement Company four thousand acres of Yellowstone land in 1882. The plan was to build a railroad into the park and sell the land to developers. General Philip Sheridan teamed up with Forest and Stream editor George Bird Grinnell to put a stop to the plan. They lobbied Congress for park expansion, military control of the park, only ten acres of development, and no leases near attractions. Congress granted them most of their demands. Sheridan then arranged and led the first Presidential Visit to Yellowstone. Chester Arthur “led” an expedition to the park in 1883. The purpose of the trip was to raise awareness of the park Back East; a press junket perhaps. Sheridan was given his wish of military protection of the park in 1886 when he ordered the First Cavalry into Yellowstone at the request of Secretary of the Interior Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (the namesake for Lamar Valley). Yellowstone Hero.
hmm so Sheridan was both a hero and a villain to the park. Was he conscious of his conflicting role? Probably not. Even though he advocated the destruction of the bison, his ally in protecting the park from development George Bird Grinnell would go on to play a pivotal role in the passage of the Lacey Act protecting the bison from the wanton destruction created by Sheridan’s views.
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