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Hi. I'm Jesse Alexander,

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and thank you for supporting this companion episode of Glory and Defeat.

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Today, let's talk about one witness to the Battle of Sedan,

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US General Philip Henry Sheridan.

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In 1870, Sheridan was an official US military observer

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attached to German Headquarters and he was an experienced soldier.

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to instruct us in the effectiveness of Krupp's guns."

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The site of the shell torn corpses at Givonne made him decide to abandon the ride.

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"The sight of the torn and crushed bodies was so

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appalling that we returned to Bazeilles without having gone further than Givonne."

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Although he recognized German military achievements and admired their discipline,

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he didn't hesitate to criticize either.

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He wrote that the German cavalry charge at Krojanty was pointless

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and wondered how German marching would do in American conditions.

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"Concerning what the Germans would have accomplished on

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the bottomless trails through the swamps and quick sands of Northern Virginia,

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or the march from Wilderness to Petersburg,

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or from Chattanooga to Atlanta and the sea,

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one can only allow oneself to guess."

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Thanks again for supporting Glory and Defeat.

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I'll see you next week.
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He had served the North in the US Civil War,

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commanded in the wars of extermination against Native Americans and lead

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US troops in Texas during Napoleon III's intervention in Mexico,

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which left him with little love for the French.

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On September 1st, he watched the Battle of Sedan

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alongside King Wilhelm Bismarck and the general staff.

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That evening, they all shared a sumptuous was meal together,

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despite the fact that the dinner table overlooked a corpse tromp battlefield.

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He also witness Bismarck's penchant for indulging in food and drink.

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"The chancellor put the bottle to his lips and exclaimed,

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'Here's to the unity of Germany!'

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Words he corroborated by the gurgling sound of an astonishingly long and deep draft."

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According to Sheridan,

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Bismarck chugged the entire bottle.

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When Sheridan visited the battlefield on a horseback the next day,

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the veterans soldier was shocked.

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He noticed the smell of burnt flesh lingering in

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the air at Bazeilles before riding North.

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"Here, the battle had consisted chiefly of a duel between the artillery of both sides,