Philip Sheridan became a national hero during the last two years of the Civil War. A close subordinate of Ulysses S. Grant from the Fall of 1863 until the end of the war, Sheridan played prominent roles in Union victories in Tennessee, the Shenandoah Valley, and during the Appomattox Campaign. During Reconstruction, he fought effectively against the Ku Klux Klan. After the war, a number of monuments were erected honoring him. One of the most seen is his standing statue in New York City’s Greenwich Village. At Christopher Park on Christopher Street in “The Village” is a bronze statue sculpted by Joseph P. Pollia of General Philip H. Sheridan that was dedicated in 1936.
Christopher Park was created in 1837. The iron fence around the small park is 130 years old. The neighborhood is urban residential, with a large number of dining establishments and taverns of mid- to high-price ranges.
The statue is in a National Park unit named after Stonewall, but it is not the Civil War Stonewall. In 1969 police raided the Gay bar The Stonewall Inn across the street from the statue. When people in the community tried to oppose the targeting of Gay and Trans patrons, a riot erupted. This event was seminal in the creation of the modern LGBT+ movement.
There is also a flagpole in the park honoring the 1861 Fire Zouaves from New York City. Both the flagpole and the Sheridan statue went up during the 125th Anniversary of the Civil War (oka, they were a year late with the dedication). There have been concerns raised about the Sheridan statue because of the general’s abusive policies towards Native Americans on the Great Plains during his time commanding the post-war United States Army. The statue itself is in excellent condition in a small and neat park.
The statue is directly across the street from Christopher Street Station of the New York City Subway system. The 1 and 2 trains run constantly to the station, making it easy to reach from the West Side. Do not drive here because there is no parking nearby. To the Southeast of Christopher Park is Sheridan Square, named after the general. A block south is Bleeker Street, famous for music venues at night. Bleeker also has a number of low cost eateries.
