SHERIDAN 389 SHERIFFMUIR to Columbia, laying waste the country in every direction ; gained the battle of Five Forks, April 1, 1865; assisted in com- pelling the Confederate forces to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond, and near Ap- pomattox Court House encountered Gen- eral Lee, who surrendered April 9. General Sheridan was in command of the Military Division of the Southwest from June 3 to July 17, 1865; of the Military Division of the Gulf, July 17, 1865, to Aug. 15, 1866; of the Department of the Gulf, Aug. 15, 1866, to March 11, 1867; of the District of Louisiana and Texas, March 11 to Sept. 5, 1867; and of the Department of the Missouri, Sept. 12, 1867. On March 4, 1869, he was pro- moted lieutenant-general, and Nov. 1, 1883, succeeded Sherman in command of the army. Congress revived the grade of general, to which he was appointed, June 1, 1888. He died in Nonquitt, Mass., Aug. 5, 1888. SHERIDAN, RICHARD BRINSLEY BUTLER, an English dramatist; born in Dublin, Ireland, Sept. 30, 1751; son of Thomas Sheridan (1719-1788) ; educated in Dublin and at Harrow. In 1772 he eloped to France with Miss Linley, a young singer of great beauty and accom- plishments. In 1775 he brought out "The Rivals," which attained a brilliant suc- cess. On Nov. 21 he produced the comic opera "The Duenna," which had a run of 75 nights, an unprecedented success. In 1776 he became one of the proprietors of Drury Lane Theater, where in 1777 appeared "The School for Scandal," his most famous comedy, and in 1779 "The Critic," a farce. In 1780 he became a member of Parliament. In 1782 he be- came under-secretary of state; in 1783, secretary of the treasury; in 1806, treas- urer of the navy and privy-councillor. His greatest effort as an orator was his "Begum" speech on the impeachment of Warren Hastings (1787). His wife died in 1792. In 1795 he married Miss Ogle, a daughter of the Dean of Winchester. His Parliamentary career ended in 1812. In addition to the plays mentioned, he wrote: "A Trip to Scarborough" (1777) ; "The Stranger," and "Pizarro" (1799). His speeches were published in five volumes (1816). He died in London, July 7, 1816, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. SHERIDAN, THOMAS, an English scholar; grandfather of Richard B. Sheri- dan ; born in 1687. He was a close friend and confidant of Swift's, and was noted for his learning and eccentricities. He wrote the "Art of Punning," and pub- lished an edition of Persius. He died in 1738. His son, Thomas, father of the dramatist; born in 1719; was educated at Westminster School and Trinity Col- lege, Dublin. He became an actor and teacher of elocution, and published a "Plan of Education," "Life of Swift," and a "Dictionary of the English Language." He died in 1788. His wife, Frances Chamberlaine (1724-1766), was the au- thor of two novels, "Sidney Bidulph" and "Nourjahad"; and two plays, "The Dis- covery" and "The Dupe." SHERIF, an Arabic title equivalent to noble, borne by the descendants of Mo- hammed. It descends both in the male and female line. Those who possess this rank are distinguished by green turbans and veils, green being the color of the Prophet. The title is applied specifically to the chief magistrate of Mecca. SHERIFF, the chief officer of a shire or a county, to whom is intrusted the exe- cution of the laws, the serving of judicial writs and processes, and the preservation of the peace. In the United States the sheriff is either elected by the Legislature or the citizens, or appointed and commis- sioned by the executive of the State. The office is almost exclusively ministerial. The sheriff in person or by deputy exe- cutes civil and criminal process through- out the county, has charge of the jail and prisoners, attends courts, and keeps the peace. His judicial authority is generally confined to ascertaining damages on writs of inquiry, etc. In England the sheriff is the chief of- ficer of the crown in every county or shire, to whom the charge of the county is committed by letters patent. He is ap- pointed (except in the case of London and the county of Middlesex) by the crown out of three names submitted for each county by the judge who goes on circuit. In Scotland the sheriff is a law officer whose functions seem to have been origi- nally, like those of the sheriffs in Eng- land, mainly executive, but who now is judge in a county court. The office is by the appointment of the crown. Nearly all the sheriffs are now practicing lawyers resident in Edinburgh, sheriff -substitutes acting for them as local judges in the several counties. The sheriff-substitute can try criminal cases when a conviction will not involve more than two years' imprisonment. The lord-lieutenant of a Scotch county sometimes receives the hon- orary title of sheriff-principal. SHERIFFMDIR, or SHERIFF MOOR, a place in Scotland, in the parish of Dun- blane, in Perthshire. Here an indecisive battle was fought between the troops of George I. under the Duke of Argyle, and a rebel force of the adherents of the Stuarts under the Earl of Mar, in 1715.
