Robert Cwiklik, guest author, explains that Sheridan arrived in New Orleans in late 1874, but his presence immediately sparked suspicion and sarcasm from the local white press. On January 4, 1875, the situation reached a breaking point during the organiza

Robert Cwiklik, guest author, explains that Sheridan arrived in New Orleans in late 1874, but his presence immediately sparked suspicion and sarcasm from the local white press. On January 4, 1875, the situation reached a breaking point during the organization of the Louisiana legislature at the St. Louis Hotel. Democrats staged a violent takeover of the House floor, installing their own speaker and seating five contested members illegally. Acting on Sheridan's advice, Colonel Philippe de Trobriand led Union troops into the legislative hall to forcibly remove the five Democraticclaimants at bayonet point. While Republicans saw this as restoring order, the White League and Democrats utilized the scene to frame themselves as victims of federal tyranny. They successfully manipulated the optics of the event to suggest that the Union Army was illegally interfering with a sovereign state's governance, a narrative that quickly resonated with a Northern public increasingly weary of prolonged military occupation in the South. Sheridan's Secret Mission: How the South Won the War After the Civil War (6)