Battle of Guard Hill
38°57′11″N 78°12′0.5″W / 38.95306°N 78.200139°W
| Battle of Guard Hill | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
 Sketch of Action by Jedediah Hotchkiss. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States (Union) |
 CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Thomas C. Devin |
William Wofford | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Brigades | Brigades | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 71 | 480 | ||||||
The Battle of Guard Hill, Battle of Crooked Run, Battle of Cedarville, or the Battle of Front Royal took place on August 16, 1864, in
Shenandoah Valley Campaign of the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Richard H. Anderson were sent from Petersburg to reinforce Early. Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt's Union cavalry division surprised the Confederate columns while they were crossing the Shenandoah River, capturing about 300. The Confederates rallied and advanced, gradually pushing back Merritt's men to Cedarville. The battle was inconclusive.[1]
Battle
On the morning of August 16,
George A. Custer's Michigan Brigade rode toward the battle and sustained Devin's line along Crooked Run until they were forced to withdraw to Cedarville by Confederate artillery now on Guard Hill.[2]
During the afternoon of August 16,
Army of the Shenandoah, confirmed the presence of the Confederate which forced Sheridan to order a retreat down the valley from the town, Front Royal. On the night of the battle, Sheridan's unit went back to their lines at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia and once the night had passed by, Merritt and his unit went to Nineveh, Virginia
.
Outcome
According to Patchan, the Union's superior numbers and quality leadership routed the Confederate infantry, and the battle proved a watershed event in the Shenandoah Valley campaign.[3][4]
References
- ^ NPS Guard Hill
- ^ Patchan (2008) p 76, "The Battle of Crooked Run" Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, part of the Battle of Guard Hill
- ^ Scott C. Patchan, "The Battle of Crooked Run: George Custer's Opening Act in the Shenandoah Valley," North & South: The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society, (Dec 2008), 11#2 pp 76-82
- ^ "The Battle of Front Royal: Guard Hill - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
Further reading
- Kennedy, Frances H., ed., The Civil War Battlefield Guide, 2nd ed., Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998, ISBN 0-395-74012-6.
- Patchan, Scott C. "The Battle of Crooked Run: George Custer's Opening Act in the Shenandoah Valley," North & South: The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society, (Dec 2008), 11#2 pp 76–82
