Valley campaigns of 1864
Shenandoah Valley campaigns of 1864 | |||||||
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Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
Funkhoser House and Farm, Toms Brook, Shenandoah County, Virginia | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States of America | Confederate States of America | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Franz Sigel David Hunter Lew Wallace George Crook Philip Sheridan |
Jubal A. Early | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
8,500 (June 1864) 5,800 (early July 1864) 9,600 (Mid-July 1864) 40,000 (August-October 1864) |
5,000 (June 1864) 14,000 (June-July) 21,100 (October 1864) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
18,400 | 17,300 |
The Valley campaigns of 1864 began as operations initiated by Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and resulting battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia during the American Civil War from May to October 1864. Some military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns. This article considers them together, as the campaigns interacted and built upon one another.
Background
As 1864 began,
Grant devised a coordinated strategy that would strike at the heart of the Confederacy from multiple directions: he would join with Meade and Maj. Gen.
Lynchburg campaign (May–June 1864)
The first campaign started with Grant's planned invasion of the Shenandoah Valley from the Department of West Virginia, which Gen. Sigel commanded. West Virginia had been created by the Federal government as a Union state in 1863, but many of the Confederate troops defending the Valley had been recruited in the new state.[1] Grant ordered Sigel to move "up the Valley" (i.e., southwest to the higher elevations) with 10,000 men to destroy the Confederate railroad, hospital and supply center at Lynchburg, Virginia.
New Market (May 15)
Sigel was intercepted and defeated by 4,000 troops and cadets from the Virginia Military Institute under Confederate Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge. His forces retreated to Strasburg, Virginia. Maj. Gen. David Hunter replaced Sigel. As discussed below he initiated another strike to the south, eventually burning VMI in retaliation for the Jones-Imboden Raid as well as subsequent actions of VMI cadets.[2]
Piedmont (June 5–6)
Hunter resumed the Union offensive and defeated William E. "Grumble" Jones at the Battle of the Piedmont. Jones died in the battle, and Hunter occupied Staunton, Virginia.[3]
On June 11 Hunter, who had continued to strike southward, fought at Lexington against John McCausland's Confederate cavalry, which retreated to the mountains around Buchanan. Hunter ordered Col. Alfred N. Duffié's cavalry division to join him in Lexington. While awaiting their arrival, Union forces burned former Governor John Letcher's home, in addition to shelling and burning the Virginia Military Institute. They seized the statue of George Washington,[4] and nearly destroyed the campus. (VMI moved its classes to the Richmond Alms House).[5]
Joined by Duffié on June 13, Hunter sent Averell to drive McCausland out of Buchanan and capture the
Lynchburg (June 17–18)
Confederate Gen.
Early's Invasion of the North and operations against the B&O Railroad (June–August 1864)
Commanding General Robert E. Lee was concerned about Hunter's advances in the Valley, which threatened critical railroad lines and provisions for the Virginia-based Confederate forces. He sent Jubal Early's corps to sweep Union forces from the Valley and, if possible, to menace
Monocacy (July 9)
Early defeated a smaller force under Lew Wallace near Frederick, Maryland. This battle delayed his progress enough to allow the Union time to reinforce the defenses of Washington.[8]
Fort Stevens (July 11–12)
Early attacked a fort on the northwest defensive perimeter of Washington without success and withdrew across the Potomac to Virginia.[9]
Heaton's Crossroads (July 16)
Union cavalry attacked Early's supply trains at Purcellville as the Confederates withdrew across the Loudoun Valley toward the Blue Ridge Mountains. Several small cavalry skirmishes occurred throughout the day as the Federals attempted to harass Early's column.[10]
Cool Spring (July 17–18)
- Also known as Snicker's Ferry
Early attacked and repulsed pursuing Union forces under Wright.[11]
Rutherford's Farm (July 20)
A Union division attacked a Confederate division under Stephen Dodson Ramseur and routed it. Early withdrew his army south to Fisher's Hill, near Strasburg, Virginia.[12]
Second Kernstown (July 24)
Wright withdrew, thinking Early was no longer a threat. Early attacked him to prevent or delay his return to Grant's forces besieging Petersburg. Union troops were routed, streaming through the streets of Winchester. Early pursued and burned Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, along the way in retaliation for Hunter's previous destruction in the Valley.[13]
Folck's Mill (August 1)
- Also known as the Battle of Cumberland
An inconclusive small cavalry battle in Maryland.[14]
Moorefield (August 7)
- Also known as the Battle of Oldfields
Confederate cavalry returning from the Chambersburg burning were surprised in the early morning and defeated by Union cavalry.[15]
Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley campaign (August–October 1864)
Grant finally lost patience with Hunter, particularly his allowing Early to burn Chambersburg, and knew that Washington remained vulnerable if Early was still on the loose. He found a new commander aggressive enough to defeat Early:
Guard Hill (August 16)
- Also known as Front Royal or Cedarville
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.[16]
Summit Point (August 21)
- Also known as Flowing Springs or Cameron's Depot
Early and Anderson struck Sheridan near Charles Town, West Virginia. Sheridan conducted a fighting withdrawal.[17]
Smithfield Crossing (August 25–29)
Two Confederate divisions crossed Opequon Creek and forced a Union cavalry division back to Charles Town; the Confederate offensive against the city was repulsed and their advance permanently halted.[18]
Berryville (September 3–4)
A minor engagement in which Early attempted to stop Sheridan's march up the Valley. Early withdrew to Opequon Creek when he realized he was in a poor position for attacking Sheridan's full force.[19]
Third Winchester (September 19)
- Also known as the Battle of Opequon
After learning from
Fisher's Hill (September 21–22)
Sheridan hit Early in an early-morning flanking attack, routing the Confederates with moderate losses. Early retreated to Waynesboro, Virginia.[21]
With Early damaged and pinned down, the Valley lay open to the Union. And because of Sherman's
Tom's Brook (October 9)
As Early began a pursuit of Sheridan, Union cavalry routed two divisions of Confederate cavalry.[22]
Cedar Creek (October 19)
In a surprise attack, Early smashed two-thirds of the Union army, but his troops were hungry and exhausted and fell out of their ranks to pillage the Union camp. Sheridan, in a ride from Winchester, managed to rally his troops and utterly rout Early's men, and the Confederates lost everything they had gained in the morning. This victory helped Lincoln get re-elected.[23]
Aftermath
After his missions of neutralizing Early and suppressing the Valley's military-related economy, Sheridan returned to assist Grant at Petersburg. Most of the men of Early's corps rejoined Lee at Petersburg in December, while Early remained in the Valley to command a skeleton force. He was defeated at the Battle of Waynesboro on March 2, 1865, after which Lee removed him from his command because the Confederate government and people had lost confidence in him.
See also
References
Notes
- ISBN 978-1-59629-888-0
- ^ New Market, National Park Service (NPS)
- ^ NPS Piedmont
- ^ "Hunter's Raid, Civil War Travels website". Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
- ^ [1] VMI Archives
- ^ "Brunch at New London helped delay Union march | Local News | newsadvance.com".
- ^ NPS Lynchburg
- ^ NPS Monocacy
- ^ NPS Fort Stevens
- ^ Patchan, pp. 45-60.
- ^ NPS Cool Spring
- ^ NPS Rutherford's Farm
- ^ NPS Kernstown II
- ^ NPS Folck's Mill
- ^ NPS Moorefield
- ^ NPS Guard Hill
- ^ NPS Summit Point
- ^ NPS Smithfield Crossing
- ^ NPS Berryville
- ^ NPS Opequon
- ^ NPS Fisher's Hill
- ^ NPS Tom's Brook
- ^ NPS Cedar Creek
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-87338-429-6.
- Patchan, Scott C. Shenandoah Summer: The 1864 Valley Campaign. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8032-3754-4.
- National Park Service battle descriptions
Further reading
- Cooling, Benjamin Franklin. Jubal Early's Raid on Washington, 1864. Baltimore: Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1989. ISBN 0-933852-86-X.
- Davis, Daniel T., and Phillip S. Greenwalt. Bloody Autumn: The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. Emerging Civil War Series. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013. ISBN 978-1-61121-165-8.
- Early, Jubal A., "General Jubal A. Early tells his story of his advance upon Washington, D.C.". Washington National Republican, 1864.
- Early, Jubal A. A Memoir of the Last Year of the War for Independence in the Confederate States of America. Edited by Gary W. Gallagher. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2001. ISBN 1-57003-450-8.
- Gallagher, Gary W., ed. The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. Military Campaigns of the Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0-8078-3005-5.
- Janda, Lance. "Shutting the gates of mercy: The American origins of total war, 1860-1880." Journal of Military History 59#1 (1995): 7-26. online
- Lewis, Thomas A., and the Editors of Time-Life Books. The Shenandoah in Flames: The Valley Campaign of 1864. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1987. ISBN 0-8094-4784-3.
- Patchan, Scott C. The Last Battle of Winchester: Phil Sheridan, Jubal Early, and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August 7–September 19, 1864. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013. ISBN 978-1-932714-98-2.