previous next

Shenandoah Valley, chronology of the operations in the

:

Campaign of Grant against Lee embraced movements up the Shenandoah Valley. Sigel, commanding Department of West Virginia, is sent up the valley with 10,000 men, supported by General Crook, who leaves Charlestown, W. Va., at the same timeMay 1, 1864
Breckinridge defeats Sigel at New-marketMay 15, 1864
Grant relieves Sigel and appoints Hunter, who defeats the Confederates under Gen. W. E. Jones at PiedmontJune 5, 1864
Hunter, joined by Crook and Averill, advances to Staunton, and instead of proceeding to Gordonsville to join Sheridan, goes to Lexington, and on June 18 threatens Lynchburg with 20,000 men; but opposed by a much stronger force, escapes into West Virginia, where his force for the time is useless.
Confederate forces, now under General Early, move rapidly down the Shenandoah to the Potomac, and spread consternation from Baltimore to WashingtonJuly 2-3, 1864

Gen. Lew. Wallace attempts to check the Confederates at Monocacy, but is defeated with a loss of ninety-eight killed, 579 wounded, and 1,280 missing July 9, 1864
Confederate cavalry approach BaltimoreJuly 10, 1864
On the 11th Early is within 6 or 7 miles of Washington, and menaces the capital on the 12th, but retires on the 13th. The 19th Corps (Emory's), arriving at Fortress Monroe from Louisiana, and the 6th Corps from before Petersburg, sent by Grant under Wright to attack Early, pursue him some distance up the valley, and return to Leesburg, and are ordered back to Petersburg. Early returns as soon as the pursuit ceases; strikes Crook at Martinsburg, defeats him, and holds the Potomac from Shepardstown to Williamsport,
Early now sends B. R. Johnston and McCausland with some 3,000 cavalry on a raid into PennsylvaniaJuly 30, 1864
Approaching Chambersburg, Pa., they demand $100,000, which is not paid, and burn the townJuly 30, 1864
Sixth and 19th Corps, on their way to Petersburg, return. Grant relieves General Hunter, organizes the army of the middle division, and gives the command to SheridanAug. 7, 1864
Sheridan attacks and defeats Early, strongly fortified at Opequan Creek, near WinchesterSept. 19, 1864
Early falls back to Fisher's Hill, south of Winchester, where Sheridan routs him, taking 1,100 prisoners and sixteen gunsSept. 23, 1864
Sheridan pushes Early to the mountains; returns to Cedar Creek, and, leaving his command, visits WashingtonOct. 15, 1864
Early, reinforced, returns to Fisher's Hill, and, learning of Sheridan's absence, sets out to attack on the evening ofOct. 18, 1864
Surprises the Federals under Wright, driving them back with a loss of twenty-four guns and 1,200 prisoners, morning ofOct. 19, 1864
Sheridan at Winchester on the night of the 18th. On his way to the front news of the rout of his army reaches him. His arrival on the field stops the retreat. Early is crushed and the campaign in the valley ended, Oct. 19, 1864. See Cedar Creek.
Sheridan, with 10,000 cavalry, drives the Confederates from Waynesboro, Feb. 27, and, advancing, joins Grant before PetersburgMarch 27, 1865

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide People (automatically extracted)
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: