Battle of Lynchburg Facts

Date

• June 17–18, 1864

Location

• North central Virginia, including Augusta County, Shenandoah County

Campaign

• Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864
• Lynchburg Campaign

Principal Union Commanders

• Major General David Hunter

Principal Confederate Commanders

• Major General John C. Breckinridge
• Lieutenant General Jubal Early

Union Forces Engaged

• Department of West Virginia

Confederate Forces Engaged

• Department of Western Virginia
• Army of the Valley District

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

• 16,643

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

• 14,000

Estimated Union Casualties

• 75 (killed, wounded, captured/missing)

Estimated Confederate Casualties

• 6 (killed, wounded, captured/missing)

Result

• Confederate victory

Significance

• Ulysses S. Grant placed Brigadier General David Hunter in command of Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley after the Confederate victory at the Battle of New Market.
• Brigadier General David Hunter’s soldiers burned the Virginia Military Institute and plundered Lexington, Virginia on June 12 in retaliation for the Union defeat at the Battle of New Market.
• The Battle of Lynchburg was the third and final battle of the Lynchburg Campaign.
• The failure of the Union assault on Lynchburg kept Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s supply lines open and enabled him to fight for another eight months.
• Brigadier General David Hunter’s staff at the Battle of Lynchburg included two future U.S. presidents, William McKinley, and Rutherford B. Hayes
• Brigadier General David Hunter’s retreat at the Battle of Lynchburg took his army out of the war for nearly a month and opened the Shenandoah Valley for a Confederate advance into Maryland known as Early’s Valley Campaign, or Early’s Raid.

Timeline of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864

These are the main battles and events of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 in order.

• May 15, 1864 — Battle of New Market
• June 5, 1864 — Battle of Piedmont
• June 17–18, 1864 — Battle of Lynchburg
• July 9, 1864 — Battle of Monocacy
• July 11–12, 1864 — Battle of Fort Stevens
• September 19, 1864 — Battle of Opequon
• September 22, 1864 — Battle of Fisher’s Hill
• October 9, 1864 — Battle of Tom’s Brook
• October 19, 1864 — Battle of Cedar Creek