Battle of Tom's Brook Facts

Also Known As

• Woodstock Races

Date

• October 9, 1864

Location

• Shenandoah County, near Woodstock, Virginia

Campaign

• Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864
• Sheridan’s Valley Campaign

Principal Union Commanders

• Brigadier General Alfred Torbert
• Brevet Major General Wesley Merritt
• Brigadier General George A. Custer

Principal Confederate Commanders

• Major General Thomas Rosser
• Major General Lunsford Lomax

Union Forces Engaged

• Army of the Shenandoah cavalry

Confederate Forces Engaged

• Army of the Valley cavalry

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 6,300

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 3,500

Estimated Union Casualties

• 57 (killed, wounded, captured/missing)

Estimated Confederate Casualties

• 350 (killed, wounded, captured/missing)

Result

• Union victory

Significance

• The Confederate retreat at the Battle of Tom’s Brook was so rapid that Union cavalrymen referred to the Rebel flight as the Woodstock Races.

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