Overview
Sheridan’s Valley Campaign was the last of three campaigns that formed the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. The Shenandoah Valley’s fertile farms supplied food to the Confederacy, making the region an important Union target. After General Jubal Early defeated Union forces at Lynchburg and threatened Washington, D.C., General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant sent General Philip Sheridan into the valley.
Grant placed Sheridan in command of the Army of the Shenandoah on August 7. He ordered Sheridan to destroy Early’s army and damage the valley’s railroads, crops, and livestock. After a slow start, Sheridan defeated Early’s smaller army at the Battle of Opequon on September 19 and the Battle of Fisher’s Hill on September 22. Sheridan then carried out “The Burning,” which destroyed livestock, barns, mills, crops, and farming equipment.
Union Cavalry also defeated Confederate cavalry at the Battle of Tom’s Brook on October 9. Early launched a final surprise attack at Cedar Creek on October 19, but Sheridan rallied his soldiers and drove the Confederates from the field.
The campaign ended the valley’s value as a major Confederate supply region. Along with General William T. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta, Sheridan’s victory helped ensure President Abraham Lincoln’s re-election and the continuation of the war.
Essential Facts
- Also Known As: Sheridan’s Valley Campaign of 1864 and The Burning.
- Date: May-October 1864.
- Location: Frederick, Shenandoah, and Warren counties in Virginia.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Philip Sheridan.
- CSA Commanders: Jubal Early.
- Who Won: The United States won Sheridan’s Valley Campaign.
- Campaign: Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864.
- Era:
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: Undetermined, but at least 11,300.
- Forces Engaged: Army of the Shenandoah.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 30,000-50,000 soldiers.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: Undetermined, but at least 7,500.
- Forces Engaged: Army of the Valley.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 21,000 soldiers.
Significance
Sheridan’s Valley Campaign is important to American History because it ended the Shenandoah Valley’s role as a major source of food and supplies for the Confederacy. General Philip Sheridan defeated General Jubal Early at Opequon, Fisher’s Hill, and Cedar Creek while destroying crops, livestock, barns, and mills during “The Burning.” These actions weakened Confederate forces and prevented the valley from supporting another year of war. Sheridan’s victories also removed the threat to Washington, D.C. Along with General William T. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta, the campaign helped ensure President Abraham Lincoln’s re-election in 1864 and the continuation of the Union war effort.
History
On March 12, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States. Upon his arrival in Washington, DC, Grant drafted a plan to have the various Union armies in the field act in concert and strike the Confederacy from several directions. Grant would travel with Major General George Meade and Army of the Potomac in pursuit of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia in the Richmond, Virginia area; Major General William T. Sherman would march three Federal armies south from Chattanooga, Tennessee to capture Atlanta, Georgia; and Major General Franz Sigel would invade western Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to cut off supplies to Lee’s army and to prevent any Confederate attempts to attack Meade’s flank.
Lynchburg Campaign
The Shenandoah Valley runs in a north-south direction through approximately 140 miles of western Virginia between the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains. Because of its exceptionally fertile farmland, the valley served as the breadbasket for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. In May 1864, Sigel marched 9,000 to 10,000 soldiers into the valley with orders from Grant to destroy the railroad center at Lynchburg, Virginia. Sigel’s short-lived operation, known as the Lynchburg Campaign, ended on June 17 and 18 when Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early and the Army of the Valley moved into the Shenandoah Valley from the south and defeated the Federals at the Battle of Lynchburg.
Early’s Raid on Washington
Early then launched his own offensive, marching his 14,000-man Army of the Valley north through the Shenandoah Valley into Maryland, threatening Washington, DC. Grant sent enough reinforcements to Washington to halt Early’s advance on the capital and to drive his army back into the Shenandoah Valley, where the Confederates remained a threat during July.
Sheridan’s Army of the Shenandoah
Early’s successes in Maryland threatened President Lincoln’s re-election bid in November. Coupled with Grant’s mounting casualty totals in eastern Virginia, Southerners had good reason to hope that the Northern electorate might opt for a peace candidate and a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy to end the war. Outside of the political arena, Confederate operations in the valley had become a source of irritation to Grant. On August 1, Grant sent Major General Philip Sheridan to the valley and, on August 7, placed him in charge of the newly created Army of the Shenandoah. Grant’s orders for Sheridan were twofold: destroy Early’s army and to:
Do all the damage to railroads and crops you can. Carry off stock of all descriptions… so as to prevent further planting. If the war is to last another year, we want the Shenandoah Valley to remain a barren waste.
Battles of Opequon and Fisher’s Hill
After a slow beginning, which concerned both Lincoln and Grant, Sheridan’s soldiers defeated Early’s outnumbered army at the Battle of Opequon (September 19) and the Battle of Fisher’s Hill (September 22). With Early’s army nearly neutralized after those two battles, Sheridan spent the next few weeks attending to his other task—laying waste to the Shenandoah Valley. During an operation of destruction known as “The Burning,” Sheridan claimed to have slaughtered thousands of sheep, hogs, and cattle and to have burned “2,000 barns filled with wheat, hay, and farming implements [and] over seventy mills filled with flour and wheat.”
Battle of Tom’s Creek — the Woodstock Races
By October 6, Sheridan felt that his reign of destruction was complete, and he began withdrawing his army back north towards Cedar Creek. As the Federals moved north, Confederate cavalry divisions harassed the Union rearguard. Annoyed by the Confederate forays against the retreating Union soldiers, Sheridan ordered his cavalry commander, Brigadier General Alfred Torbert, to “either whip the enemy or get whipped yourself.” Accordingly, on the morning of October 9, Torbert ordered two Union cavalry divisions to turn and attack the Confederate cavalry camped along Tom’s Brook near Woodstock, Virginia. Completely surprised, the Confederate troopers briefly tried to make a stand, but they soon were galloping from the field. The retreat was so rapid that Union cavalrymen referred to the Confederate flight as the Woodstock Races.
Battle of Cedar Creek
As Sheridan sacked the valley, Early prepared for one last stand. Reinforcements boosted the size of his Army of the Valley to 21,000 soldiers. Although still outnumbered by over 10,000 men, Early launched a surprise attack on Sheridan’s troops encamped at Cedar Creek at dawn on October 19, 1864. The assault against the unsuspecting Federals went well until Sheridan arrived from nearby Winchester and rallied his troops in the afternoon. Sheridan launched a counterattack that drove the Confederates from the field.
The surviving units of Early’s army retreated to eastern Virginia to assist Lee in his struggle with Grant. The Shenandoah Valley no longer would be a source of sustenance for the Confederacy. Coupled with Sherman’s capture of Atlanta, Sheridan’s success in the valley helped ensure Lincoln’s re-election and the continuation of the war. Sheridan rejoined the Army of the Potomac in March 1865, hastening the end of the Civil War by relentlessly pursuing the Army of Northern Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign.
Aftermath
Sheridan’s Valley Campaign was the last of three campaigns that comprised the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns of 1864. The other two campaigns were the Lynchburg Campaign (May-June) and Early’s Valley Campaign (July-August).
Timeline
- 1864, March 12 — President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States.
- 1864, May — Franz Sigel marched between 9,000 and 10,000 Union soldiers into the Shenandoah Valley during the Lynchburg Campaign.
- 1864, June 17–18 — Jubal Early defeated Union forces at the Battle of Lynchburg.
- 1864, July — Early’s army remained a threat in the Shenandoah Valley after Union forces drove it away from Washington, D.C.
- 1864, August 1 — Grant sent Philip Sheridan to the Shenandoah Valley.
- 1864, August 7 — Grant placed Sheridan in command of the newly created Army of the Shenandoah.
- 1864, September 19 — Sheridan defeated Early’s army at the Battle of Opequon.
- 1864, September 22 — Sheridan defeated Early’s army at the Battle of Fisher’s Hill.
- 1864, October 6 — Sheridan completed his destruction of the valley and moved his army north toward Cedar Creek.
- 1864, October 9 — Union Cavalry defeated Confederate Cavalry at the Battle of Tom’s Brook.
- 1864, October 19 — Sheridan defeated Early’s army at the Battle of Cedar Creek.
- 1864, November — President Abraham Lincoln won re-election.
- 1865, March — Sheridan rejoined the Army of the Potomac and pursued the Army of Northern Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign.
AP US History
Definition
Sheridan’s Valley Campaign (1864) — Sheridan’s Valley Campaign was the final campaign of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. General Philip Sheridan defeated General Jubal Early at Opequon and Fisher’s Hill before destroying crops, livestock, barns, and mills during “The Burning.” Union Cavalry defeated Confederate Cavalry at Tom’s Brook, and Sheridan’s victory at Cedar Creek ended Early’s threat. The campaign deprived the Confederacy of supplies and strengthened President Abraham Lincoln’s re-election effort.
Alignment
Sheridan’s Valley Campaign is part of the following AP US History sections:
