Shenandoah 1864: Sheridan's valley campaign

by Mark Lardas, Adam Hook (Illustrator)

Overview

Virginia's Shenandoah Valley in 1864 was the scene of one of the most crucial campaigns of the Civil War. The outcome of the fighting there would have consequences that stretched far outside the valley to help decide the fate of the nation.

In 1864 the Union Army's new commander, Ulysses Grant, created the Union's first cohesive strategy for conquering the Confederacy. One of his key objectives was to control the Shenandoah Valley. The valley shielded the Confederacy, served as the bread basket for Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, and provided remounts for Confederate cavalry. When an initial invasion in spring 1864 failed in the face of a skillful counter-attack by General Jubal Early, Grant turned to his cavalry commander, Brigadier-General Philip Sheridan, to drive the Confederacy from the valley.
On August 7, 1864, "Little Phil" assumed command of the Army of the Shenandoah, as the new command was styled. Over the next 90 days two armies—the Union forces led by Sheridan and the Confederate troops commanded by Early—maneuvered across the Shenandoah Valley in a storied campaign of move and countermove, where unexpected attacks were met by equally unexpected ripostes. The stakes in the battles were not just the fate of one disputed agricultural valley in the United States. Rather, its implications would be felt throughout a nation torn by Civil War. Victory or defeat in the Shenandoah could affect the outcome of the Presidential election to be held in November 1864. Confederate loss of the Valley would cripple the Army of Northern Virginia. Sheridan's eventual victory helped ensure Lincoln's re-election and removed the Confederate threat, hastening the eventual end to the Civil War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472804839
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	10/21/2014
Series:	Campaign , #276
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	1,073,223
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Mark Lardas holds a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, but spent his early career at the Johnson Space Center doing Space Shuttle structural analysis, and space navigation. An amateur historian and a long-time ship modeler, Mark Lardas is currently working in League City, Texas. He has written extensively about modeling as well as naval, maritime, and military history. The author lives in League City, TX.

Table of Contents

Origins of the Campaign 4

Chronology 8

Opposing Commanders 12

Union commanders

Confederate commanders

Opposing Forces 20

Union Army of the Shenandoah

Confederate Army of the Valley

Order of battle

Opposing Plans 32

The Campaign 39

The opening stages, August 7-September 15

The Third Battle of Winchester, September 15-19

Fisher's Hill, September 20-23

The Burning, September 24-October 12

Cedar Creek, October 13-20

Aftermath 90

The Battlefield Today 92

Further Reading 94

Index 95