Bloody Autumn: The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 (Emerging Civil War Series)

Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Dedication; Table of Contents; List of Maps; Acknowledgements; Foreword; Prologue; Chapter One: The Back Door of Invasion-Summer 1864; Chapter Two: "Little Phil" and "Old Jube"-Summer 1864; Chapter Three: Opening Maneuvers-August-September 1864; Chapter Four: Third Winchester, Part I-September 19, 1864; Chapter Five: Third Winchester, Part II-September 19, 1864; Chapter Six: Fisher's Hill-September 19-22, 1864; Chapter Seven: Laying Waste to the Valley September 22-October 5, 1864; Chapter Eight: Tom's Brook-October 5-9, 1864.;Sweep the Shenandoah Valley ""clean and clear, "" Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant ordered in the late summer of 1864. His man for the job: Maj. Gen. ""Little Phil"" Sheridan, the bandy-legged Irishman who'd proven himself just the kind of scrapper Grant loved. Grant turned Sheridan loose across Virginia's most vital landscape, the breadbasket of the Confederacy. In the spring of 1862, a string of Confederate victories in the Valley had foiled Union plans in the state and kept Confederate armies fed and supplied. In 1863, the Army of Northern Virginia used the Valley as its avenue of invas. Generally regarded as the most important of the Civil War campaigns conducted in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, that of 1864 lasted more than four months and claimed more than 25,000 casualties. The armies of Philip H. Sheridan and Jubal A. Early contended for immense stakes. Beyond the agricultural bounty and the boost in morale a victory would bring, events in the Valley also would affect Abraham Lincoln's chances for reelection in the November 1864 presidential canvass. The eleven original essays in this volume reexamine common assumptions about the campaign, its major figures, and its significance. Taking advantage of the most recent scholarship and a wide range of primary sources, contributors examine strategy and tactics, the performances of key commanders on each side, the campaign's political repercussions, and the experiences of civilians caught in the path of the armies. The authors do not always agree with one another, yet, taken together, their essays highlight important connections between the home front and the battlefield, as well as ways in which military affairs, civilian experiences, and politics played off one another during the campaign. William W. Bergen, Charlottesville, Virginia Keith S. Bohannon, State University of West Georgia Andre M. Fleche, University of Virginia Gary W. Gallagher, University of Virginia Joseph T. Glatthaar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Robert E. L. Krick, Richmond, Virginia Robert K. Krick, Fredericksburg, Virginia William J. Miller, Churchville, Virginia Aaron Sheehan-Dean, University of North Florida William G. Thomas, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Joan Waugh, University of California, Los Angeles The Last Battle of Winchester: Phil Sheridan, Jubal Early, and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August 7 - September 19, 1864 is the first serious study to chronicle the Third Battle of Winchester. The September 1864 combat was the largest, longest, and bloodiest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley. What began about daylight did not end until dusk, when the victorious Union army routed the Confederates. It was the first time Stonewall Jackson's former corps had ever been driven from a battlefield, and their defeat set the stage for the final climax of the 1864 Valley Campaign.The Northern victory was a long time coming. After a spring and summer of Union defeat in the Valley, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant cobbled together a formidable force under Phil Sheridan, an equally redoubtable commander. Sheridan's task was a tall one: sweep Jubal Early's Confederate army out of the bountiful Shenandoah, and reduce the verdant region of its supplies. The aggressive Early had led the veterans of Jackson's Army of the Valley District to one victory after another at Lynchburg, Monocacy, Snickers Gap, and Kernstown. Five weeks of complex maneuvering and sporadic combat followed before the opposing armies ended up at Winchester, an important town in the northern end of the Valley that had changed hands dozens of times over the previous three years. Tactical brilliance and ineptitude were on display throughout the day-long affair as Sheridan threw infantry and cavalry against the thinning Confederate ranks and Early and his generals shifted to meet each assault. A final blow against Early's left flank finally collapsed the Southern army, killed one of the Confederacy's finest combat generals, and planted the seeds of the victory at Cedar Creek the following month. Scott Patchan's vivid prose, which is based upon more than two decades of meticulous research and an unparalleled understanding of the battlefield, is complimented with numerous original maps and explanatory footnotes that enhance our understanding of this watershed battle. Rich in analysis and character development, The Last Battle of Winchester is certain to become a classic Civil War battle study. About the Author: A life-long student of military history, Scott C. Patchan is a graduate of James Madison University in the Shenandoah Valley. He is the author of many articles and books, including The Forgotten Fury: The Battle of Piedmont (1996), Shenandoah Summer: The 1864 Valley Campaign (2007), and Second Manassas: Longstreet's Attack and the Struggle for Chinn Ridge (2011). Patchan serves as a Director on the board of the Kernstown Battlefield Association in Winchester, Virginia, and is a member of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation's Resource Protection Committee. Generally Regarded As The Most Important Of The Civil War Campaigns In The Shenandoah Valley Of Virginia, That Of 1864 Lasted More Than Four Months And Claimed More Than 25,000 Casualties. The Armies Of Philip H. Sheridan And Jubal A. Early Contended For Immense Stakes. Beyond The Agricultural Bounty And The Boost In Morale To Be Gained With A Victory, Events In The Valley Would Affect Abraham Lincoln's Chances For Reelection In The November 1864 Presidential Canvass. The Eleven Essays In This Volume Re-examine Common Assumptions About The Campaign, Its Major Figures, And Its Significance. Taking Advantage Of The Most Recent Scholarship And A Wide Range Of Primary Sources, Contributors Examine Strategy And Tactics, The Performances Of Key Commanders On Each Side, The Campaign's Political Repercussions, And The Experiences Of Civilians Caught In The Path Of The Armies. The Authors Do Not Always Agree With One Another, But, Taken Together, Their Essays Highlight Important Connections Between The Home Front And The Battlefield, As Well As Ways In Which Military Affairs, Civilian Experience, And Politics Played Off One Another During The Campaign.--jacket. Two Generals And A Valley : Philip H. Sheridan And Jubal A. Early In The Shenandoah / Gary W. Gallagher -- U.s. Grant And The Union High Command During The 1864 Valley Campaign / Joseph T. Glatthaar -- The Fatal Halt Versus Bad Conduct : John B. Gordon, Jubal A. Early, And The Battle Of Cedar Creek / Keith S. Bohannon -- The Other Hero Of Cedar Creek : The Not Specially Ambitious Horatio G. Wright / William W. Bergen -- Never Has There Been A More Complete Victory : The Cavalry Engagement At Tom's Brook, October 9, 1864 / William J. Miller -- A Stampeede Of Stampeeds : The Confederate Disaster At Fisher's Hill / Robert E.l. Krick. Edited By Gary W. Gallagher. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [371]-375) And Index. Finalist, 2014, Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Book Award Sweep the Shenandoah Valley clean and clear, Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant ordered in the late summer of 1864. His man for the Maj. Gen. Little Phil Sheridan, the bandy-legged Irishman whod proven himself just the kind of scrapper Grant loved. Grant turned Sheridan loose across Virginias most vital landscape, the breadbasket of the Confederacy. In the spring of 1862, a string of Confederate victories in the Valley had foiled Union plans in the state and kept Confederate armies fed and supplied. In 1863, the Army of Northern Virginia used the Valley as its avenue of invasion, culminating in the battle of Gettysburg. The Valley continued to offer Confederates an alluring backdoor to Washington D.C. But when Sheridan returned to the Valley in 1864, the stakes jumped dramatically. To lose the Valley would mean to lose the state, Stonewall Jackson had once saidand now that prediction would be put to the test as Sheridan fought with Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early for possession. For the North, the fragile momentum its war effort had gained by capturing Atlanta would quickly evaporate; for Abraham Lincoln, defeat in the Valley could very well mean defeat in the upcoming election. For the South, more than its breadbasket was at stakeits nascent nationhood lay on the line. Historians Daniel Davis and Phillip Greenwalt, longtime students of the Civil War, have spent countless hours researching the Valley battles of 64 and walking the ground where those battles unfolded. Bloody The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 shifts attention away from the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia to the campaign that ultimately determined the balance of power across the Eastern Theater. Generally regarded as the most important of the Civil War campaigns conducted in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, that of 1864 lasted more than four months and claimed more than 25,000 casualties. The armies of Philip H. Sheridan and Jubal A. Early contended for immense stakes. Beyond the agricultural bounty and the boost in morale a victory would bring, events in the Valley also would affect Abraham Lincoln's chances for reelection in the November 1864 presidential canvass. The eleven original essays in this volume reexamine common assumptions about the campaign, its major figures, and its significance. Taking advantage of the most recent scholarship and a wide range of primary sources, contributors examine strategy and tactics, the performances of key commanders on each side, the campaign's political repercussions, and the experiences of civilians caught in the path of the armies. The authors do not always agree with one another, yet, taken together, their essays highlight important connections between the home front and the battlefield, as well as ways in which military affairs, civilian experiences, and politics played off one another during the campaign.Contributors:William W. Bergen, Charlottesville, VirginiaKeith S. Bohannon, State University of West GeorgiaAndre M. Fleche, University of VirginiaGary W. Gallagher, University of VirginiaJoseph T. Glatthaar, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillRobert E. L. Krick, Richmond, VirginiaRobert K. Krick, Fredericksburg, VirginiaWilliam J. Miller, Churchville, VirginiaAaron Sheehan-Dean, University of North FloridaWilliam G. Thomas, University of Nebraska-LincolnJoan Waugh, University of California, Los Angeles

An "essential addition to serious students' libraries" detailing the historic military offensive that helped sway the outcome of the American Civil War ( Civil War News ). In the late summer of 1864, Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant set one absolutely unconditional goal: to sweep Virginia's Shenandoah Valley "clean and clear." His man for the job: Maj. Gen. "Little Phil" Sheridan—a temperamental Irishman who'd proven himself just the kind of scrapper Grant loved. The valley had already played a major part in the war for the Confederacy as both the location of major early victories against Union attacks, and as the route used by the Army of Northern Virginia for its invasion of the North, culminating in the battle of Gettysburg. But when Sheridan returned to the Valley in 1864, the stakes heightened dramatically. For the North, the fragile momentum its war effort had gained by the capture of Atlanta would quickly evaporate. For Abraham Lincoln, defeat in the Valley could mean defeat in the upcoming election. And for the South, its very sovereignty lay on the line. Here, historians Davis and Greenwalt "weave an excellent summary of the campaign that will serve to introduce those new to the Civil War to the events of that 'Bloody Autumn' and will serve as a ready refresher for veteran stompers who are heading out to visit those storied fields of conflict" (Scott C. Patchan, author of The Last Battle of Winchester ).

Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Table of Contents List of Maps Acknowledgements Foreword Prologue Chapter One: The Back Door of Invasion-Summer 1864 Chapter Two: "Little Phil" and "Old Jube"-Summer 1864 Chapter Three: Opening Maneuvers-August-September 1864 Chapter Four: Third Winchester, Part I-September 19, 1864 Chapter Five: Third Winchester, Part II-September 19, 1864 Chapter Six: Fisher's Hill-September 19-22, 1864 Chapter Seven: Laying Waste to the Valley September 22-October 5, 1864 Chapter Eight: Tom's Brook-October 5-9, 1864. Chapter Nine: Preparations for Battle-October 10-18, 1864Chapter Ten: Cedar Creek, Part I-October 18-19, 1864 Chapter Eleven: Cedar Creek, Part II-October 19, 1864 Chapter Twelve: The End of the Campaign-Autumn 1864 Driving Tour #1: Third Winchester Driving Tour #2: Fisher's Hill and Tom's Brook Driving Tour #3: Cedar Creek Driving Tour #4: Two Fallen Officers: Alexander Pendleton and John Rodgers Meigs Appendix A: Winchester During the War Appendix B: John Mosby, George Custer, and the Front Royal Executions Appendix C: The Valley Campaign for Memory. Appendix D: Preserving the Shenandoah Valley's Civil War BattlefieldsOrder of Battle Suggested Reading About the Authors. Jubal A. Early’s disastrous battles in the Shenandoah Valley ultimately resulted in his ignominious dismissal. But Early’s lesser-known summer campaign of 1864, between his raid on Washington and Phil Sheridan’s renowned fall campaign, had a significant impact on the political and military landscape of the time. By focusing on military tactics and battle history in uncovering the facts and events of these little-understood battles, Scott C. Patchan offers a new perspective on Early’s contributions to the Confederate war effort—and to Union battle plans and politicking. Patchan details the previously unexplored battles at Rutherford’s Farm and Kernstown (a pinnacle of Confederate operations in the Shenandoah Valley) and examines the campaign’s influence on President Lincoln’s reelection efforts. He also provides insights into the personalities, careers, and roles in Shenandoah of Confederate general John C. Breckinridge, Union general George Crook, and Union colonel James A. Mulligan, with his “fighting Irish” brigade from Chicago. Finally, Patchan reconsiders the ever-colorful and controversial Early himself, whose importance in the Confederate military pantheon this book at last makes clear. Utilizing a vast array of unpublished letters, diaries, and memoirs and published regimental histories, Jeffry Wert has written a path-breaking study of the crucial 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. In vivid detail he describes the battles of Third Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, and Cedar Creek, Union victories that insured the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. Wert’s book is the first modern work on the campaign and captures the drama, the terrible nature of Civil War combat, and the suffering of Valley residents in a compelling and graphic narrative. Recounts Sheridan's Valley Campaign Of 1864, Including The Number Of Troops, Battles And Decisive Results. Virginia Stalemate, Summer 2864 -- Armies Of The Land -- Mimic War -- A Stand-up Fight -- Whirling Through Winchester -- First Fair Chance -- Old Jube Early's About Played Out -- In The Upper Valley -- Mosby -- The Rebels Are Disposed Of -- Hell Carnival -- The Sun Of Middletown -- Put A Twist On 'em -- Old Jube And Little Phil: An Evaluation. Jeffry D. Wert. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Historians Daniel Davis and Phillip Greenwalt, longtime students of the Civil War, have spent countless hours researching the Valley battles of ’64 and walking the ground where those battles unfolded. Bloody Autumn: The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 shifts attention away from the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia to the campaign that ultimately determined the balance of power across the Eastern Theater. HISTORY / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877) Jubal A Early's disastrous battles in the Shenandoah Valley ultimately resulted in his ignominious dismissal. Focusing on military tactics and battle history in uncovering the facts and events of various battles, the author offers a fresh perspective on his contributions to the Confederate war effort - and to Union battle plans and politicking. The Third Battle of Winchester in September 1864 was the largest, longest, and bloodiest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley. It was the first time Stonewall Jackson's former corps had ever been driven from a battlefield, and their defeat set the stage for the final climax of the 1864 Valley Campaign. "Clear out the Shenandoah Valley "clean and clear," Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant ordered, in the late summer of 1864. His man for the job: Major General "Little Phil" Sheridan, the bandy-legged Irishman who'd proven himself just the kind of scrapper Grant loved. "...Shifts the attention away from the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia to the campaign that ultimately determined the balance of power across the Eastern Theater." -- page 4 of cover