Army of the Shenandoah | |
---|---|
Active | July 25, 1861 – March 18, 1862 August 1, 1864 – June 27, 1865 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army |
Engagements | American Civil War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | MG Robert Patterson MG Nathaniel P. Banks MG David Hunter MG Philip Sheridan MG Horatio G. Wright MG Philip Sheridan BG Alfred Thomas Torbert |
The Army of the Shenandoah was a field army of the Union Army active during the American Civil War. First organized as the Department of the Shenandoah in 1861 and then disbanded in early 1862, the army became most effective after its recreation on August 1, 1864 under the command of Philip Sheridan. [1] The army's actions during the Valley campaigns of 1864 rendered the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia unable to produce foodstuffs for the Confederate States Army, a condition which would hasten the conclusion of the American Civil War.
Under the command of Major General Robert Patterson before the three-month enlistments of a majority of its troops expired, the Department of Pennsylvania operated as the lone element of Union Army in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After achieving a tactical victory at the Battle of Hoke's Run on July 2 and contributing indirectly to the Union disaster at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, its unexpired regiments and commanders were absorbed into a new Department of the Shenandoah under the command of Major General Nathaniel P. Banks on July 25, 1861. Neither Patterson nor Banks referred to his commands as the Army of the Shenandoah in official correspondence, [2] and when the Army of the Potomac adopted a Corps structure on March 18, 1862, Banks' command was redesignated as the "Fifth Corps."
On May 21, 1864, Major General David Hunter was appointed to command the Department of West Virginia. Hunter designated the field forces of his department the "Army of the Shenandoah". Hunter was in command of the Army of the Shenandoah from May 21 to July 3 [3] which consisted of two infantry divisions and two cavalry divisions. The First and Second Infantry Divisions were commanded by Brigadier Generals Jeremiah C. Sullivan and George Crook respectively. The First and Second Cavalry Divisions were commanded by Brigadier Generals Julius Stahel (succeeded by Alfred N. Duffie) and William W. Averell respectively. In May Crook's and Averell's divisions fought independently at the battle of Cloyd's Mountain. Hunter personally led Sullivan's and Stahel's divisions at the battle of Piedmont. All four divisions were joined for the battle of Lynchburg. On July 3, George Crook assumed command of both infantry divisions and designated this as a new field army named the Army of the Kanawha. [4]
The force was next created by order of Ulysses S. Grant on August 1, 1864, in response to a raid by Jubal Early and his Confederate army of 15,000 on Washington, D.C., and especially his defeat of Lew Wallace at the Battle of Monocacy Junction. The new Army of the Shenandoah was composed of the Union VI Corps (commanded by Horatio G. Wright), XIX Corps (William H. Emory), and George Crook's Army of West Virginia (VIII Corps). It was placed under Sheridan's command with orders to repel Early, deal with Confederate guerillas, and press on into the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.
Early, ever the cunning strategist, kept his force moving so as not to be trapped by Sheridan's vastly superior force. His raid had, if anything, a good deal of success for southern morale. Confederate General Robert E. Lee, coming to the conclusion that Early had done all that was practical, ordered Early to return two of his divisions to Richmond and remain to tie up Sheridan. Learning of this, Sheridan waited until Early weakened himself and then attacked at the Third Battle of Winchester on September 19 and then again at the Battle of Fisher's Hill on September 20–21. By the end of these battles, Early's force was effectively out of the war, and Sheridan proceeded with his secondary orders to destroy the ability of the Shenandoah Valley to produce foodstuffs for the Confederacy, torching farms and more than 2,000 mills.
Reinforced again in reaction to the threat of Sheridan's 31,000-man army, Early moved against Sheridan once more. After a decisive cavalry victory by Union forces under Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Tom's Brook, Early's army launched a surprise attack against Sheridan at the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 19. Initially successful, the Confederates were repelled by a Union counterattack and the Valley was firmly under Union control.
Following those battles in the fall of 1864, the majority of the Army of the Shenandoah was detached to Grant at Petersburg and to William Tecumseh Sherman in Georgia. Sheridan joined Grant for the Appomattox campaign where Sheridan commanded the Army of the Shenandoah, which included two divisions of cavalry commanded by Wesley Merritt. In late April 1865, command of the army then passed to Brig. Gen. A. T. A. Torbert until July 12, 1865, when the force was disbanded for the final time.
The Army of Northern Virginia, was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, and one of the most storied military organizations in American history. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac.
The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in April.
William Woods Averell was a career United States Army officer and a cavalry general in the American Civil War. He was the only Union general to achieve a major victory against the Confederates in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 prior to the arrival of Philip Sheridan, at the Battle of Rutherford's (Carter's) Farm and at the Battle of Moorefield.
The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, was fought on October 19, 1864, during the American Civil War. The fighting took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Northern Virginia, near Cedar Creek, Middletown, and the Valley Pike. During the morning, Lieutenant General Jubal Early appeared to have a victory for his Confederate army, as he captured over 1,000 prisoners and over 20 artillery pieces while forcing 7 enemy infantry divisions to fall back. The Union army, led by Major General Philip Sheridan, rallied in late afternoon and drove away Early's men. In addition to recapturing all of their own artillery seized in the morning, Sheridan's forces captured most of Early's artillery and wagons.
Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert was a career United States Army officer, a Union Army General commanding both infantry and cavalry forces in the American Civil War, and a U.S. diplomat.
The Third Battle of Winchester, also known as the Battle of Opequon or Battle of Opequon Creek, was an American Civil War battle fought near Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864. Union Army Major General Philip Sheridan defeated Confederate Army Lieutenant General Jubal Early in one of the largest, bloodiest, and most important battles in the Shenandoah Valley. Among the 5,000 Union casualties were one general killed and three wounded. The casualty rate for the Confederates was high: about 4,000 of 15,500. Two Confederate generals were killed and four were wounded. Participants in the battle included two future presidents of the United States, two future governors of Virginia, a former vice president of the United States, and a colonel whose grandson, George S. Patton became a famous general in World War II.
David McMurtrie Gregg was an American farmer, diplomat, and a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War.
The Valley campaigns of 1864 began as operations initiated by Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and resulting battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia during the American Civil War from May to October 1864. Some military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns. This article considers them together, as the campaigns interacted and built upon one another.
XIX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of its service in Louisiana and the Gulf, though several units fought in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.
The Army of the Valley was the name given to the army of Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's independent command during the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns in the summer and autumn of 1864. The Army of the Valley was the last Confederate unit to invade Northern territory, reaching the outskirts of Washington, D.C. The Army became defunct after its decisive defeat at the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, on March 2, 1865.
The eastern theater of the American Civil War consisted of the major military and naval operations in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina.
James Brewerton Ricketts was a career officer in the United States Army, serving as a Union Army general during the Civil War.
The 1st West Virginia Cavalry Regiment served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although it started slowly, it became one of the most active and effective of the West Virginia Civil War regiments—and had 14 Medal of Honor recipients, the most for any West Virginia regiment during the war. It was originally called the 1st Virginia Cavalry, not to be confused with the Confederate 1st Virginia Cavalry. Some reports added "Union," "Loyal" or "West" when identifying this regiment. After the Unionist state of West Virginia was officially admitted to the Union in 1863, the regiment became the 1st West Virginia Cavalry Regiment. The National Park Service identifies it as the 1st Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry.
The 2nd West Virginia Cavalry Regiment served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized in Parkersburg, Virginia during September 1861. Most of the original members of this regiment were from southeastern Ohio, and planners thought that this regiment would become the 4th Ohio Cavalry. Their application was rejected by the governor of Ohio, so the unit became the 2nd Regiment of Loyal Virginia Volunteer Cavalry. The "Loyal Virginia" part of the name was replaced with "West Virginia" after the state of West Virginia was officially admitted to the Union in 1863. Today, the National Park Service lists them as 2nd Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry under a heading of Union West Virginia Volunteers.
Alfred Gibbs was a career officer in the United States Army who served as an officer during the Mexican-American War and Apache Wars. He served as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
George Henry Chapman was an American sailor, newspaper editor, lawyer, and soldier. He served in the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. Later in life he was a judge and a state legislator.
Henry Brevard Davidson was a graduate of the United States Military Academy and an officer in the United States Army in the West before the American Civil War. At the outbreak of the war, he resigned his commission and served in various staff positions in the Confederate States Army. On August 18, 1863, he was promoted to brigadier general and first commanded brigades of cavalry in the Western Theater, particularly in Tennessee and Georgia. In 1864, he was transferred to Virginia and served in the Valley Campaigns of 1864. At the end of the war, he served under General Joseph E. Johnston in the Carolina Campaign. After the war, he became a civil engineer in California and in 1887 was deputy secretary of state in California. Later in life, he was an agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad in Danville, California.
Oliver Edwards was a machine company executive, an inventor, and a volunteer officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
William Henry Powell was an American soldier who fought for the Union in the American Civil War. He was a leader in the iron and nail business before the war, and his leadership abilities proved useful in the military. Powell began as a captain, and quickly ascended to higher roles in the cavalry, including commanding a regiment, a brigade, and then a division. Powell was awarded his country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for heroism at Sinking Creek, Virginia, when, as leader of a group of 22 men, he captured an enemy camp and took over 100 prisoners. This was accomplished without the loss of any of his men on November 26, 1862. He was honored with the award on July 22, 1890.
The 20th Pennsylvania Cavalry was a cavalry regiment of the Union Army which fought during the American Civil War. Also known as the 181st Pennsylvania Volunteers, it was initially led by Colonel John E. Wynkoop, Lieutenant Colonel William Rotch Wister, and Major Samuel W. Comly.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)