Army of the Valley
Encyclopedia
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.
, entrenched at Petersburg
, wanted to siphon off some of the overwhelming number of Federal troops that he faced. He was also concerned with recent Union victories in the Shenandoah Valley
(a vital source of supplies and food for his army). He devised a daring plan to accomplish both ends. On June 12, 1864, Lee ordered Jubal Early to take independent command of the Army of Northern Virginia
's Second Corps, renaming it as the Army of the Valley (the name given to many of these same troops by Stonewall Jackson
during his 1862 Valley Campaign
). Early was to march north through the Shenandoah Valley, cross the Potomac River
into Maryland
, and possibly threaten either Baltimore or Washington. Early immediately made preparations for independent action. Departing Petersburg via train, the army arrived in the valley at the rail center of Lynchburg
to reinforce John C. Breckinridge
and to contest the Federals in the region. However, David Hunter
withdrew his Union troops in the face of Early's larger force.
Readily brushing aside the remaining small Federal garrisons in a series of minor engagements, Early (with Breckinridge's men now a part of the Army of the Valley) proceeded northward and then east from the valley across the South Mountain
range. Near Frederick, Maryland
, the force was delayed by a full day at the Battle of Monocacy
by Lew Wallace
. On July 11, Early threatened Washington before withdrawing two days later. On July 24, after returning to the Shenandoah, the Army of the Valley won its last major battle, Second Kernstown
, defeating George Crook
's VIII Corps
. Early dispatched much of his cavalry under John McCausland
to raid and subsequently burn much of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
(in apparent retalition for Hunter's burning of the Virginia Military Institute
).
By the end of July, fed up with Early's free rein of the valley, President Abraham Lincoln
met with Ulysses S. Grant
to discuss options. Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan
was assigned to command, replacing the defeated Hunter, who promptly resigned. In a series of sharp engagements in August through October, Sheridan repeatedly defeated the Army of the Valley and drove Early's men southward. The Army of the Valley was no longer a significant threat.
Early's battered force stayed together throughout the winter of 1864–65, but was a shadow of its former size and potency. Many men deserted and returned home. The remainder were low on supplies, ammunition, clothing, and food, yet maintained a military presence. However, on February 27, 1865, Sheridan departed Winchester
with two cavalry divisions
and moved into position to attack Early near Waynesboro
. After a brief stand-off, a determined Federal attack rolled up Early’s right flank and scattered his small force. General Early and a few other officers and troops were able to avoid capture, but over 1,500 men were captured and sent to Fort Delaware
to await the end of the war. The Army of the Valley ceased to exist and Lee dismissed Early from the service, fearing that he could not instill enough confidence in the new recruits required to keep the fighting going.
Lieutenant General (United States)
In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...
Jubal Early
Jubal Anderson Early
Jubal Anderson Early was a lawyer and Confederate general in the American Civil War. He served under Stonewall Jackson and then Robert E. Lee for almost the entire war, rising from regimental command to lieutenant general and the command of an infantry corps in the Army of Northern Virginia...
's independent command during the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns
Valley Campaigns of 1864
The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...
in the summer and autumn of 1864. The Army of the Valley was the last Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
unit to invade Northern
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
territory, reaching the outskirts of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. The Army became defunct after its decisive defeat at the Battle of Waynesboro
Battle of Waynesboro
The Battle of Waynesboro was fought on March 2, 1865, in Augusta County, Virginia, during the American Civil War. It was the final battle for Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early, whose force was destroyed.-Background:...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, on March 2, 1865.
History
General Robert E. LeeRobert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, entrenched at Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
, wanted to siphon off some of the overwhelming number of Federal troops that he faced. He was also concerned with recent Union victories in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
(a vital source of supplies and food for his army). He devised a daring plan to accomplish both ends. On June 12, 1864, Lee ordered Jubal Early to take independent command of the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
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, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
's Second Corps, renaming it as the Army of the Valley (the name given to many of these same troops by Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
during his 1862 Valley Campaign
Valley Campaign
Jackson's Valley Campaign was Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's famous spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War...
). Early was to march north through the Shenandoah Valley, cross the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
into Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, and possibly threaten either Baltimore or Washington. Early immediately made preparations for independent action. Departing Petersburg via train, the army arrived in the valley at the rail center of Lynchburg
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
to reinforce John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
and to contest the Federals in the region. However, David Hunter
David Hunter
David Hunter was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.-Early...
withdrew his Union troops in the face of Early's larger force.
Readily brushing aside the remaining small Federal garrisons in a series of minor engagements, Early (with Breckinridge's men now a part of the Army of the Valley) proceeded northward and then east from the valley across the South Mountain
South Mountain (Maryland and Pennsylvania)
South Mountain is the northern extension of the Blue Ridge Mountain range in Maryland and Pennsylvania. From the Potomac River near Knoxville, Maryland in the south, to Dillsburg, Pennsylvania in the north, the long range separates the Hagerstown and Cumberland valleys from the Piedmont regions of...
range. Near Frederick, Maryland
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
, the force was delayed by a full day at the Battle of Monocacy
Battle of Monocacy
The Battle of Monocacy was fought on July 9, 1864, just outside Frederick, Maryland, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864, in the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early defeated Union forces under Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace...
by Lew Wallace
Lew Wallace
Lewis "Lew" Wallace was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, territorial governor and statesman, politician and author...
. On July 11, Early threatened Washington before withdrawing two days later. On July 24, after returning to the Shenandoah, the Army of the Valley won its last major battle, Second Kernstown
Battle of Kernstown II
-References:* Patchan, Scott C. Shenandoah Summer: The 1864 Valley Campaign. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8032-3754-4.-External links:* for July 24, 1864, of Major Alexander Hart of the 5th Louisiana Regiment.*...
, defeating George Crook
George Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
's VIII Corps
VIII Corps (ACW)
The VIII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.- Creation and early service :The corps was initially created out of various Union commands as part of the Middle Department in the Shenandoah Valley on July 12, 1862, and was placed under the command of Major General John...
. Early dispatched much of his cavalry under John McCausland
John McCausland
John McCausland, Jr. was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army, famous for the ransom of Hagerstown, Maryland, and the razing of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War....
to raid and subsequently burn much of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg is a borough in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is miles north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and southwest of Harrisburg in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley. Chambersburg is the county seat of Franklin County...
(in apparent retalition for Hunter's burning of the Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
).
By the end of July, fed up with Early's free rein of the valley, President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
met with Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
to discuss options. Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan
Philip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
was assigned to command, replacing the defeated Hunter, who promptly resigned. In a series of sharp engagements in August through October, Sheridan repeatedly defeated the Army of the Valley and drove Early's men southward. The Army of the Valley was no longer a significant threat.
Early's battered force stayed together throughout the winter of 1864–65, but was a shadow of its former size and potency. Many men deserted and returned home. The remainder were low on supplies, ammunition, clothing, and food, yet maintained a military presence. However, on February 27, 1865, Sheridan departed Winchester
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...
with two cavalry divisions
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
and moved into position to attack Early near Waynesboro
Waynesboro, Virginia
Waynesboro, deriving its name from General Anthony Wayne, is an independent city surrounded by Augusta County in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 21,006 in 2010.....
. After a brief stand-off, a determined Federal attack rolled up Early’s right flank and scattered his small force. General Early and a few other officers and troops were able to avoid capture, but over 1,500 men were captured and sent to Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware is a harbor defense facility, designed by Chief Engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten, and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. During the American Civil War, the Union used Fort Delaware as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war, political prisoners, federal convicts, and...
to await the end of the war. The Army of the Valley ceased to exist and Lee dismissed Early from the service, fearing that he could not instill enough confidence in the new recruits required to keep the fighting going.
Campaigns and battles
- Valley Campaigns of 1864Valley Campaigns of 1864The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...
- Early's Raid and Operations Against the B&O Railroad (June – August 1864)
- Battle of Monocacy Junction (July 9, 1864)
- Battle of Fort StevensBattle of Fort StevensThe Battle of Fort Stevens was an American Civil War battle fought July 11–12, 1864, in Northwest Washington, D.C., as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 between forces under Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early and Union Maj. Gen. Alexander McD. McCook. Although Early caused consternation...
(June 11–12 1864) - Heaton's CrossroadsHeaton's CrossroadsHeaton's Crossroads, also known as the Purcellville Wagon Raid, was an American Civil War skirmish that took place between Federal cavalry under Brig. Gen. Alfred N. Duffié and Confederate infantry under Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge on July 16, 1864, near present day Purcellville, Virginia in...
(June 16, 1864) - Battle of Cool SpringBattle of Cool SpringThe Battle of Cool Spring, also known as Castleman's Ferry, Island Ford, Parker's Ford, and Snicker's Ferry, was a battle in the American Civil War fought July 17–18, 1864, in Clarke County, Virginia, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864...
(June 17–18 1864) - Battle of Rutherford's FarmBattle of Rutherford's FarmThe Battle of Rutherford's Farm, also known as Carter's Farm and Stephenson's Depot, was a small engagement between Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur and Union forces under Brig. Gen. William W. Averell on July 20, 1864, in Frederick County, Virginia, during the American...
(July 20, 1864) - Second Battle of KernstownBattle of Kernstown II-References:* Patchan, Scott C. Shenandoah Summer: The 1864 Valley Campaign. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8032-3754-4.-External links:* for July 24, 1864, of Major Alexander Hart of the 5th Louisiana Regiment.*...
(July 24, 1864) - Battle of Folck's MillBattle of Folck's MillThe Battle of Folck's Mill, also known as the Battle of Cumberland, was a small cavalry engagement, fought August 1, 1864, in northern Maryland, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War....
(August 1, 1864) - Battle of MoorefieldBattle of MoorefieldThe Battle of Moorefield was a cavalry battle in the American Civil War, which took place on August 7, 1864, at Moorefield, West Virginia, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864. Brig. Gen. William W. Averell led Union troops to a victory over Brig. Gen...
(August 7, 1864)
- Early's Raid and Operations Against the B&O Railroad (June – August 1864)
-
- Sheridan's Valley Campaign (August – October 1864)
- Battle of Summit PointBattle of Summit PointThe Battle of Summit Point, also known as Flowing Springs or Cameron's Depot, was an inconclusive battle of the American Civil War fought on August 21, 1864, near Summit Point, West Virginia....
(August 21, 1864) - Battle of Smithfield CrossingBattle of Smithfield CrossingThe Battle of Smithfield Crossing was a small battle during the American Civil War fought August 25 through August 29, 1864, in Jefferson and Berkeley counties in West Virginia....
(August 25–29 1864). - Battle of BerryvilleBattle of BerryvilleThe Battle of Berryville was fought September 3 and September 4, 1864, in Clarke County, Virginia. It took place toward the end of the American Civil War....
(September 3–4 1864) - Battle of OpequonBattle of OpequonThe Battle of Opequon, more commonly known as the Third Battle of Winchester, was fought in Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864, during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War....
(September 19, 1864) - Battle of Fisher's HillBattle of Fisher's HillThe Battle of Fisher's Hill was fought September 21–22, 1864, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. Fisher's Hill is located near Strasburg, Virginia....
(September 21–22 1864) - Battle of Tom's BrookBattle of Tom's BrookThe Battle of Tom's Brook was fought on October 9, 1864, in Shenandoah County, Virginia, during Philip Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign of the American Civil War. It resulted in a significant Union victory, one that was mockingly dubbed The Woodstock Races for the speed of the Confederate...
(October 9, 1864) - Battle of Hupp's Hill (October 12, 1864)
- Battle of Cedar CreekBattle of Cedar CreekThe Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. The final Confederate invasion of the North, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, was effectively ended...
(October 19, 1864)
- Battle of Summit Point
- Sheridan's Valley Campaign (August – October 1864)
- 1865 Sheridan's Expedition to Petersburg
- Battle of WaynesboroBattle of WaynesboroThe Battle of Waynesboro was fought on March 2, 1865, in Augusta County, Virginia, during the American Civil War. It was the final battle for Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early, whose force was destroyed.-Background:...
(March 2, 1865)
- Battle of Waynesboro
See also
- Monocacy Junction Confederate order of battle
- Kernstown II Confederate order of battleKernstown II Confederate order of battleThe following Confederate States Army units and commanders fought in the Second Battle of Kernstown of the American Civil War, on July 24, 1864 in Kernstown, now part of the City of Winchester, Virginia...