Started By
Message
re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 9/20/14 at 9:12 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 9/20/14 at 9:12 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 21 September 1864
The pursuit of General Jubal Early “up” the Shenandoah Valley continued today. Having resisted the move back to General Robert E. Lee in Petersburg for as long as he could, Early now was in a desperate race to do exactly that. The impediment was General Phillip Sheridan, who accomplished two things today. First, there was the fighting: Early had fortified Fisher’s Hill, and Sheridan had to advance slowly there. Additional actions took place at Strasburg, and at Front Royal, where the Confederates managed to keep Sheridan’s men out of the Luray Valley for one more day.
Union probes against Early's lines at Fisher's Hill show the position would be very costly to attack frontally. General George R. Crook proposes a flank march by his two divisions through the steep mountain terrain on the Confederate left flank. The plan is violently opposed by Sixth Corps Commander Horatio Wright but Sheridan, who was Crook's roommate at West Point, approves. After nightfall, Sheridan detached Crook and one corps to move around the left flank of Early.
Early's second in command, John Breckinridge, is ordered to leave the Valley to resume command of the Department of East Tennessee and Western Virginia.
Philip Sheridan became permanent commander of the Federal Middle Military District, including the Shenandoah Valley.
With Early damaged and pinned down, the Valley lay open to the Union. And because of Sherman's capture of Atlanta, President Abraham Lincoln's re-election now seemed assured. Sheridan would pull back slowly down the Valley and conducted a scorched earth campaign that would presage Sherman's March to the Sea in November. The goal was to deny the Confederacy the means of feeding its armies in Virginia, and Sheridan's army did so ruthlessly, burning crops, barns, mills, and factories.
Lincoln spoke with various political leaders and administration officials to gather support and gauge public opinion on the upcoming election.
The pursuit of General Jubal Early “up” the Shenandoah Valley continued today. Having resisted the move back to General Robert E. Lee in Petersburg for as long as he could, Early now was in a desperate race to do exactly that. The impediment was General Phillip Sheridan, who accomplished two things today. First, there was the fighting: Early had fortified Fisher’s Hill, and Sheridan had to advance slowly there. Additional actions took place at Strasburg, and at Front Royal, where the Confederates managed to keep Sheridan’s men out of the Luray Valley for one more day.
Union probes against Early's lines at Fisher's Hill show the position would be very costly to attack frontally. General George R. Crook proposes a flank march by his two divisions through the steep mountain terrain on the Confederate left flank. The plan is violently opposed by Sixth Corps Commander Horatio Wright but Sheridan, who was Crook's roommate at West Point, approves. After nightfall, Sheridan detached Crook and one corps to move around the left flank of Early.
Early's second in command, John Breckinridge, is ordered to leave the Valley to resume command of the Department of East Tennessee and Western Virginia.
Philip Sheridan became permanent commander of the Federal Middle Military District, including the Shenandoah Valley.
With Early damaged and pinned down, the Valley lay open to the Union. And because of Sherman's capture of Atlanta, President Abraham Lincoln's re-election now seemed assured. Sheridan would pull back slowly down the Valley and conducted a scorched earth campaign that would presage Sherman's March to the Sea in November. The goal was to deny the Confederacy the means of feeding its armies in Virginia, and Sheridan's army did so ruthlessly, burning crops, barns, mills, and factories.
Lincoln spoke with various political leaders and administration officials to gather support and gauge public opinion on the upcoming election.
1
Posted on 9/21/14 at 8:39 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 22 September 1864
The bloody, full scale battle in the Shenandoah Valley continued today. General Jubal Early’s Confederates held a rise known as Fisher’s Hill, with General Phillip Sheridan facing him there and down a creek called Tumbling Run from the heights of Strasburg with over 40,000 Union troops. The two battled for most of the day until late afternoon when Sheridan’s trap was sprung. He had sent a corps last night under General George R. Crook around the Confederate left, and at this moment Crook’s men attacked, taking the entrenchments on the flank and rear.
Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of Staff Alexander Swift “Sandie” Pendleton, who had fought so well for General Thomas J. Jackson in this valley two years previously and already among the most respected staff officers in Robert E. Lee's army, was a casualty in the melee. Pendleton, trying to rally men streaming to the rear, was mortally wounded. He died the next day, less than a week before his twenty-fourth birthday. He is buried in Lexington, not far from the grave of Jackson.
Early’s men fled four miles further south before rallying. Numbering almost 12,000 a week ago the battles of Winchester and today at Fisher’s Hill had cut this number just about in half.
Upon learning that Rear Admiral David G. Farragut's health prevented him from accepting command of the forthcoming operations against Wilmington, North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles paid eloquent tribute to the Admiral and his accomplishments: "In accordance with the view of the Department and the universal wish of the country, the orders of the 5th instant (5 September 1864) were given to you; but a life so precious must not be thrown away by failing to heed the monitions which the greatest powers of physical endurance receive as a warning to rest. The country will again call upon you, perhaps, to put the finishing blow to the rebellion."
The distinguished Admiral's service in the War Between the States was over, but not before he had achieved a permanent place among the great naval heroes of all time. From New Orleans to Port Hudson to Mobile Bay, David Glasgow Farragut, first Admiral in the U.S. Navy, had shown the leadership, courage, intelligence, and devotion to duty which have ever since been shining examples for all who are privileged to serve the Nation at sea.
The bloody, full scale battle in the Shenandoah Valley continued today. General Jubal Early’s Confederates held a rise known as Fisher’s Hill, with General Phillip Sheridan facing him there and down a creek called Tumbling Run from the heights of Strasburg with over 40,000 Union troops. The two battled for most of the day until late afternoon when Sheridan’s trap was sprung. He had sent a corps last night under General George R. Crook around the Confederate left, and at this moment Crook’s men attacked, taking the entrenchments on the flank and rear.
Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of Staff Alexander Swift “Sandie” Pendleton, who had fought so well for General Thomas J. Jackson in this valley two years previously and already among the most respected staff officers in Robert E. Lee's army, was a casualty in the melee. Pendleton, trying to rally men streaming to the rear, was mortally wounded. He died the next day, less than a week before his twenty-fourth birthday. He is buried in Lexington, not far from the grave of Jackson.
Early’s men fled four miles further south before rallying. Numbering almost 12,000 a week ago the battles of Winchester and today at Fisher’s Hill had cut this number just about in half.
Upon learning that Rear Admiral David G. Farragut's health prevented him from accepting command of the forthcoming operations against Wilmington, North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles paid eloquent tribute to the Admiral and his accomplishments: "In accordance with the view of the Department and the universal wish of the country, the orders of the 5th instant (5 September 1864) were given to you; but a life so precious must not be thrown away by failing to heed the monitions which the greatest powers of physical endurance receive as a warning to rest. The country will again call upon you, perhaps, to put the finishing blow to the rebellion."
The distinguished Admiral's service in the War Between the States was over, but not before he had achieved a permanent place among the great naval heroes of all time. From New Orleans to Port Hudson to Mobile Bay, David Glasgow Farragut, first Admiral in the U.S. Navy, had shown the leadership, courage, intelligence, and devotion to duty which have ever since been shining examples for all who are privileged to serve the Nation at sea.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News