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 seven 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.
In heavy fog, Early attacked before dawn and completely surprised many of the sleeping Union soldiers. His smaller army attacked segments of the Union army from multiple sides, giving him temporary numerical advantages in addition to the element of surprise. At about 10:00 am, Early paused his attack to reorganize his forces. Sheridan, who was returning from a meeting in Washington, D.C. when the battle started, hurried to the battlefield and arrived around 10:30 am. His arrival calmed and revitalized his retreating army. At 4:00 pm his army counterattacked, making use of its superior cavalry force. Early's army was routed and fled south.
The battle ruined the Confederate army in the Shenandoah Valley, and it never again could maneuver down the valley to threaten the Union capital city of Washington, D.C. or northern states. Additionally, the Shenandoah Valley had been a key producer of supplies for the Confederate army, and Early could no longer protect it. The Union victory aided the reelection of Abraham Lincoln, and along with earlier victories at Winchester and Fisher's Hill, won Sheridan lasting fame.
Background
Union and Confederate strategies for Virginia in 1864
In March 1864, Major General Ulysses S. Grant was summoned from the Western Theater, promoted to lieutenant general, and given command of all Union armies. Grant's strategy, unlike that of his predecessors, was for the Union armies to fight together with the objective of destroying Confederate armies instead of conquering territory. He would use multiple Union forces at the same time, making it difficult for the Confederates to transfer forces from one battlefront to another. In Virginia, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was a target. Not only would Lee's army be pursued, but steps would be taken to cut off its supplies that came from Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Those supplies often moved on the Virginia Central Railroad, Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, and other railroads—which also became targets.
The Confederate Army of the Valley was created by Lee in June 1864 as a detachment of the Army of Northern Virginia's Second Corps and was commanded by Lieutenant General Jubal Early. Its purpose was to protect the Shenandoah Valley, which was a major source of food for Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Another objective was to threaten the Union's capital of Washington, forcing the Union to divert resources and relieve some of the pressure on the Army of Northern Virginia near the Confederate capital of Richmond. In June, Early beat Union forces in the Battle of Lynchburg and Second Battle of Kernstown. On July 9, he won the Battle of Monocacy in Maryland. Two days later, Early threatened Washington in the Battle of Fort Stevens, but was repelled by reinforcements rushed to the battlefield. Early then sent cavalry commanded by Brigadier General John McCausland on a northern raid in late July that resulted in the burning of the town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
Sheridan's campaign
After the cavalry raid that burned Chambersburg, Grant decided that Early's threat had to be eliminated. In early August, Grant consolidated four military organizations into the Middle Military Division, and Major General Philip Sheridan assumed command on August 7—calling his force of cavalry and infantry the Army of the Shenandoah. At its creation, the army had three objectives. First was to drive Early's army away from the Potomac River region and lower (northern) Shenandoah Valley, and pursue it southward. Second was to destroy the valley's capacity to provide Lee's army with food and supplies. Third was to disrupt the Virginia Central Railroad.
Sheridan was cautious in August because of a concern that any military disaster could hamper the re–election of President Abraham Lincoln. In September Sheridan had decisive victories over Early at the Third Battle of Winchester and at Fisher's Hill. Sheridan took possession of the Shenandoah Valley as far south as Staunton, Virginia, and considered Early's army cleared from the valley.
With Early much less of a threat, Sheridan could focus on denying the Confederacy the means of supplying its armies in Virginia. Sheridan's army (mostly cavalry) did this aggressively, burning crops, barns, mills, and factories. The operation, conducted primarily from September 26 to October 8, has been known to locals ever since as "the Burning" or "Red October". It encompassed the area of Harrisonburg, Port Republic, Staunton and Waynesboro. Sheridan claimed that when the destruction was completed, "the Valley, from Winchester up to Staunton, ninety-two miles [148 km], will have but little in it for man or beast." While this action achieved one of Grant's goals, Grant preferred attacks on the railroads that supplied Lee's army in Richmond.
Early reinforced
After Early's September 22 defeat at Fisher's Hill, he retreated up the valley (south) to Mount Jackson. On September 26, he was reinforced by the infantry division of Major General Joseph B. Kershaw, who also brought a battalion of artillery. More reinforcements arrived on October 5, when the Laurel Brigade of Brigadier General Thomas L. Rosser also joined Early and was combined with two other cavalry brigades to form a division commanded by Rosser. Early believed that the addition of Kershaw's Division (2,700 fighters), Rosser's Laurel Brigade (600 men), the artillery battalion, and the return of stragglers from the September battles almost made up for his losses at Winchester and Fisher's Hill.
After much of "The Burning" was conducted, Sheridan's cavalry began moving north down the valley. The Confederate cavalries of Major General Lunsford L. Lomax and Rosser harassed Sheridan's rear guard. By October 8, Rosser's men were near the Union cavalry division commanded by Brigadier General George Custer, while Lomax was near the division commanded by Brigadier General Wesley Merritt. On that evening, an annoyed Sheridan told his cavalry commander, Brigadier General Alfred Torbert, to "whip the rebel cavalry or get whipped". On October 9, in the Battle of Tom's Brook, Custer and Merritt routed the Confederate cavalry in a battle that was described by Torbert as "the most decisive the country had ever witnessed".
Opposing forces
Union
In mid-October, the Army of the Shenandoah had 11 divisions plus artillery units, totaling about 31,610 effectives with 90 artillery pieces. A few days before the battle, Sheridan attended a meeting in Washington, and Major General Horatio Wright commanded the army in Sheridan's absence. The Union forces were divided into the following:
- VI Corps had three infantry divisions and an artillery brigade, and was commanded by Major General Horatio Wright. When Wright temporarily commanded the army during Sheridan's initial absence from the battle, the corps was commanded by Brigadier General James B. Ricketts. At least one historian says Wright's fighters had a reputation for "steadfastness and reliability". The VI Corps consisted of 8,506 infantry effectives. In addition, they had 600 men operating 24 artillery pieces.
- XIX Corps, consisting of two infantry divisions, was commanded by Brigadier General William H. Emory. It consisted of 8,748 infantry effectives. In addition, it had 414 men operating 20 artillery pieces. The XIX Corps was considered far behind the VI Corps in discipline and efficiency.
- The Cavalry Corps, consisting of three divisions and a section of horse artillery, was commanded by Major General Alfred Torbert. It had 7,500 effectives plus 642 artillerists operating 30 artillery pieces. The three division commanders were Merritt, Colonel William H. Powell, and Custer. Fifteen regiments were completely armed, and three more were partially armed, with the carbine version of the seven-shot Spencer repeating rifle.
- The Army of West Virginia functioned as an infantry corps in Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah, and is sometimes incorrectly identified as the VIII Corps. It was commanded by Brigadier General George Crook, and had two divisions plus an artillery brigade. Crook's effectives for the battle consisted of only 4,000 infantry men plus 200 artillerists manning 16 artillery pieces. To bolster Crook's small force, a Provisional Division of 1,000 men was attached. The Provisional Division's "reliability in combat was suspect".
Confederate
Early's Confederate Army of the Valley had an estimated 21,102 effectives. In addition to his troops originally from Army of Northern Virginia's Second Corps, this figure includes over 3,000 men from Kershaw's infantry division, 2,206 men from Rosser's cavalry division after the addition of the Laurel Brigade, and 1,101 artillerists. The Confederate forces were divided into the following:
- Infantry consisted of five divisions. Early's division commanders were Major General Stephen Dodson Ramseur, Brigadier General John Pegram, Major General John Brown Gordon, and Brigadier General Gabriel C. Wharton. Kershaw commanded a fifth division, which was attached from Lieutenant General James Longstreet's First Corps. The remainder of Longstreet's First Corps, which was an elite Confederate fighting unit, was not present. Gordon was Early's second–in–command.
- Cavalry consisted of two divisions. Major General Lomax commanded his own division, and it consisted of four brigades. His men were armed with rifles and had no pistols or sabers, making the division more like mounted infantry which could not fight on horseback. Rosser commanded Fitzhugh Lee's Division, which was composed of three brigades including Rosser's Laurel Brigade. Rosser had a reputation as one of the most aggressive and successful cavalry commanders in the Army of Northern Virginia, but had never commanded anything larger than a brigade of four regiments. The Laurel Brigade was composed of confident veterans with many victories over Union cavalry.
Disposition of forces and movement to battle
Sheridan ready to leave the valley
After the decisive victory at Tom's Brook, Sheridan and many in the Union Army believed that Early's Confederate army was no longer a threat. The Union army began moving down the valley (northeast) and believed that it would fight elsewhere. While Crook's Army of West Virginia, and the XIX Corps, camped near Cedar Creek and Middletown, the VI Corps was further away on the road to Front Royal. The cavalry divisions of Merritt and Custer were near Fisher's Hill, while Powell's 2nd Cavalry Division occupied Front Royal.
Because Grant still wanted the Confederate Virginia Central Railroad disabled, two brigades of cavalry from Powell's Division were sent south to attack the railroad lines at Gordonsville and Charlottesville. In an order written October 12, Wright's VI Corps were ordered to depart on the next day through Ashby's Gap for Alexandria, Virginia. From Alexandria, Sheridan planned to send the VI Corps to reinforce Grant and the Army of the Potomac.
Hupp's Hill and Sheridan goes to Washington
Concealed from Sheridan's army, Early's troops arrived at Hupp's Hill, just north of Strasburg, on October 13. They deployed in battle formation, and began shelling the camp of the XIX Corps. Early's attack was a surprise for the Union infantry, and Crook originally believed the Confederates had sent a small reconnaissance force for the purpose of causing the Union soldiers to reveal their strength and location. Colonel Joseph Thoburn's division from the Army of West Virginia moved forward to silence the guns and fought with Kershaw's division at the Abram Stickley farm, which resulted in 209 Union and 182 Confederate casualties. The Confederates withdrew through Strasburg to Fisher's Hill in the late afternoon. Sheridan recalled Wright's VI Corps that evening as a precaution, and they started back to Middletown on October 14. The engagement was a mistake for Early, as the 9,000 veterans from the VI Corps made a big difference in the battle that would take place six days later.
On October 13, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton requested that Sheridan come to Washington to discuss the next objective for Sheridan's army. Grant and Stanton still wanted Sheridan to move his army toward Gordonsville and Charlottesville to threaten Confederate railroad operations. Sheridan continued to argue that the logistics would be difficult. With the skirmish at Hupp's Hill over and Early removed to Fisher's Hill, Sheridan departed for a meeting in Washington on October 15, leaving Wright in command. Sheridan ordered all three divisions of cavalry to accompany him to Front Royal, intending to send them to destroy a Virginia Central Railroad bridge. They arrived near Front Royal on October 16. At that time, Sheridan was notified that Early was sending wig-wag signals implying that Longstreet's First Corps might join him (Early) from Petersburg. This was disinformation on Early's part, hoping that it would induce the Federals to withdraw down the Valley, but instead, Sheridan sent his cavalry back to the infantry camps along Cedar Creek. Sheridan and his staff arrived in Washington on the morning of October 17.