The Battle of Lynchburg was fought on June 17–18, 1864, as part of the American Civil War. Over 30,000 soldiers were at the battle, and fighting took place outside of Lynchburg, Virginia. The Union Army of West Virginia, commanded by Major General David Hunter, attempted to capture the city. Hunter took too much time moving his force to Lynchburg; allowing Confederate reinforcements time to arrive to defend the city. Hunter was repulsed by troops under the command of Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early. A portion of Early's troops arrived on the first day the battle. Following the battle, Confederate troops pursued the Union army as it retreated into West Virginia.
Lynchburg was important to the Confederate Army. It had three railroads, a navigable canal, military hospitals, and was a distribution center for food and military supplies. Telecommunication lines strung along the railroads enabled Confederate military headquarters in Richmond to communicate with regional headquarters in western Virginia and Tennessee. Because of its importance, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant wanted Hunter to attack the city and its railroads.
Hunter retreated west into West Virginia after his defeat at Lynchburg. This left the Shenandoah Valley open to the Confederate Army down to Maryland. Early moved down the valley and threatened Washington, DC, until his defeat in the Battle of Fort Stevens on July 11–12. After this battle, which took place less than four miles (6.4 km) from the White House, Early began a retreat back to the Shenandoah Valley. On July 30, cavalry sent by Early, and commanded by Brigadier General John McCausland, moved into Pennsylvania and burned the city of Chambersburg.
Background
Grant's plan
During March 1864, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant became commander of all Union armies. Grant's strategy in Virginia was to attack the strongest Confederate army, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, on multiple fronts. In western Virginia, Grant targeted Lee's support system. Western Virginia provided food and supplies for Lee's army that was positioned near Richmond. Two key depots were Staunton and Lynchburg, which were 99 miles (159 km) apart—and both were over 120 miles (190 km) west of the Confederate capital of Richmond. Both towns were located on railroad lines that were used to transport troops in addition to supplies, so the railroads were also targets for the Union Army.
In the case of Lynchburg, it was the eastern terminus of the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad, and also had the Orange & Alexandria Railroad and South Side Railroad that could be used to get to Richmond. The James River and Kanawha Canal was navigable between Lynchburg and Richmond, offering another (although slower) mode for transportation. Telegraph line enabled communication between Richmond and Lynchburg, and between Lynchburg and Knoxville, Tennessee. Lynchburg was also the storage site for medical supplies and the home of multiple hospitals.
The Union plan of attack had Major General Franz Sigel leading the Army of the Shenandoah south in the Shenandoah Valley to capture Staunton, which was a stop for the Virginia Central Railroad. An army located in West Virginia, led by Brigadier General George Crook, would attack the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. A small force of cavalry from Crook's army, led by Brigadier General William W. Averell, would attack the same railroad further west, including some salt mines located on a branch line. Crook and Averell would join Siegel at Staunton after the missions were completed. Then the combined force would attack Lynchburg.
Failure in western Virginia
Sigel departed from Martinsburg, West Virginia, on April 29. Siegel did not reach Staunton because he was defeated on May 15 in the Battle of New Market by a Confederate army led by Major General John C. Breckinridge. After the battle, Siegel retreated north to Cedar Creek. Breckinridge was summoned east to assist Lee's army, and his division joined Lee on May 20.
Further west, Crook won the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain on May 9, and burned the Virginia & Tennessee's New River railroad bridge near Central Depot (northeast of Wytheville) on May 10. Averell chose not to attack the well-guarded salt mines, and was prevented from reaching the lead mines on May 10 in the Battle of Cove Mountain. Both Crook and Averell retreated toward a camp at Meadow Bluff, West Virginia, because they had not heard from Sigel. They reached the safety of Meadow Bluff on May 19.
Hunter takes command
Major General David Hunter replaced Siegel on May 21. On June 5, he moved south in the Shenandoah Valley and defeated Confederate forces in the Battle of Piedmont. Hunter, in his report, estimated that Confederate losses were 600 killed or wounded—and over 1,000 became prisoners. Among the Confederate casualties was the leader of the Confederate Army at Piedmont, Brigadier General William E. "Grumble" Jones, who was killed in action. On the next day Hunter moved his army into Staunton against no resistance. He spent the next few days destroying Confederate war materials while waiting for Crook to join him.
In a letter dated June 6, Lieutenant General Grant wrote to Hunter saying that he should attack the "Lynchburg branch of the Virginia Central" Railroad at Lynchburg. He also urged Hunter to destroy the canal (James River and Kanawha Canal) near Lynchburg. On June 8, Hunter was joined by Crook's Army of West Virginia, including cavalry commanded by Averell. The newcomers received badly needed supplies such as boots and uniforms. Hunter reorganized his combined cavalry into two divisions.
Confederate reaction to Piedmont
Lee's response to the defeat at Piedmont was to send Breckinridge with two brigades from the Richmond area to the Shenandoah Valley. Breckinridge had been injured in an earlier battle when his horse fell upon him. On June 7 the two brigades, commanded by Brigadier General Gabriel C. Wharton, boarded railcars in Richmond without Breckinridge. They rode on trains until they were near Rockfish Gap and Waynesboro on the evening of June 8. Brigadier General John D. Imboden's cavalry and the remnants of Jones' army also were at Rockfish Gap.
Separate from Wharton's troops, Breckinridge arrived by rail in Charlottesville on the morning of June 9. He now had a total of about 5,000 infantry soldiers from Jones' defeated army and Wharton. Also available to Breckinridge was a cavalry brigade located further west under the command of Brigadier General John McCausland, which would increase the Confederate cavalry to about 4,000 riders. Breckinridge requested that Richmond send artillery for support. By June 10 Breckinridge had a temporary headquarters at Rockfish Gap, and received news that Hunter was moving south from Staunton.
Opposing forces
Union
The Union force consisted of 16,643 fighters commanded by Major General David Hunter. Its infantry was organized into five brigades, two of which were grouped into the 1st Infantry Division commanded by Brigadier General Jeremiah C. Sullivan. The remaining three made up the 2nd Infantry Division, under Brigadier General George Crook. Two brigades of cavalry comprised the 1st Cavalry Division, which was commanded by Brigadier General Alfred N. Duffié. Three cavalry brigades formed the 2nd Cavalry Division that was commanded by Brigadier General William W. Averell.
Some of the Union regiments under Hunter's command were equipped with seven-shot Spencer repeating rifles (or carbines), including the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment and the 1st West Virginia Cavalry Regiment. In addition to their carbines, cavalry regiments such as the 14th Pennsylvania were also equipped with revolvers and sabers. Captain James R. McMullin led two artillery batteries that were part of the 2nd Infantry Division. One section of a battery rode with the 1st Cavalry Division. Captain Henry A. du Pont led the largest portion of artillery, which served wherever needed.
Hunter's division commanders
Confederate
The size of the Confederate force is unclear; at least two sources list the force as about 14,000 fighters. Author Gary C. Walker believes the Confederate force may have been as high as 15,623, which excludes a portion of Major General Jubal Early's Second Corps that did not arrive in time for the battle. The city's defenders initially consisted of a small force of hospital patients, home guard (soldiers either too old or two young for regular service), and cadets from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), all commanded by Brigadier General Francis T. Nicholls. They eventually would have as many as 50 artillery pieces.
Major General John C. Breckinridge arrived in Lynchburg on June 15 and took command. On the next day, his division arrived. The division was commanded by Brigadier General Gabriel C. Wharton, and consisted of infantry brigades commanded by Colonel Augustus Forsberg and Colonel George S. Patton Sr.. Backing the infantry was King's Artillery Battalion. Breckinridge was bedridden because of injuries suffered in an earlier battle, and gave visiting Major General D. H. Hill unofficial command of Lynchburg. Hill placed troops and artillery around the city. He was assisted by Brigadier General Harry T. Hays, who was in town recovering from wounds received in battle. Breckenridge's cavalry was commanded by Brigadier General Imboden during the battle.
Understanding that he was outnumbered by the Union force approaching the city, Breckinridge requested more assistance from Richmond. Major General Jubal Early was sent to Lynchburg with his Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. Early and a portion of his command (a division commanded by Major General Stephen Dodson Ramseur) arrived by train in Lynchburg on June 17 around 1:00 pm. After conferring with Breckenridge, Early agreed to take command of Lynchburg and modified Hill's troop placements. Between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm on June 18, a train arrived with Major General Arnold Elzey and Major General Robert Ransom. Elzey replaced Hill in official command of Lynchburg, but participated only in the pursuit after the battle. Ransom took command of the cavalry and participated in the pursuit after the battle, but only conducted a reconnoitering mission until the next day's pursuit. A portion of Brigadier General John B. Gordon's Division from Early's Second Corps arrived partway through the battle.
Confederate Leaders
Disposition of forces and movement to battle
Initially, leaders such as Grant, Lee, and Breckinridge believed that Lynchburg should/would be attacked by a movement from Staunton to Charlottesville and then southwest. Hunter and his staff believed Major General Philip Sheridan would lead his troops on a mission to Charlottesville before proceeding to Lynchburg.
On June 8 Averell met with Hunter to propose a plan of attack, and Hunter approved the plan. Hunter's main force would make a movement further up the Shenandoah Valley (southwest) to Buchanan, while Duffié's 1st Cavalry Division would move east toward Rockfish Gap as if it was going to Charlottesville. Instead of moving through Rockfish Gap, Duffié would move southwest along the west side of the Allegheny Mountains to threaten any enemy units posted at mountain gaps. He would also make raids on the Orange & Alexandria Railroad that entered Lynchburg from the north. The main force would cross the mountains from Buchanan through the Peaks of Otter and then proceed east to Lynchburg (attacking from the west). Duffié would eventually cross the mountains at White's Gap and attack Lynchburg from the north after destroying some railroad line—all before forming a junction with Hunter's main force.
Crook had reservations about the plan. He believed Lynchburg needed to be attacked as soon as possible, and offered to conduct the attack solely with his infantry division. Confederate cavalry was the main obstacle between Staunton and Lynchburg, and some reports believed that more cavalry was arriving—and Breckinridge was returning to western Virginia from Richmond. Crook's offer was rejected, and Hunter believed some delays for supplies were unavoidable. The Union army waited until June 10.
Hunter departs from Staunton
On June 10, shortly after midnight, Duffié's cavalry moved east from Staunton for its feint toward Charlottesville. Encountering little resistance at the mountains, he began moving southwest and camped for the night not far from Nelson County's Tye River Gap. Hunter was still waiting to be resupplied in Staunton, but chose to depart with the main force around 11:00 AM. He rode with Sullivan's infantry on the road to Greensville, while Crook took the road to Brownsburg (Valley Pike) and Averell's cavalry took a road west of Crook.
Crook's troops skirmished with McCausland's cavalry shortly after the departure from Staunton. McCausland knew that he could not stop Hunter by himself—but any delay of the Union Army would give more time for reinforcements to arrive in Lynchburg. Tactics used by McCausland included barricades across the road and ambushes. That evening, Crook's infantry camped near Brownsburg, while McCausland met with the superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute, Colonel Francis Henney Smith, to develop a plan for defending Lexington.