SHENAXDOAII VALLEY. 



489 



withdrawal, hut he further depleted his ranks by 

 sending a largo section of bis army to Martinsbnrg. 

 Thus on the eve of a day destined to witness a great 

 and decisive battle, the Confederate forces, instead 

 of being concentrated, were strung along the pike. 

 The centre of the position was Bunker Hill, while 

 Winchester was strongly held by Bamseur, and there 

 the fighting was most severe. By a rapid advance 

 along the Winchester pike Sheridan saw that ho 

 could gain the rear of the Bunker Hill position. 

 The 6th and 19th Corps began to move at 3 o'clock, 

 morning, followed in three hours by Crook, who 

 joined the ru.iin column at the crossing of the Opc- 

 qnan. The enemy resisted the Union advance ob- 

 stinately, and near mid-day its left was so seriously 

 shaken that the whole attack felt the effect. But by 

 tlu ad/ance of Russell's division the line was re- 

 established, and the straggle renewed. At length 

 the Can federates began to give way, and as day 

 ended Early's forces broke through Winchester in 

 full retreat. The conflict was a bloody one. The 

 Union loss was from 4900 to 5000 ; Early's was from 

 3900 to 4000, and of his casualties 2000 were prison- 

 ers. By promptly recognizing his defeat, Early was 

 enabled to save his trains and stores, but he left be- 

 hind him as trophies rive pieces of artillery and nine 

 battle-flags. The fight had been a long and hard 

 O!ie, and there was no attempt at infantry pursuit. 

 The cavalry followed up the pike only to Kerustown, 

 whsre Rumsenr covered the retreat, which, under 

 the shelter of darkness, was continued toward 

 Strasburg. Such was the Battle of Opecjuan, of 

 which the moral effect in the North was all the 

 greater that, hitherto, it had heard of nothing save 

 discomfiture within the valley, so that it had como 

 to be known as " Tbe Valley of Humiliation." 



Next day Early continued his retreat to his old 

 position at Fisher's Hill. Here the valley, through 

 the interposition of the Massanutten, narrows from 

 20 miles to four, so that the hill offers a strong de- 

 fensive position the first that a force advancing 

 from Winchester meets with. At daylight on tho 

 20th Sheridan set forth up the pike in pursuit, and 

 during the afternoon tho main body of his army 

 crossed Cedar Creek and went into position on tho 

 heights fronting Strasburg. By evening tho north- 

 ern part of that city was occupied by Union pickets, 

 and the southern by Confederate. Tho 21st was 

 spent by Slieridan in positioning his infantry, his 

 purpose being to repeat tho tactics of the Opcquan 

 by ag*in turning the enemy's left. On tho 22d tho 

 assault was delivered just beforo sunset. Crook, who 

 had boen all day moving toward and along Little 

 N nth M mutain, under cover of the woods, till ho 

 had gained the Confederates' flank and rear, rushed 

 across the intervening space, and before they could 

 recover their surprise was over their intrenchments. 

 The other divisions joined in with Crook and took 

 up the charge. Sheridan and his staff were every- 

 where, shouting : " Go on ; don't stop ; go on." The 

 wholn Confederate line broke from the trenches, 

 and Fisher's Hill was carried, with the additional Con- 

 .i'o loss of 6 guns and 1235 men, of whom 1000 

 wore prisoners. Early fled in disorder, and Sheridan 

 pushed after him the same evening as far as Wood- 

 stock. Early made a halt at Port Jackson, but, be- 

 ing attacked by Averell's cavalry on the 23d, he re- 

 treated across the North Fork to Reede's Hill near 

 New Market, and thence to Brown's Gap. where he 

 was rejoined In the cavalry of Lomax and Fitz Lee, as 

 well as by Kershaw. Rosser joined a few days later. 

 Here his retreat came to a close. 



Hlr-ridan, with his main force, followed as far as 

 Harrisonliui-g. His cavali-v ho sent on under Torbert 

 as far as Stannton and Wiivnesboro', with instruc- 

 tions tf> burn barns, forage, mills, and whatever 

 might bo serviceable to tho Confederacy. This in- 

 VOL. IV. -2 F 



strnction was thoroughly earned out nncl tho whole 

 ! region, which, as far up as Staunton, had abounded 

 in food and forage and enabled Early's army to sub- 

 sist, became desolate. 



But this very want of supplies in the upper val- 

 ley, as well as Early's increased strength, determined 

 Sheridan to retire down the valley, laying waste tho 

 region through which he passed so as to make it nn- 

 ', tenable by, and unprofitable to, the enemy. He 

 | writes from Woodstock, on Oct. 7th : " I have cle- 

 i stroyed over 2000 barns and 70 mills filled with 

 wheat and flour." He continued his devastating 

 course down the valley, closely followed by the Con- 

 federate cavalry under Rosser, with the infantry 

 ; farther in the rear. Skirmishing between Rosser 

 and Torbert, covering the Union rear, was almost con- 

 tinuous. On Oct. 9th, as the head of the Union 

 column of infantry was entering Strasburg, move- 

 1 ments in the rear led Torbert to despatch Custer and 

 Merritt to attack Rosser. The Confederate horse- 

 men yielded to the onset, and a stampede ensued to 

 i 7 miles south of Fisher's Hill, their loss amounting 

 ! to 330 men with eleven pieces of artillery. Torbert 

 j characterized this engagement the battle of Tom's 

 Run, as it was called ns, " among the long list of 

 the cavalry's victories, the most brilliant one of 

 them all." Sheridan then continued to fall back as 

 far as Cedar Creek, fixing his camp on the left bank 

 of the stream just above its junction with the North 

 i Fork. While in position here, on Oct. 19th, his 

 j force was suddenly attacked before daybreak, the 

 I enemy's advanco being farther concealed by a dense 

 ; fog. Bewildered by tho unexpectedness and vigor 

 of tho onset, the left flank of the Eighth Corps was 

 turned and the wuole^mny driven back for miles, 

 with the loss of 24 pieces of artillery and not less 

 than 1300 prisoners. And now occurred the most 

 dramatic incident in theannnlsof the valley. Sheri- 

 dan had been absent on business in Washington, and 

 the morning of the 19th found him in Winchester 

 on his return. An officer reported sounds of artil- 

 lery. Mouti'.ing his horse, ho roclo through Win- 

 chester, and then the noise of guns put a battle be- 

 vond question, while within a half-mile of (he town 

 ; lie met men and trains streaming from the field. 

 Realising tho truo condition of affairs, ho dashed up 

 the piko with an escort of 20 men, and on reaching 

 the army, 11J miles from Winchester, he was hailed 

 " with a tempest of joy." "I hastened f:om Win- 

 chester," ho writes to Grant at 10 P..M., "and found 

 ' the armies between Middletowu and Newtown, hav- 

 ing been driven back four miles. I here took tho 

 affair in hand, and quickly united tho corps formed 

 i a compact line of battle just in time to repulse an 

 attack of tho enemy." At 4 o'clock Sheridan ordered 

 an advance, and the whole Union line responded. 

 His onset was irresistible. Division after division of 

 the Confederates gave way, and the repulse became 

 a rout than which none so complete had been seen 

 since the day of Bull Run. The 24 guns lost in tho 

 morning were retaken, and 24 Confederate pieces 

 captured. Ambulances, caissons, and a number of 

 battle-flags were among tho spoil, the only trophies 

 retained by Early being 1429 prisoners whom he had 

 despatched toward Richmond. But this victory, 

 plucked, as it were, out of defeat, was purchased at a 

 great price. The Union loss in killed, wounded, and 

 ! missing summed up to no less than 5764. Early's 

 loss was less about 3100 of whom over 1000 were 

 prisoners. The pursuit was kept up by the Union 

 cavalry to Mount Jackson, about half-way between 

 Edenburg and New Market. 



Cedar Creek constituted tho crown of Sheridan's 

 campaign, for, with the exceptiou of a few compar- 

 atively unimportant affairs, this closed operations 

 for the year. Gen. Early's force took up a position 

 farther up the valley, while Gen. Sheridan's armr 



