Cedar Creek

In the fall of 1864, in the Shenandoah Valley, Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early had been unsuccessful in slowing Maj. Gen. Phil Sheridan since the recent Union victories at Third Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Tom's Brook. By mid-October, Early was determined to strike Sheridan’s army in their camps along the east bank of Cedar Creek. Early executed a surprise attack early on October 19 and drove three Union corps from the field. As Early paused to reorganize, Sheridan arrived after a dramatic ride from Winchester in time to rally his troops and launch a crushing counterattack, from which Early’s forces could not recover. Sheridan’s victory at Cedar Creek extinguished any hope of further Confederate offensives in the Valley, and was one of the Union victories in late 1864 that helped ensure President Abraham Lincoln's reelection that November.