The American Civil War - Chronologically

Aug. 16, 1864 Guard Hill Engagement Front Royal, VA Maj. Gen. Sheridan: Gen. Wesley Merritt > Union Brig. Gen. George A. Custer’s brigade vs. Gen. Richard Anderson > Brig. Gen. William T. Wofford’s infantry brigade and Brig. Gen. Williams C. Wickham’s cavalry brigade * This area saw considerable action during the Battle of Front Royal in the 1862 Valley Campaign. Here we are again.  * Apparently the Union cavalry surprised the Confederates while they were midstream in the Shenandoah. Still an "inconclusive" engagement.   https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=256801 In Aug. 1864, part of Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard H. Anderson’s corps threatened the left of Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan’s army. As Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt’s division approached on 15 Aug. to protect the Federal flank. Anderson ordered Brig. Gen. William T. Wofford’s infantry brigade and Brig. Gen. Williams C. Wickham’s cavalry brigade across the Shenandoah River to confront Merritt. Wickham wa...

Aug. 13, 1864 Berryville Wagon Train Raid near Winchester, VA  Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan vs. Col. John Singleton Mosby (43rd Battalion Partisan Rangers) https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=1785 "Just after dawn on 13 Aug. 1864, Col. John Singleton Mosby and 300 of his 43rd Battalion Partisan Rangers attacked the rear section of Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan’s 600-vehicle wagon train here. The train, headed for Winchester, carried supplies for Sheridan’s cavalry. Mosby surprised and routed the Federals as they rested, cooked breakfast, and hitched their horses. Mosby’s men, losing only one killed and one mortally wounded, captured 200 beef cattle, 500–600 horses, 100 wagons, and 200 soldiers. The raid ended by 6:30 a.m. Berryville’s citizens including many small boys, helped burn the wagons after liberating their contents." * Also spotted on a different trip to Dixie... https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=1811 Before 1798 Berryville was known as Battletown, a name that perhaps originated ...

August 4, 1864 Confederate Cavalry Raid on Fort Fuller New Creek aka Keyser, West Virginia  Col . George R. Latham defending Fort Fuller; 11th West Virginia Infantry vs. Confede rate Gen. John McCausland's cavalry & G en. Bradley Johnson * Confederate John McCausland's cavalry fights with Union defenses guarding the railroad. Confederates under Gen. Bradley Johnson advance up the hill toward the fort but are repelled by Union reinforcements "On August 4, after raiding north into Pennsylvania and burning the town of Chambersburg, Confederate raiders under Generals John McCausland approached New Creek. The Rebels hoped they could damage the B&O Railroad."   https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=152788 "Built in 1862 as a Union defensive fortification to guard the railroad and New Creek. It was threatened on August 4, 1864, when Confederate Gen. John McCausland's cavalry rode on town. Fighting with Union troops began on outskirts and Confederate under Gen. Bradl...

Aug. 1, 1864 Battle of Folck's Mill; or more grandiosely (and rarely) known as the Battle of Cumberland Cumberland, MD (Alleghany County) Union General Benjamin F. Kelley defends Cumberland (with two infantry units and three "hastily organized civilian volunteer companies"): Ohio National Guard, West Virginia infantry, Illinois Artillery, and 2nd Potomac Home Guard Maryland Infantry; while  Union Gen. William W. Averell approaches with 2,000 cavalrymen in pursuit vs. Gen. John C. McCausland's lawless raiders (about 2,800 men)  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=179238 " Folck's Mill Retaliation Rebuffed — 1864 Chambersburg Raid — During the Civil War, retribution by one side for "atrocities” committed against civilians by the other quickly escalated. Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early, during his 1864 Maryland invasion, demanded that several towns pay "ransoms" or be torched to avenge Union Gen. David Hunter's destruction of houses in the Shenan...

July 30, 1863 The Battle of the Crater Petersburg, VA [a bit of a place holder here- I am far from visiting Richmond, much less the other side of Richmond, but wanted to save a place for Maryland's own Sgt. Dorsey] https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=5756 "Howard County native Decatur Dorsey was one of only sixteen African American soldiers to received the Medal of Honor for courage under fire during the Civil War. Sgt. Dorsey, of Company B, 39th United States Colored Troops, earned his medal at the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg, Virginia, on July 30, 1864. He bore the regiments flag during the charge through the Crater to the Confederate line. According to his Medal of Honor citation, Dorsey "planted his colors on the Confederate works in advance of his regiment, and when the regiment was driven back to the Union works he carried the colors there and bravely rallied the men." Regimental color-bearers were especially courageous, because they could not defend themselves...

July 29, 1864 Last Confederate Incursion North of the Potomac River Hagerstown, MD Col. Henry Cole's 1st Maryland Potomac Home Brigade Cavalry vs. Jubal Early: Brigadier General John C. Vaughn's cavalry Brigade https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20856  On July 29, 1864, elements of Cole's Maryland Cavalry (Union) battled Brigadier General John C. Vaughn's cavalry brigade of Early's command for three hours in the streets of Hagerstown. By late afternoon, the Marylanders retreated north to Greencastle. That evening, the Confederates struck the Franklin Railroad Yards in Hagerstown's West End, broke into the shops, looted and burned the warehouses and captured and destroyed a train filled with supplies intended for the Union forces. These actions on July 29th were diversionary movements directed by Early to cover General John McCausland's raid on Chambersburg. Confederate diversions continued for the next week. On August 5, 1864, elements of General Early's comma...

July 20, 1864 Action of Rutherford's Farm; or the Battle of Carter's Farm; or Stephenson's Depot near Winchester, Virginia, Frederick County General William W. Averell vs. General Stephen D. Ramseur * Union victory while chasing Jubal Early, before second Kernstown * "Pvt. John Shanes, Company K, 14th West Virginia Infantry, received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the fighting near Carter's Farm, where he, 'charged upon a Confederate fieldpiece in advance of his comrades and by his individual exertions silenced the piece.'" * There's just this sliver left on the edge of a shopping center, but I'm glad they kept this little pocket park at least to remember what happened here.    Lovely. unplanned finds on the way to Romney, WV https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=12091 Also a thing. And the Civil War Trails markers are updated since construction. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=261495 "Run or Die" Desperate Fighting Occurred Here  On three...

July 19, 1864 Capt. Martindale burns down Boteler's home, Fountain Rock & Elmwood Cemetery Shepherdstown, WV https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=161830 "Fountain Rock "Crows… will have to carry their provender with them" — 1864 Valley Campaign — The Federal offensive in the Shenandoah Valley begun in May 1864 faltered in the summer with Confederate victories and Gen. Jubal A. Early's Washington Raid in July. Union Gen. Philip H. Sheridan took command in August, defeated Early at Winchester in September and Cedar Creek in October, burned mills and barns, and crushed the remnants of Early's force at Waynesboro on March 2, 1865. Sheridan's victories contributed to President Abraham Lincoln's reelection in November 1864 and denied Gen. Robert E. Lee's army much-needed provisions from the "Breadbasket of the Confederacy." In 1864, the conduct of the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley, the “Breadbasket of the Confederacy” and an avenue of inv...