Henry Halleck
Though Sheridan had by then defeated Early's army in late October at the Battle of Cedar Creek, he feared such action might agitate anti-war advocates and negatively impact the reelection of Abraham Lincoln. In late November, with Lincoln's reelection assured, Sheridan decided he could finally safely conduct operations against Mosby. On the 26th he wrote Union Chief of Staff Henry Halleck, likening his plans for Loudoun to The Burning of the Valley he was then conducting: