page_title: Battle of Cedar Creek
section_title: Confederate attacks
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Cedar Creek / Battle / Confederate attacks
caption_attribution_description: English: BATTLE OF CEDAR CREEK.
context_page_description: The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, fought October 19, 1864, was the culminating battle of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early launched a surprise attack against the encamped army of Union Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, across Cedar Creek, northeast of Strasburg, Virginia. During the morning fighting, seven Union infantry divisions were forced to fall back and lost numerous prisoners and cannons. Early failed to continue his attack north of Middletown, and Sheridan, dramatically riding to the battlefield from Winchester, was able to rally his troops to hold a new defensive line. A Union counterattack that afternoon routed Early's army.
  At the conclusion of this battle, the final Confederate invasion of the North was effectively ended. The Confederacy was never again able to threaten Washington, D.C. through the Shenandoah Valley, nor protect one of its key economic bases in Virginia. The stunning Union victory aided the reelection of Abraham Lincoln and won Sheridan lasting fame.
context_section_description: Early's men began to form into three columns on the evening of October 18. Gordon's column (the divisions of Ramseur, Pegram and Evans), with the farthest to march, departed just after it became dark, about 8 p.m. They stealthily followed a narrow path (a "pig path") between the Shenandoah and the nose of Massanutten Mountain, previously scouted by Gordon and mapmaker, Maj. Jedediah Hotchkiss. The path required single file passage in places, and did not support the movement of artillery. The columns of Wharton and Kershaw departed at about 1 a.m. on October 19, and all three columns of infantry were in position by 3:30 a.m. Rosser's cavalry prepared to advance along the western side of the valley to attack in the vicinity of Cupp's Ford. The 300-man cavalry brigade of Col. William H. Payne, Rosser's division, was assigned to lead Gordon's men to the battle and then break off in an attempt to reach Belle Grove and capture General Sheridan from his headquarters. The Confederates were unaware that Sheridan was not present that morning. Lomax's cavalry was to advance on the Front Royal–Winchester Road to cut off any Union withdrawal in the area of Newtown (current Stephens City).
  Surprise was virtually complete and most of the Army of West Virginia troops were caught unprepared in their camps. The Confederates' quiet approach was aided by the presence of heavy fog. Kershaw's Division attacked the trenches of Col. Joseph Thoburn's division at 5 a.m. A few minutes later, Gordon's column attacked the position of Col. Rutherford B. Hayes's division. Crook's division-sized "army" was overwhelmed and many fled, half-dressed, in panic. A brigade under Col. Thomas Wildes was one of the more alert units, and it conducted a fighting withdrawal over 30 minutes to the Valley Pike. Heroic leadership by Capt. Henry A. du Pont, acting chief of Crook's artillery, saved nine of his sixteen cannons while he kept them in action, stalling the Confederate advance, eventually establishing a rallying point for the Union north of Middletown. (Du Pont later received the Medal of Honor and a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel in the regular army for his efforts.)
  At the XIX Corps camps, General Emory reacted to the sounds of battle and Crook's fleeing men entering his lines by reorienting his lines to face Gordon's oncoming attack. In doing so, he removed a covering force that was protecting a bridge over Cedar Creek, allowing Wharton's column to move forward unimpeded at 5:40 a.m. Col. Wildes's brigade of Crook's army was ordered by Emory to stop its withdrawal, turn around, and attack the advancing Confederates to buy more time for reorienting the Union lines. General Wright accompanied Wildes and received a painful wound to his chin. The XIX Corps brigade of Col. Stephen Thomas made a similar gallant stand for over 30 minutes while McMillan's division withdrew through the thin lines of Grover's division. These actions around Belle Grove delayed the Confederates enough that most of the headquarters units and supply trains were able to withdraw to safety and the VI Corps could prepare a better defense on the high ground just northwest of the plantation.
  The three divisions of the VI Corps were able to establish proper defensive lines. Kiefer's division aligned itself with Cedar Creek, but as retreating XIX Corps soldiers flowed through, they were unable to hold their position and withdrew to just west of Meadow Brook. Elements of McMillan's division and Merritt's cavalry extended their line to the west. At approximately quarter after 7 in the morning, Kershaw's Division hit the line hard, gradually forcing it back. Wheaton's division, just to the north, was similarly forced back by Gordon's continued attack. The two Union divisions eventually linked up about a mile to the northeast, joining with Getty's division, which was pulling back from a fierce fight at the Middletown cemetery. Getty had originally marched his division toward the sound of battle, but when Wheaton withdrew, his men were unsupported. Briefly defending a slight rise south of M
caption: Battle of Cedar Creek (October 19, 1864)
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