Battle of Lynchburg The Battle of Lynchburg was fought on June 17 – 18 , 1864 , two miles outside Lynchburg , Virginia , as part of the American Civil War . The Union Army of West Virginia , under Maj . Gen . David Hunter , attempted to capture the city but was repulsed by Confederate Lt . Gen . Jubal Anderson Early . Background . During the Civil War , Lynchburg was used as a supply and hospital center . It was also a connection in the railroad that supplied the Confederate States Army . It was for this reason that Hunter determined to capture it . In accordance with a plan formulated by Brig . Gen . William W . Averell , the infantry division s of Brigadier Generals George Crook and Jeremiah C . Sullivan proceeded south from Staunton on June 10 alongside Averell ' s cavalry division . However , Hunter had two major problems . He was supposed to receive help from Maj . Gen . Philip Sheridan ; who never showed up because he had suffered a major setback at the Battle of Trevilian Station and was forced to retreat to an area around Richmond and Petersburg . The other , and perhaps most devastating , issue was that Hunter ' s supply lines were being harassed by the 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry , under Lt . Col . John S . Mosby . Between May 20 and June 17 , only one supply wagon had reached Hunter . At Lexington on June 11 , Hunter fought with Confederate cavalry under Brig . Gen . John McCausland , who withdrew to Buchanan . Hunter ordered Col . Alfred N . Duffié to join him in Lexington with his cavalry division . While waiting , Hunter burned Virginia Military Institute and the home of John Letcher , former Governor of Virginia . After being joined by Duffié on June 13 , Hunter sent Averell to drive McCausland out of Buchanan and capture the bridge there across the James River , but McCausland burned the bridge and fled the town . Hunter joined Averell in Buchanan the following day before advancing via the road between the Peaks of Otter on June 15 . His cavalry occupied Liberty that evening . Meanwhile , Maj . Gen . John C . Breckinridge sent Brig . Gen . John D . Imboden and his cavalry to join McCausland . Breckinridge arrived in Lynchburg the next day . Maj . Gen . Daniel Harvey Hill and Brig . Gen . Harry T . Hays constructed a defense line in the hills just southwest of the city . That afternoon , McCausland fell back to New London and skirmished with Averell ' s cavalry which pursued him . The Union launched another attack on McCausland and Imboden that evening . The Confederates retreated from New London . Battle . Early arrived in Lynchburg at one o ' clock on June 17 , having been sent by General Robert E . Lee . Three hours later , Averell encountered McCausland ' s and Imboden ' s dismounted cavalry entrenched at the Quaker Meeting House , four miles from the city . The Confederates were driven back after Col . Carr B . White ' s brigade moved in to support Averell . Two brigades of Major General Stephen Dodson Ramseur ' s division occupied the area around a redoubt two miles from the city and hindered the Union advance . Hunter made Sandusky his headquarters and planned the attack on Early ' s defenses . That night , trains could be heard moving up and down the tracks . Also , various instruments such as bugles and drums were heard by Hunter ' s troops . Even the people of Lynchburg made noise by having bands play and citizens scream . Their goal was to make the Confederate army seem larger than it really was . On June 18 , Major Generals Arnold Elzey and Robert Ransom , Jr . arrived from the Confederate capital of Richmond , Virginia . Elzey assumed command of Breckinridge ' s infantry and dismounted cavalry while Ransom superseded Imboden as commander of the mounted cavalry . Early elected to remain defensive and wait for the rest of the Second Corps to arrive . The redoubt now known as Fort Early was at the center of the Confederate line , with Maj . Gen . John Brown Gordon ' s division on the left and Brig . Gen . William G . Lewis ' s brigade on the right . McCausland commanded the right flank , which included a redoubt , and Elzey ' s command defended the area between it and Lewis ' brigade . Col . Scott Shipp ' s VMI cadets were placed in reserve at Spring Hill Cemetery while the inner defenses were occupied by the Confederate Home Guard . Hunter , still not convinced that Lee had sent reinforcements to Lynchburg , deployed Sullivan ' s and Crook ' s divisions in front of the Confederate center , with Averell in reserve , and sent an order to Duffié to attack the Confederate right . Reconnoitering the line in an effort to find a weak spot to push his infantry through , Hunter ruled out a direct attack on the redoubts , for they appeared too strong . He allowed Lt . Col . Henry A . du Pont to deploy his thirty - two cannons . Crook was sent to flank the Confederate left , but marched a few miles before finding it impracticable . The Confederates attacked Sullivan and du Pont , who managed to hold them at bay until Crook returned . The Confederates fell back after a half hour of fighting , but spent the next hour and twenty minutes attempting to break through the gap between Sullivan and Duffié before withdrawing to their earthworks . A regiment of Col . Rutherford B . Hayes ' brigade pursued them but were beaten back . Meanwhile , McCausland succeeded in holding off Duffié ' s assaults . As ammunition ran short , both Hunter and Duffié became convinced that they were outnumbered . Early then prepared to begin an attack of his own , but Hunter retreated at nightfall . Aftermath . Early ' s army moved sixty miles in three days . At that point , Early called off the pursuit and awaited for Hunter to make a move . Hunter decided to move across the Shenandoah Valley and into West Virginia . The Battle of Lynchburg proved to be quite helpful in the Confederates ' fight against the Union . Hunter ' s retreat made it possible for Early to freely move up the Shenandoah Valley . Early ' s army advanced up through Maryland and even made it as far as Washington , D . C . This was an obvious victory for the Confederates because it allowed them to move further north and allowed their supply lines to remain open via the railroads .