Valley Campaigns of 1864 The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864 . Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns , but it is useful to consider the three together and how they interacted . Background . At the beginning of 1864 , Ulysses S . Grant was promoted to lieutenant general and given command of all Union armies . He chose to make his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac , although Maj . Gen . George G . Meade remained the actual commander of that army . He left Maj . Gen . William Tecumseh Sherman in command of most of the western armies . Grant understood the concept of total war and believed , along with Sherman and President Abraham Lincoln , that only the utter defeat of Confederate forces and their economic base would bring an end to the war . Therefore , scorched earth tactics would be required in some important theaters . He devised a coordinated strategy that would strike at the heart of the Confederacy from multiple directions : Grant , Meade , and Maj . Gen . Benjamin Butler against Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia near Richmond ; Maj . Gen . Franz Sigel to invade the Shenandoah Valley and destroy Lee ' s supply lines ; Sherman to invade Georgia and capture Atlanta ; Maj . Gen . Nathaniel P . Banks to capture Mobile , Alabama . Lynchburg Campaign ( May – June 1864 ) . The first campaign started with Grant ' s planned invasion by Sigel . Sigel was in command of the Department of West Virginia , and his orders from Grant were to move " up the Valley " ( i . e . , southwest to the higher elevations ) with 10 , 000 men to destroy the railroad center at Lynchburg , Virginia . New Market ( May 15 ) . Sigel was intercepted by 4 , 000 troops and cadets from the Virginia Military Institute under Confederate Maj . Gen . John C . Breckenridge and defeated . He retreated to Strasburg , Virginia , and was replaced by Maj . Gen . David Hunter , who later burned VMI in retaliation for the actions of the VMI cadets . Piedmont ( June 5 – 6 ) . Hunter resumed the Union offensive and defeated William E . " Grumble " Jones , who was killed in the battle . Hunter occupied Staunton , Virginia . On June 11 Hunter fought at Lexington against John McCausland ' s Confederate cavalry , which withdrew to Buchanan . Hunter ordered Col . Alfred N . Duffié ' s cavalry division to join him in Lexington and while awaiting their arrival , burned former Governor John Letcher ' s home , as well as shelled and burned the Virginia Military Institute , seizing the statue of George Washington there and nearly destroying the campus ( VMI moved classes to the Richmond Alms House ) . The July 30 , 1864 , Confederate burning of Chambersburg , Pennsylvania , " was a response " to the VMI attack . Joined by Duffié on June 13 , Hunter sent Averell to drive McCausland out of Buchanan and capture the James River bridge , but McCausland burned the bridge and fled . Hunter joined Averell in Buchanan on June 14 and on June 15 advanced via the road between the Peaks of Otter to occupy 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 . When McCausland fell back he was engaged by the pursuing Averell cavalry in the afternoon Skirmish at New London . The Union launched another attack on McCausland and Imboden that evening , and the Confederates retreated from New London ( Early arrived in Lynchburg on June 17 at 1 p . m . ) . Lynchburg ( June 17 – 18 ) . Hunter was foiled in his plan to destroy railroads , canals , and hospitals in Lynchburg when initial units under Jubal A . Early arrived . Hunter , short on supplies , retreated back through West Virginia . Early ' s Washington Raid and operations against the B & O Railroad ( June – August 1864 ) . Robert E . Lee was concerned about Hunter ' s advances in the Valley , which threatened critical railroad lines and provisions for the Virginia - based Confederate forces . He sent Jubal Early ' s corps to sweep Union forces from the Valley and , if possible , to menace Washington , D . C . , hoping to compel Grant to dilute his forces against Lee around Petersburg , Virginia . Early was operating in the shadow of Thomas J . " Stonewall " Jackson , whose 1862 Valley Campaign against superior forces was fabled in Confederate history . Early got off to a good start . He drove down the Valley without opposition , bypassed Harpers Ferry , crossed the Potomac River , and advanced into Maryland . Grant dispatched a corps under Horatio G . Wright and other troops under George Crook to reinforce Washington and pursue Early . Monocacy ( July 9 ) . Early defeated a smaller force under Lew Wallace near Frederick , Maryland , but this battle delayed his progress enough to allow time for reinforcing the defenses of Washington . Fort Stevens ( July 11 – 12 ) . Early attacked a fort on the northwest defensive perimeter of Washington without success and withdrew back to Virginia . Heaton ' s Crossroads ( July 16 ) . Union cavalry attacked Early ' s supply trains as the Confederates withdrew across the Loudoun Valley towards the Blue Ridge Mountains . Several small cavalry skirmishes occurred throughout the day as the Federals continued to try and harass Early ' s column . Cool Spring ( July 17 – 18 ) . " Also known as Snicker ' s Ferry " . Early attacked and repulsed pursuing Union forces under Wright . Rutherford ' s Farm ( July 20 ) . A Union division attacked a Confederate division under Stephen Dodson Ramseur and routed it . Early withdrew his army south to Fisher ' s Hill , near Strasburg , Virginia . Second Kernstown ( July 24 ) . Wright withdrew , thinking Early was no longer a threat . Early attacked him to prevent or delay his return to Grant ' s forces besieging Petersburg . Union troops were routed , streaming through the streets of Winchester . Early pursued and burned Chambersburg , Pennsylvania , along the way in retaliation for Hunter ' s previous destruction in the Valley . Folck ' s Mill ( August 1 ) . " Also known as the Battle of Cumberland " . An inconclusive small cavalry battle in Maryland . Moorefield ( August 7 ) . " Also known as the Battle of Oldfields " . Confederate cavalry returning from the Chambersburg burning were ambushed and defeated by Union cavalry . Sheridan ' s Valley Campaign ( August – October 1864 ) . Grant finally lost patience with Early , particularly his burning of Chambersburg , and knew that Washington remained vulnerable if Early was still on the loose . He found a new commander aggressive enough to defeat Early : Philip Sheridan , the cavalry commander of the Army of the Potomac , who was given command of all forces in the area , calling them the Army of the Shenandoah . Sheridan initially started slowly , primarily because the impending presidential election of 1864 demanded a cautious approach , avoiding any disaster that might lead to the defeat of Abraham Lincoln . Guard Hill ( August 16 ) . " Also known as Front Royal or Cedarville " . Confederate forces under Richard H . Anderson were sent from Petersburg to reinforce Early . Brig . Gen . Wesley Merritt ' s Union cavalry division surprised the Confederate columns while they were crossing the Shenandoah River , capturing about 300 . The Confederates rallied and advanced , gradually pushing back Merritt ' s men to Cedarville . The battle was inconclusive . Summit Point ( August 21 ) . " Also known as Flowing Springs or Cameron ' s Depot " . Early and Anderson struck Sheridan near Charles Town , West Virginia . Sheridan conducted a fighting withdrawal . Smithfield Crossing ( August 25 – 29 ) . Two Confederate divisions crossed Opequon Creek and forced a Union cavalry division back to Charles Town . Berryville ( September 3 – 4 ) . A minor engagement in which Early attempted to stop Sheridan ' s march up the Valley . Early withdrew back to Opequon Creek when he realized he was in a poor position for attacking Sheridan ' s full force . Third Winchester ( September 19 ) . " Also known as the Battle of Opequon " . While Early had his forces dispersed , raiding the B & O Railroad , Sheridan struck near Winchester , Virginia . Sustaining ruinous casualties , Early retreated from the largest battle in all three of the campaigns , taking up defensive positions at Fisher ' s Hill . Fisher ' s Hill ( September 21 – 22 ) . Sheridan hit Early in an early - morning flanking attack , routing the Confederates with moderate losses . Early retreated to Waynesboro , Virginia . With Early damaged and pinned down , the Valley lay open to the Union . And because of Sherman ' s capture of Atlanta , Lincoln ' s re - election now seemed assured . Sheridan pulled back slowly down the Valley and conducted a scorched earth campaign that would presage Sherman ' s March to the Sea in November . The goal was to deny the Confederacy the means of feeding its armies in Virginia , and Sheridan ' s army did so ruthlessly , burning crops , barns , mills , and factories . Tom ' s Brook ( October 9 ) . As Early began a pursuit of Sheridan , Union cavalry routed two divisions of Confederate cavalry . Cedar Creek ( October 19 ) . In a surprise attack , Early smashed two thirds of the Union army , but his troops were hungry and exhausted and fell out of their ranks to pillage the Union camp ; Sheridan , in a ride from Winchester , managed to rally his troops and utterly rout Early ' s men , and the Confederates lost everything they had gained in the morning , and this victory helped Lincoln to be reelected . Aftermath . Having completing his missions of neutralizing Early and suppressing the Valley ' s military - related economy , Sheridan returned to assist Grant at Petersburg . Most of the men of Early ' s corps rejoined Lee at Petersburg in December , while Early remained to command a skeleton force . His final action was defeat at the Battle of Waynesboro on March 2 , 1865 , after which Lee removed him from his command because the Confederate government and people had lost confidence in him .