Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign
August-December, 1864

Union General Ulysses S. Grant had "only slowly recognized the strategic value of the Shenandoah Valley," but Crook's defeat at Winchester forced him to give the Valley more attention.¹⁶² In addition, though the decision-making process had proven difficult, Grant, along with President Lincoln and his military advisors in Washington agreed to reorganize the large forces in the lower valley. Official orders were issued uniting the Department of the Susquehanna, the Department of West Virginia, the Middle Department, and the Department of Washington, thereby forming the Middle Military Division.¹⁶³ General Philip H. Sheridan was put in command and arrived in the Shenandoah two weeks after the engagement at Kernstown.¹⁶⁴

Williams wrote this note in the Diary and Letters about the movements of Hayes' brigade. Beginning July 27,

Hayes' command marched fourteen miles down the river road toward Harpers Ferry and camped below Sandy Hook. The next day . . . camp was established in the woods near Halltown, Virginia, a good location except that it was `too far from water.' Here the weary soldiers rested for two days. Then, Saturday night, July 30, they marched back in the darkness, through dust, heat, and confusion, fourteen miles into Maryland; and Sunday ten miles farther on through Middletown to a wooded camp.¹⁶⁵

They remained there until August 2, and on August 3 they moved across the Catoctin (Blue) Ridge, and camped ". . . 1 ½ miles below Frederick Junction."¹⁶⁶ On August 8, Hayes was at Camp Pleasant Valley, Maryland,¹⁶⁷ and later in the month they returned to Halltown.

Colonel McCown gave more precise information in his report. (For a map of these movements see Figure 11, below.) He wrote that on July 28, camp was made "two miles south of Halltown at `Camp Halltown'." On July 30 they moved back into Maryland, passed Knoxville, and camped near Middletown. On July 31 they passed Middletown, Bealesville [sic], and camped "near a small stream called Middlebrook." He also noted on this day that the weather was "oppressively hot, [and] many of the troops suffered from heat and sun stroke." On August 1, the troops camped at Wolfville [sic], where they remained to rest the next day. On August 3, they passed through Frederick, crossed the Monocacy River, and camped three miles below the city at Monocacy Junction. For the next two days (August 4 and 5), they again rested in camp and on August 5, saw a deserter from the Twenty-third Ohio court-martialed and shot. On August 6, they resumed their march, passed Jefferson and "Knoswith" (probably Knoxville), and returned to camp at Pleasant Valley. Here the regiment sent forty-four sick and disabled men to the hospital. On August 8, they moved on across the Potomac, passed Harpers Ferry, and camped "on the banks of the Shenandoah river about eight miles above Harper's Ferry." On August 10, they marched passed Isler's Mill and Kabletown, and camped near Berryville for the night. On August 11, the troops marched through Berryville and "took the Front Royal road; marched about four miles in two columns, on the right of the road; then changed direction by the `Right of Regiments to the front,' and marched to within five miles of Winchester; again changed direction, and marched to Nineveh . . . and camped for the night."

Figure 11 - Movements of the Thirteenth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, July 28-August 27, 1864

On August 12, the Thirteenth was detached from the brigade and marched toward Middletown, Virginia. Arriving there at sunset, they were ordered to return immediately to their brigade "on the Strasburg road near Cedar creek" where they were assigned a place in line of battle. For the next four days they skirmished with the enemy, and on August 16 moved back to Winchester. On August 17, they returned to Berryville and on August 18 camped "in a grove in the field a short distance from the village of Rippon." The next night they camped in the woods just south of Charles Town, and on August 21 began skirmishing again. The Thirteenth was assigned a place "on the extreme left of the Brigade." The regiment lost two killed and one wounded that day. Late that night they proceeded through Charles Town and Halltown, and camped near the latter place that night.¹⁶⁸

At Halltown on August 22, Colonel Duval was ordered to make a reconnaissance with one brigade "on the right of the enemy's line, then lying in our front." Three regiments of Hayes' brigade (Fifth West Virginia, Twenty-Third Ohio and Thirty-Sixth Ohio) moved out of Halltown on the left and formed a line of battle.¹⁶⁹ Hayes reported that the Thirteenth was absent on picket duty that day, while McCown reported that the Thirteenth spent August 22, 23, 24, and 25 "fortifying our position."¹⁷⁰ Duval's command advanced quickly against the opposing pickets,¹⁷¹ "charged them with great vigor and drove them perhaps half a mile, . . ." capturing twenty prisoners and killing or wounding about another twenty.¹⁷² Hayes' losses were three slightly wounded.¹⁷³ On August 24, Duval led another reconnaissance against the enemy's line. They met and engaged the enemy's skirmishers, drove them in and captured a few prisoners, losing 30 wounded.¹⁷⁴ The Thirteenth lost one man wounded that day.¹⁷⁵

Two days later, on August 26, Duval was ordered to prepare his division for another reconnaissance.¹⁷⁶ That day, Hayes' brigade, cooperating with Thoburn's, attacked the enemy's picket line ". . . with decided success." Duval described the events of the day:

At 4 PM I massed six regiments of my command in the wood near our left and in front of the enemy's right, threw forward skirmishers, and advanced rapidly, deploying and extending my command in two lines, as the woods through which I was moving became wider as we advanced. Soon engaged the rebels, who, having suffered severely in the actions of the 22d and 24th, seemed to have profited by their experience in these engagements and had prepared two lines of defenses, built of fence rails, logs, and earth thrown up to protect their men. . . . He also had several pieces of artillery in position, from which a brisk fire was opened on us. Their fire was very severe and destructive, checking our lines for a moment. I . . . determined to dislodge him if possible. . . . I therefore ordered the lines to charge, which was gallantly executed; carried first line of works, . . . his second line was carried with little opposition. . . . Eleven of the enemy's dead were left on the field . . . their loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners amounting to over 300, our casualties amounting to 76 killed and wounded.¹⁷⁷

Of Hayes' brigade, three were killed and 21 wounded. McCown reported on the Thirteenth's participation that day: "at 4 o'clock P.M. this Regiment with the 1st Brigade, marched out and engaged the enemy. We had quite a lively little fight. Casualties in the Regiment: 1 killed, 8 wounded and 1 missing; supposed to have been wounded. Returned to camp at sunset."¹⁷⁸

That night the enemy retreated from Charles Town, and on August 27 the Thirteenth stayed in camp. On August 28 they "Marched out of camp in line of battle . . . then marched on the Berryville road a short distance, and camped for the night." The line of battle was maintained throughout the next three days.¹⁷⁹

There are no entries in McCown's report for September 1 and 2, but on September 3 he wrote that the regiment marched through Rippon to Berryville, skirmishing on the Winchester Road. He reported that the skirmishing "resulted in pitched battle, in which this Regiment took a prominent part."¹⁸⁰ What had happened that afternoon was that Hayes' brigade, along with two regiments of the 2nd Brigade, met Confederate General Joseph B. Kershaw's division of Early's army near Berryville. Kershaw's division was driven back along the Winchester pike "to an intrenched position" and Hayes took about seventy-five prisoners and killed or wounded about 200.¹⁸¹ The Thirteenth lost 15 men wounded that day, and camped near Berryville that night.¹⁸²

On September 4, the regiment moved to the rear of the army, and fortified their position. There are no entries in McCown's report for September 5, 6, or 7; however, on September 8, he wrote that the regiment "took position at Summit Point, and remained in that place until the morning of September 19th."¹⁸³

Next: The Battle of Winchester/Opequan Creek, September 19, 1864
Back: The Battle of Kernstown-Winchester, July 23-24
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Copyright © Kimberly Ball Hieronimus Brownlee, 1998-2003. All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in any manner for any media without the express written agreement of the author.