The Battle of Fisher's Hill was fought September 21–22, 1864, near

Strasburg, Virginia Strasburg is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States, which was founded in 1761 by Peter Stover. It is the largest town by population in the county and is known for its grassroots art culture, pottery, antiques, and American Civil ...

, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Despite its strong defensive position, the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

army of Lt. Gen.

Jubal Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was an American lawyer, politician and military officer who served in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early resigned his ...

was defeated by the Union Army of the Shenandoah, commanded by Maj. Gen.

Philip Sheridan Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with General-i ...

Background

Military situation

Sheridan had almost 35,000 men in the Shenandoah Valley opposing Early, with just under 10,000. Early, following the Third Battle of Winchester, took a strong position. His right rested on the North Branch of the

Shenandoah River The Shenandoah River is the principal tributary of the Potomac River, long with two River fork, forks approximately long each,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August ...

. The left flank of his infantry was on Fisher's Hill. Confederate cavalry was expected to hold the ground from there to Little North Mountain. Maj. Gen.

George Crook George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer who served in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. He is best known for commanding U.S. forces in the Geronimo Campaign, 1886 campaign that ...

advised Sheridan to flank this position. His command was assigned to move along the wooded slopes of the mountain to attack the cavalry.

Opposing forces

Union

Confederate

Battle

Crook's attack began about 4 p.m. on September 22, 1864. The infantry attack pushed the Confederate troopers out of their way. Maj. Gen. Stephen Dodson Ramseur tried refusing the left flank of his division. Crook and Brig. Gen. James B. Ricketts's division, of Horatio G. Wright's VI Corps struck Ramseur's line, pushing it in. Wright's remaining divisions and XIX Corps broke the Southern line.

Aftermath

The Confederates fell back to

Waynesboro, Virginia Waynesboro (; formerly Flack) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a principal city of the Staunton-Waynesboro micropolitan area, Staunton-Waynesboro Metropoli ...

. Brig. Gen. Alfred Torbert was sent into the Luray Valley with 6,000 cavalrymen to force his way through the 1,200 Confederate cavalrymen under Brigadier General Williams Wickham. Torbert was then supposed to move through the New Market and Luray Gap in Massanutten Mountain and come up behind Early and cut-off his retreat at Fisher's Hill. Torbert fell back after making a token effort against Wickham's force at Milford (present day Overall) and Early escaped. Four Union Army enlisted men and one officer received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

in the action at Fisher's Hill. * Private James Connors, 43rd New York Infantry * Private John Creed, 23rd Illinois Infantry * Private George G. Moore, 11th West Virginia Infantry * Sergeant Sylvester D. Rhodes, 61st Pennsylvania Infantry * First Lieutenant Edward N. Whittier, 5th Battery Maine Light Artillery

Battlefield preservation

The

Civil War Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War, through the acquisition of battlefield lan ...

(a division of the American Battlefield Trust) and its partners have acquired and preserved of the battlefield. The preserved portion of the battlefield is marked by trails and interpretive signs.
American Battlefield Trust Fisher's Hill Battlefield page. Accessed May 28, 2018.

Notes

References

National Park Service battle description

CWSAC Report Update and Resurvey: Individual Battlefield Profiles

Memoirs and primary sources

*Early, Jubal A. ''A Memoir of the Last Year of the War for Independence in the Confederate States of America''. Edited by Gary W. Gallagher. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2001. . * Sheridan, Philip Henry.
Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan, General, United States Army in Two Volumes
', Vol. II. New York, New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1888. * U.S. War Department
''The War of the Rebellion''
''a Compilation of the

Official Records The ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion'', commonly known as the ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'' or Official Records (OR or ORs), is the most extensive collection of Americ ...

of the Union and Confederate Armies''. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fishers Hill, Battle Of Battle of Fisher's Hill Fisher's Hill 1864 Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Union victories of the American Civil War Fisher's Hill Battle of Fisher's Hill Conflicts in 1864 September 1864