The Last Battle Of Winchester

Author : Scott C. Patchan
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 161121064X
Total Pages : 410 pages
Book Rating : 4.44/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Last Battle of Winchester written by Scott C. Patchan and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2013-07-19 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Unique insight, good storytelling skills, deep research, and keen appreciation for the terrain . . . one outstanding work of history.” —Eric J. Wittenberg, award-winning author of Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Actions The Third Battle of Winchester in September 1864 was the largest, longest, and bloodiest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley. What began about daylight did not end until dusk, when the victorious Union army routed the Confederates. It was the first time Stonewall Jackson’s former corps had ever been driven from a battlefield, and their defeat set the stage for the final climax of the Valley Campaign. This book represents the first serious study to chronicle the battle. The Northern victory was a long time coming. After a spring and summer of Union defeat in the Valley, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant cobbled together a formidable force under Phil Sheridan, an equally redoubtable commander. Sheridan’s task was a tall one: sweep Jubal Early’s Confederate army out of the bountiful Shenandoah, and reduce the verdant region of its supplies. The aggressive Early had led the veterans of Jackson’s Army of the Valley District to one victory after another at Lynchburg, Monocacy, Snickers Gap, and Kernstown. Five weeks of complex maneuvering and sporadic combat followed before the opposing armies met at Winchester, an important town that had changed hands dozens of times over the previous three years. Tactical brilliance and ineptitude were on display throughout the daylong affair as Sheridan threw infantry and cavalry against the thinning Confederate ranks and Early and his generals shifted to meet each assault. A final blow against Early’s left flank finally collapsed the Southern army, killed one of the Confederacy’s finest combat generals, and planted the seeds of the victory at Cedar Creek the following month. This vivid account—based on more than two decades of meticulous research and an unparalleled understanding of the battlefield, and rich is analysis and character development—is complemented with numerous original maps and explanatory footnotes that enhance our understanding of this watershed battle.

Author : Eric J. Wittenberg
Publisher : Savas Beatie
ISBN 13 : 1611212898
Total Pages : 529 pages
Book Rating : 4.91/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Second Battle of Winchester written by Eric J. Wittenberg and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2016-04-30 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive, deeply researched history of the pivotal 1863 American Civil War battle fought in northern Virginia. June 1863. The Gettysburg Campaign is underway. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia pushes west into the Shenandoah Valley and then north toward the Potomac River. Only one significant force stands in its way: Maj. Gen. Robert H. Milroy’s Union division of the Eighth Army Corps in the vicinity of Winchester and Berryville, Virginia. What happens next is the subject of this provocative new book. Milroy, a veteran Indiana politician-turned-soldier, was convinced the approaching enemy consisted of nothing more than cavalry or was merely a feint, and so defied repeated instructions to withdraw. In fact, the enemy consisted of General Lee’s veteran Second Corps under Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell. Milroy’s controversial decision committed his outnumbered and largely inexperienced men against some of Lee’s finest veterans. The complex and fascinating maneuvering and fighting on June 13-15 cost Milroy hundreds of killed and wounded and about 4,000 captured (roughly one-half of his command), with the remainder routed from the battlefield. The combat cleared the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley of Federal troops, demonstrated Lee could obtain supplies on the march, justified the elevation of General Ewell to replace the recently deceased Stonewall Jackson, and sent shockwaves through the Northern states. Today, the Second Battle of Winchester is largely forgotten. But in June 1863, the politically charged front-page news caught President Lincoln and the War Department by surprise and forever tarnished Milroy’s career. The beleaguered Federal soldiers who fought there spent a lifetime seeking redemption, arguing their three-day “forlorn hope” delayed the Rebels long enough to allow the Army of the Potomac to arrive and defeat Lee at Gettysburg. For the Confederates, the decisive leadership on display outside Winchester masked significant command issues buried within the upper echelons of Jackson’s former corps that would become painfully evident during the early days of July on a different battlefield in Pennsylvania. Award-winning authors Eric J. Wittenberg and Scott L. Mingus Sr. combined their researching and writing talents to produce the most in-depth and comprehensive study of Second Winchester ever written, and now in paperback. Their balanced effort, based upon scores of archival and previously unpublished diaries, newspaper accounts, and letter collections, coupled with familiarity with the terrain around Winchester and across the lower Shenandoah Valley, explores the battle from every perspective.

Author : Daniel T. Davis
Publisher : Savas Beatie
ISBN 13 : 1611211662
Total Pages : 277 pages
Book Rating : 4.65/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Bloody Autumn written by Daniel T. Davis and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2014-01-19 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An “essential addition to serious students’ libraries” detailing the historic military offensive that helped sway the outcome of the American Civil War (Civil War News). In the late summer of 1864, Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant set one absolutely unconditional goal: to sweep Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley “clean and clear.” His man for the job: Maj. Gen. “Little Phil” Sheridan—a temperamental Irishman who’d proven himself just the kind of scrapper Grant loved. The valley had already played a major part in the war for the Confederacy as both the location of major early victories against Union attacks, and as the route used by the Army of Northern Virginia for its invasion of the North, culminating in the battle of Gettysburg. But when Sheridan returned to the Valley in 1864, the stakes heightened dramatically. For the North, the fragile momentum its war effort had gained by the capture of Atlanta would quickly evaporate. For Abraham Lincoln, defeat in the Valley could mean defeat in the upcoming election. And for the South, its very sovereignty lay on the line. Here, historians Davis and Greenwalt “weave an excellent summary of the campaign that will serve to introduce those new to the Civil War to the events of that ‘Bloody Autumn’ and will serve as a ready refresher for veteran stompers who are heading out to visit those storied fields of conflict” (Scott C. Patchan, author of The Last Battle of Winchester).

Author : Scott C. Patchan
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781932714982
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.87/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Last Battle of Winchester written by Scott C. Patchan and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Last Battle of Winchester is the first serious study to chronicle the largest, longest, and bloodiest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley. The fighting began about daylight and did not end until dusk, when the victorious Union army routed the Confederates off the field. It was the first time Stonewall Jackson's former corps had ever been driven from a battlefield, and the stinging defeat set the stage for the final climax of the 1864 Valley Campaign at Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. The Northern victory was a long time coming. After a spring and summer of Union defeat in the Valley, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant cobbled together a formidable force under redoubtable cavalryman Phil Sheridan. His task was a tall one: sweep Jubal Early's Confederate army out of the bountiful Shenandoah and reduce the verdant region of its supplies. Thus far, the aggressive Early had led Jackson's veterans to one victory after another at Lynchburg, Monocacy, Snickers Gap, and Kernstown. Author Scott Patchan, recognized as the foremost authority on the 1864 Valley Campaign, dissects the five weeks of complex maneuvering and sporadic combat before the opposing armies ended up at Winchester, an important town in the northern end of the Valley that had changed hands dozens of times during the war. Tactical brilliance and ineptitude were on display throughout the day-long affair as Sheridan threw infantry and cavalry against the thinning Confederate ranks, and Early and his generals shifted to meet each assault. A final blow against Early's left flank collapsed the Southern army, killed one of the Confederacy's finest combat generals in Robert Rodes, and planted the seeds of the sweeping largescale victory at Cedar Creek the following month. Patchan's vivid prose is based upon more than two decades of meticulous firsthand research and an unparalleled understanding of the battlefield. Nearly two dozen original maps, scores of photos, hundreds of explanatory footnotes, and seven invaluable appendices enhance our understanding of this watershed battle. Rich in analysis and dramatic character development, The Last Battle of Winchester is certain to become a classic Civil War battle study. About the Author: A life-long student of military history, Scott C. Patchan is a graduate of James Madison University in the Shenandoah Valley. He is the author of many articles and books, including The Forgotten Fury: The Battle of Piedmont (1996), Shenandoah Summer: The 1864 Valley Campaign (2007), and Second Manassas: Longstreet's Attack and the Struggle for Chinn Ridge (2011). Patchan serves as a director on the board of the Kernstown Battlefield Association in Winchester, Virginia, and is a member of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation's Resource Protection Committee.

Author : Gary W. Gallagher
Publisher : Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN 13 : 0807877115
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.11/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 written by Gary W. Gallagher and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2006-12-15 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Generally regarded as the most important of the Civil War campaigns conducted in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, that of 1864 lasted more than four months and claimed more than 25,000 casualties. The armies of Philip H. Sheridan and Jubal A. Early contended for immense stakes. Beyond the agricultural bounty and the boost in morale a victory would bring, events in the Valley also would affect Abraham Lincoln's chances for reelection in the November 1864 presidential canvass. The eleven original essays in this volume reexamine common assumptions about the campaign, its major figures, and its significance. Taking advantage of the most recent scholarship and a wide range of primary sources, contributors examine strategy and tactics, the performances of key commanders on each side, the campaign's political repercussions, and the experiences of civilians caught in the path of the armies. The authors do not always agree with one another, yet, taken together, their essays highlight important connections between the home front and the battlefield, as well as ways in which military affairs, civilian experiences, and politics played off one another during the campaign. Contributors: William W. Bergen, Charlottesville, Virginia Keith S. Bohannon, State University of West Georgia Andre M. Fleche, University of Virginia Gary W. Gallagher, University of Virginia Joseph T. Glatthaar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Robert E. L. Krick, Richmond, Virginia Robert K. Krick, Fredericksburg, Virginia William J. Miller, Churchville, Virginia Aaron Sheehan-Dean, University of North Florida William G. Thomas, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Joan Waugh, University of California, Los Angeles

Author : Margaretta Barton Colt
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0195132378
Total Pages : 470 pages
Book Rating : 4.73/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Defend the Valley written by Margaretta Barton Colt and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1999 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author "brings to life the courage, recklessness, heartbreak, and deprivation of the (Shenandoah) Valley Campaign and the battles to the east of the Blue Ridge" ("The Commercial Appeal"). 60 photos.

Author : Richard R. Duncan
Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 0807144371
Total Pages : 440 pages
Book Rating : 4.74/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Beleaguered Winchester written by Richard R. Duncan and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2007-06-01 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Civil War, the strategically located town of Winchester, Virginia, suffered from the constant turmoil of military campaigning perhaps more than any other town. Occupied dozens of times by alternating Union and Confederate forces, Winchester suffered through three major battles, including some seventy smaller skirmishes. In his voluminous community study of the town over the course of four tumultuous years, Richard R. Duncan shows that in many ways Winchester's history provides a paradigm of the changing nature of the war. Indeed, Duncan reveals how the town offers a microcosm of the war: slavery collapsed, women assumed control in the absence of men, and civilians vied for authority alongside an assortment of revolving military commanders. Control over Winchester was vital for both the North and the South. Confederates used it as a base to strike the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and conduct raids into western Maryland and Pennsylvania, and when Federal forces occupied the town, they threatened Staunton -- Lee's breadbasket -- and the Virginia Central Railroad. At various times during the war, generals "Stonewall" Jackson, Nathaniel Banks, Robert Milroy, Richard Ewell, Jubal Early, and Philip Sheridan each controlled the town. Guerrilla activity further compounded the region's strife as insecurity became the norm for its civilian population. In this first scholarly treatment of occupied Winchester, Duncan has compiled a narrative of voices from the entire community, including those of groups often omitted from such studies, such as slaves, women, and Confederate dissenters. He shows how Federal occupation meant an early end to slavery in Winchester and how the paucity of men left women to serve as the major cohesive force in the community, making them a bulwark of Confederate support. He also explores the tensions between civilians and military personnel that inevitably arose as each group sought to protect its interests. The war, Duncan explains, left Winchester a landscape of wreckage and economic loss. A fascinating case study of civilian survival amid the turmoil of war, Beleaguered Winchester will appeal to Civil War scholars and enthusiasts alike.

Author : Roger U. Delauter
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 148 pages
Book Rating : 4.54/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Third Battle of Winchester written by Roger U. Delauter and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The third Battle of Winchester (or Battle of Opequon) was fought on 19 Sept. 1864 where Major General Phillip H. Sheridan won a victory against Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early.

Author : Jeffry D. Wert
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780809329724
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.27/5 ( download)

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Download or read book From Winchester to Cedar Creek written by Jeffry D. Wert and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title takes a close look at a turning point in the Civil War. In the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1864, U.S. Major General Philip H. Sheridan led his army to a series of decisive victories for the Union over Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early and the Confederate Army of the Valley. In ""From Winchester to Cedar Creek"", author Jeffry D. Wert highlights Sheridan's victories in the critical area of the Virginia Valley as defining moments of the Civil War. Sheridan's campaign ensured Confederate defeat in Virginia and ultimately contributed to Lincoln's reelection and the Union's victory in the Civil War. Drawing on manuscript collections and many published sources, Wert offers vivid descriptions of the battles of Third Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Tom's Brook, and Cedar Creek. The book also explores how the interplay of the strengths and weaknesses of the Union and Confederate commanders, Sheridan and Early, resulted in victories for Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah. Grounded in detailed research, Wert's compelling narrative portrays the military strategies these commanders employed and how their tactical decisions impacted civilian sacrifice in the Valley. First published in 1987, Wert's chronicle remains the definitive book on Sheridan's command and the Shenandoah Campaign of 1864. Offering a balanced treatment of both Union and Confederate experiences during the campaign, Wert emphasizes its importance as a turning point in the war from both military and civilian points of view. Supplemented with situation maps and photographs, ""From Winchester to Cedar Creek"" not only documents and dynamically recounts the events that unfolded between the summer and fall of 1864 in the Virginia Valley, but it also details the political, strategic, and tactical forces that made the Shenandoah Valley campaign so important to the outcome of the Civil War.

Author : Gary L. Ecelbarger
Publisher : University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN 13 : 9780806138862
Total Pages : 308 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Three Days in the Shenandoah written by Gary L. Ecelbarger and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The battles of Front Royal and Winchester are the stuff of Civil War legend. Stonewall Jackson swept away an isolated Union division under the command of Nathaniel Banks and made his presence in the northern Shenandoah Valley so frightful a prospect that it triggered an overreaction from President Lincoln, yielding huge benefits for the Confederacy. Gary Ecelbarger has undertaken a comprehensive reassessment of those battles to show their influence on both war strategy and the continuation of the conflict. Three Days in the Shenandoah answers questions that have perplexed historians for generations. Bypassing long-overused sources that have shrouded the Valley Campaign in myth, Ecelbarger draws instead on newly uncovered primary sources--including soldiers' accounts and officers' reports--to refute much of the anecdotal lore that for too long was regarded as fact. He narrates those suspenseful days of combat from the perspective of battlefield participants and high commanders to weave a compelling story of strategy and tactics. And he offers new conclusions regarding Lincoln's military meddling as commander in chief, grants Jefferson Davis more credit for the campaign than previous accounts have given him, and commends Union soldiers for their fighting. Written with the flair of a seasoned military historian and enlivened with maps and illustrations, Three Days in the Shenandoah reinterprets this important episode. Ecelbarger sets a new standard for envisioning the Shenandoah Campaign that will both fascinate Civil War buffs and engage historians.