| Army of the Shenandoah | |
|---|---|
| Active | July 25, 1861 – March 18, 1862 August 1, 1864 – June 27, 1865 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Engagements | American Civil War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | MG Robert Patterson MG Nathaniel P. Banks MG David Hunter MG Philip Sheridan MG Horatio G. Wright MG Philip Sheridan BG Alfred Thomas Torbert |
TheArmy of the Shenandoah was afield army of theUnion Army active during theAmerican Civil War. First organized as theDepartment of the Shenandoah in 1861 and then disbanded in early 1862, the army became most effective after its recreation on August 1, 1864 under the command ofPhilip Sheridan.[1] The army's actions during theValley campaigns of 1864 rendered theShenandoah Valley ofVirginia unable to produce foodstuffs for theConfederate States Army, a condition which would hasten theconclusion of the American Civil War.
Under the command ofMajor General Robert Patterson before the three-month enlistments of a majority of its troops expired, theDepartment of Pennsylvania operated as the lone element ofUnion Army in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After achieving a tactical victory at theBattle of Hoke's Run on July 2 and contributing indirectly to the Union disaster at theFirst Battle of Bull Run on July 21, its unexpired regiments and commanders were absorbed into a newDepartment of the Shenandoah under the command ofMajor General Nathaniel P. Banks on July 25, 1861. Neither Patterson nor Banks referred to his commands as theArmy of the Shenandoah in official correspondence,[2] and when theArmy of the Potomac adopted a Corps structure on March 18, 1862, Banks' command was redesignated as the "Fifth Corps."
On May 21, 1864, Major General David Hunter was appointed to command the Department of West Virginia. Hunter designated the field forces of his department the "Army of the Shenandoah". Hunter was in command of the Army of the Shenandoah from May 21 to July 3[3] which consisted of two infantry divisions and two cavalry divisions. The First and Second Infantry Divisions were commanded by Brigadier GeneralsJeremiah C. Sullivan andGeorge Crook respectively. The First and Second Cavalry Divisions were commanded by Brigadier GeneralsJulius Stahel (succeeded byAlfred N. Duffie) andWilliam W. Averell respectively. In May Crook's and Averell's divisions fought independently at thebattle of Cloyd's Mountain. Hunter personally led Sullivan's and Stahel's divisions at thebattle of Piedmont. All four divisions were joined for thebattle of Lynchburg. On July 3, George Crook assumed command of both infantry divisions and designated this as a new field army named theArmy of the Kanawha.[4]
The force was next created by order ofUlysses S. Grant on August 1, 1864, in response to a raid byJubal Early and hisConfederate army of 15,000 onWashington, D.C., and especially his defeat ofLew Wallace at theBattle of Monocacy Junction. The new Army of the Shenandoah was composed of the UnionVI Corps (commanded byHoratio G. Wright),XIX Corps (William H. Emory), andGeorge Crook'sArmy of West Virginia (VIII Corps). It was placed under Sheridan's command with orders to repel Early, deal with Confederate guerillas, and press on into theShenandoah Valley inVirginia.
Early, ever the cunning strategist, kept his force moving so as not to be trapped by Sheridan's vastly superior force. His raid had, if anything, a good deal of success for southern morale. Confederate GeneralRobert E. Lee, coming to the conclusion that Early had done all that was practical, ordered Early to return two of his divisions toRichmond and remain to tie up Sheridan. Learning of this, Sheridan waited until Early weakened himself and then attacked at theThird Battle of Winchester on September 19 and then again at theBattle of Fisher's Hill on September 20–21. By the end of these battles, Early's force was effectively out of the war, and Sheridan proceeded with his secondary orders to destroy the ability of theShenandoah Valley to produce foodstuffs for the Confederacy, torching farms and more than 2,000 mills.
Reinforced again in reaction to the threat of Sheridan's 31,000-man army, Early moved against Sheridan once more. After a decisivecavalry victory by Union forces under Brig. Gen.George Armstrong Custer at theBattle of Tom's Brook, Early's army launched a surprise attack against Sheridan at theBattle of Cedar Creek on October 19. Initially successful, the Confederates were repelled by a Union counterattack and the Valley was firmly under Union control.
Following those battles in the fall of 1864, the majority of the Army of the Shenandoah was detached to Grant atPetersburg and toWilliam Tecumseh Sherman inGeorgia. Sheridan joined Grant for the Appomattox campaign where Sheridan commanded the Army of the Shenandoah, which included two divisions of cavalry commanded by Wesley Merritt. In late April 1865, command of the army then passed to Brig. Gen.A. T. A. Torbert until July 12, 1865, when the force was disbanded for the final time.
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