Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 This p

This paper will discuss the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of the Fall of 1864, focusing upon the personalities of the two commanders involved, Major-Generals Jubal Early and Philip Sheridan. The first part of the paper will discuss the lives of both men and their careers leading up the Shenandoah Campaign. The second part of the paper will briefly discuss the Shenandoah campaign up to the Battle of Cedar Creek. The third part of the paper will recount Cedar Creek and the fourth part will analyze the performance of both Early and Sheridan in the battle and the overall campaign.

Jubal Anderson Early was born in Virginia in 1816 and graduated from West Point in 1837. Although opposed to secession as a delegate to the special convention called by the Virginia General Assembly, he threw his support behind the Confederacy when the convention voted for secession. He immediately joined the local brigade and was its commander by the time of the first Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) in July of 1861. He distinguished himself as a brigade commander and performed competently as a division commander throughout 1862 and 1863. His division remained in Fredericksburg during the Battle of Chancellorsville in May of 1863, holding off superior Union forces while the main body of the Confederate army under General Robert E. Lee decisively defeated the main Union force. Two months later, his division was held on a short rein during the Battle of Get

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After Early's defeats at Winchester and Fisher's Hill, Lee restored to the Valley some of the reinforcements which had been withdrawn. With these forces, Early made plans to strike back at Sheridan, who had established his headquarters at Woodstock. After a cavalry action in Sheridan's rear area, at Tom's Brook, on October 9, the Union army took up positions at Cedar Creek, near Middletown and between Fisher's Hill and Winchester. Early reconnoitered this position and initially decided that it was too strong to attack. But after waiting in vain for Sheridan's forces to move and consuming most of his own meager supplies, Early began to plan an attack which would destroy Army of the Shenandoah. Between Early's forces to the southwest and Sheridan's forces to the northeast, the North Fork of the Shenandoah River and Cedar Creek provided a barrier which made impossible any serious attempt at a frontal assault. Early, therefore, decided to mount a flanking attack which would roll up the left flank of the Union forces. Sheridan had placed the VIII Corps under Major-General George Crook on the left flank, the XIX Corps under Major-General William Emory in the center, and the VI Corps under Major-General Horatio Wright in reser
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2490
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)