Union General Philip Sheridan averts a near disaster in the Shenandoah Valley when he rallies his troops after a surprise attack by Confederate General Jubal Early and scores a major victory that almost destroys Early’s army at the Battle of Cedar Creek in Virginia.
Through the summer of 1864, Early moved his army with impunity around the Shenandoah and its surrounding area. Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant dispatched Sheridan to take care of Early’s army, which was distracting Grant and preventing him from applying the full pressure of the Union army against the forces of Robert E. Lee around Petersburg, Virginia. Sheridan performed his task well, defeating Early at Winchester, Fischer’s Hill, and Tom’s Brook. By mid-October, Sheridan’s troops were busy destroying the rich harvest of the Shenandoah to deny food supplies to Lee’s army.