Josh The Lighthouse Guy
Major
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2012
- Location
- Jupiter, FL
Shenandoah Summer
by Scott Patchan
University of Nebraska Press (2007)
In 1864, the Shenandoah Valley was the scene of a series of interlinked campaigns spanning just over five months. The first and last are the best know: Sigel's, Hunter's, Early's, Crook's, and Sheridan's. Sigel is remembered because New Market became one of the most famous small battles of the war. Early's campaign into Maryland brought the war to the doorstep of Washington, DC. Sheridan's crushing defeats helped seal Lincoln's reelection. Hunter's campaign garners too little attention. Scott Patchan has written about the first half of that campaign, centered on the Battle of Piedmont. But at least Hunter lives to some degree in infamy. The latter half of July 1864, primarily between Crook and Early, has been badly overlooked and Patchan rectified that here with an excellent book.
The book starts with Early's retreat back to Virginia and the subsequent sloppy Union pursuit by George Crook and Horatio Wright culminating in bloody, bungled attempts to force crossings of the Shenandoah River (Cool Spring and Berry's Ferry). Edward Ord also shows up briefly, commanding the troops at Baltimore before he's called away to the Army of the James. I'm once again amazed at that's guy knack for showing up briefly and contributing nothing beneficial (see also Powell's Union Command Failure in the Shenandoah and Newsome's Gettysburg's Southern Front). What an odd Civil War career that guy had.
The Union does score a small but dramatic victory at Rutherford's/Carter's Farm north of Winchester. Crook and Wright then badly misinterprets Early's intentions, resulting in Wright's departure pursuant to orders. Crook is unwittingly left outnumbered by Early, resulting in one of the worst routs of the war at Second Kernstown. The battle and retreat cover about a third of the main text of this book. George Crook should have been ridden out of Virginia on a rail because he basically pulled a John Pope.
Rutherford Hayes and William McKinley were both at Second Kernstown. Had the battle gone even worse for the Union it's possible those two future presidents might have both ended up dead, which is an interesting What If to think about.
Failure to pursue and crush Early with overwhelming force in July 1864 and instead shift forces away from the Shenandoah to the Richmond area is reminiscent of similiar Union mistakes against Stonewall Jackson in the summer of 1862, with similarly disastrous results for the Union.
Other authors might have called the story done with Crook's retreat across the Potomac, but Patchan directly connects McClausand's infamous raid on and burning of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania as the final act of this campaign. The raid ends with one of the most dramatic cavalry charges of the war at Moorefield. It's on the level of Custer's counter-charge at East Cavalry Field. The raid was only possible because of Kernstown, which was only possible because of Wright's departure. Burning Chambersburg directly results in the wrecking of Early's cavalry, the transfer of Sheridan and his cavalry to the Shenandoah, and Sheridan's harsh and destructive actions in the Valley. Patchan does a fantastic job of putting all the events in context and showing why these obscure events were quite important. (He's also got me thinking about the "cycle of fire" in 1864 which I think I will start a separate thread about.)
This is a university press publication so as you would expect there are extensive endnotes and bibliography. Maps are decent. A few relevant photographs are located at appropriate places. Patchan is a pretty good writer.
Highly recommended to American Civil War buffs and a must-read for anyone interested in the Shenandoah Valley campaigns of 1864.
by Scott Patchan
University of Nebraska Press (2007)
In 1864, the Shenandoah Valley was the scene of a series of interlinked campaigns spanning just over five months. The first and last are the best know: Sigel's, Hunter's, Early's, Crook's, and Sheridan's. Sigel is remembered because New Market became one of the most famous small battles of the war. Early's campaign into Maryland brought the war to the doorstep of Washington, DC. Sheridan's crushing defeats helped seal Lincoln's reelection. Hunter's campaign garners too little attention. Scott Patchan has written about the first half of that campaign, centered on the Battle of Piedmont. But at least Hunter lives to some degree in infamy. The latter half of July 1864, primarily between Crook and Early, has been badly overlooked and Patchan rectified that here with an excellent book.
The book starts with Early's retreat back to Virginia and the subsequent sloppy Union pursuit by George Crook and Horatio Wright culminating in bloody, bungled attempts to force crossings of the Shenandoah River (Cool Spring and Berry's Ferry). Edward Ord also shows up briefly, commanding the troops at Baltimore before he's called away to the Army of the James. I'm once again amazed at that's guy knack for showing up briefly and contributing nothing beneficial (see also Powell's Union Command Failure in the Shenandoah and Newsome's Gettysburg's Southern Front). What an odd Civil War career that guy had.
The Union does score a small but dramatic victory at Rutherford's/Carter's Farm north of Winchester. Crook and Wright then badly misinterprets Early's intentions, resulting in Wright's departure pursuant to orders. Crook is unwittingly left outnumbered by Early, resulting in one of the worst routs of the war at Second Kernstown. The battle and retreat cover about a third of the main text of this book. George Crook should have been ridden out of Virginia on a rail because he basically pulled a John Pope.
Rutherford Hayes and William McKinley were both at Second Kernstown. Had the battle gone even worse for the Union it's possible those two future presidents might have both ended up dead, which is an interesting What If to think about.
Failure to pursue and crush Early with overwhelming force in July 1864 and instead shift forces away from the Shenandoah to the Richmond area is reminiscent of similiar Union mistakes against Stonewall Jackson in the summer of 1862, with similarly disastrous results for the Union.
Other authors might have called the story done with Crook's retreat across the Potomac, but Patchan directly connects McClausand's infamous raid on and burning of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania as the final act of this campaign. The raid ends with one of the most dramatic cavalry charges of the war at Moorefield. It's on the level of Custer's counter-charge at East Cavalry Field. The raid was only possible because of Kernstown, which was only possible because of Wright's departure. Burning Chambersburg directly results in the wrecking of Early's cavalry, the transfer of Sheridan and his cavalry to the Shenandoah, and Sheridan's harsh and destructive actions in the Valley. Patchan does a fantastic job of putting all the events in context and showing why these obscure events were quite important. (He's also got me thinking about the "cycle of fire" in 1864 which I think I will start a separate thread about.)
This is a university press publication so as you would expect there are extensive endnotes and bibliography. Maps are decent. A few relevant photographs are located at appropriate places. Patchan is a pretty good writer.
Highly recommended to American Civil War buffs and a must-read for anyone interested in the Shenandoah Valley campaigns of 1864.
Last edited:
Forum Host
Bringing the