Key Facts
- Dates
- September 3–4, 1864
- Union force size
- ~50,000 (Army of the Shenandoah)
- Location
- Clarke County, Virginia
- Confederate withdrawal
- Early retreated behind Opequon Creek
Strategic Narrative Overview
Around 5:00 p.m. on September 3, Kershaw's Confederate division struck Colonel Joseph Thoburn's division of the Army of West Virginia while Union troops were preparing to make camp. Kershaw routed Thoburn's left flank before additional Union corps units arrived to stabilize the line. Darkness halted the engagement, and both sides brought in heavy reinforcements overnight. On the morning of September 4, Early assessed the strength of the Union's entrenched position and chose not to renew the assault.
01 / The Origins
By late summer 1864, the Shenandoah Valley had become a critical theater of the American Civil War. Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, commanding the 50,000-strong Army of the Shenandoah, advanced toward Berryville after seizing Smithfield Summit on August 29. Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early sought to contest Union control of the valley by dispatching Maj. Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw's division eastward from Winchester to confront the advancing Federal forces.
03 / The Outcome
Recognizing the formidable Union entrenchments, Early ordered a withdrawal behind Opequon Creek, ceding the field to Sheridan. The engagement demonstrated the growing Confederate inability to challenge Sheridan's numerically superior army in open confrontation. The battle set the stage for subsequent Federal operations in the valley, including the decisive Union victories at Third Winchester and Fisher's Hill later in September 1864.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Jubal A. Early, Joseph B. Kershaw.
Side B
1 belligerent
Philip H. Sheridan, Joseph Thoburn.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.