Article

Battle of Cedar Creek

A painting richly colored with red and yellow depicts soldiers rallying to the U.S. flag in the midst of battle.
"The Battle of Cedar Creek" painting by Julian Scott, 1872

Courtesy of the Vermont State Curator’s Office

“There burst upon our view the appalling spectacle of a panic-stricken army— hundreds of slightly wounded men, throngs of others… utterly demoralized, …all pressing to the rear in hopeless confusion, telling only too plainly that a disaster had occered at the front.”

U.S. Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan

“The concentration was stopped; the blow was not delivered… We halted, we hesitated, we dallied.”

Confederate Maj. Gen. John Gordon

The Federal victory at Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864 ended Confederate resistance in the Shenandoah Valley. Coming just three weeks before the presidential election, news of the victory boosted morale in the Northern states and helped carry Abraham Lincoln to a landslide reelection.

A Victory Turned From Disaster

On October 19, 1864 Maj. Gen. Jubal Early’s Confederates launched a predawn attack at Cedar Creek. They drove Federal soldiers out of their camps around Belle Grove Plantation and through Middletown in disarray. US Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, however, rallied his troops and turned the Confederate victory into a total defeat. Read more »

Order of Battle

The order of battle shows the hierarchy of army units in the field at the Battle of Cedar Creek.

Trip Ideas

Loading results...

    People, Places, & Stories

    Loading results...

      Part of a series of articles titled Drive the Enemy South.

      Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park

      Last updated: February 1, 2023