On Saturday, September 17, 1864 Confederate General Jubal Early in the Shenandoah Valley made the audacious decision to advance against the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, despite commanding only twelve thousand men compared to Sheridan’s opposing Union command of more than forty thousand troops. The return of Anderson’s Confederate corps to Robert E. Lee at Petersburg greatly weakened Early in the Shenandoah and set up the potential for Confederate defeat in the Valley. After initial success against Federal cavalry near Martinburg, Virginia, Early’s smaller force became too spread out and vulnerable to counterattack. General Sheridan, realizing Early’s problems, immediately moved his Federals toward Winchester, Virginia, targeting the dispersed Confederates. It was the opportunity which Sheridan long desired--to defeat Early and take control of the Shenandoah Valley for the Union.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.