In the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1864 and 1865, the Federal offensive that began in May faltered during the summer amid Confederate victories and Jubal A. Early's Washington Raid in July, but after Philip H. Sheridan took command in August he defeated Early at Winchester in September and Cedar Creek in October, burned mills and barns, and crushed the remnants of Early's force at Waynesboro on March 2, 1865, victories that helped Abraham Lincoln win reelection in November 1864 and denied Robert E. Lee's army provisions from the Confederacy's breadbasket. In July 1864, Sheridan and Early maneuvered for position in the valley for weeks, and with Lee reinforcing Early, Ulysses S. Grant ordered Sheridan to stay on the defensive and protect his army. Sheridan moved north from Berryville to prepared works at Halltown, a move that led Early to think him timid. On Sunday, August 21, 1864, as Sheridan marched to Halltown, Early attacked Sheridan's mile-and-a-half-long position on the hills here with Robert E. Rodes's infantry division. The fighting lasted from about 9 A.M. until dusk, with the hottest action here, while in Washington at 3 P.M. Lincoln anxiously telegraphed an officer in Harpers Ferry, "What news now?" The engagement caused 260 Union casualties and 160 Confederate casualties. Locust Hill, the home of John B. and Lucy W. Packett, stood here, and they and their slaves sheltered inside until Henry J. Nichols of the 1st Vermont Heavy Artillery led them to safety at Henry B. Davenport's house. Nine Confederate artillery shells struck Locust Hill and set it on fire twice as Federal sharpshooters occupied the second floor. The house later burned in 1973, killing six people.
