Confederate Gibraltar

Fisher's Hill was the Shenandoah Valley's "Gibraltar," a natural fortification at the valley's narrowest point, stretching four miles from Little North Mountain to Massanutten Mountain. After Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early's army suffered a crushing defeat by Union Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's force at Third Winchester on September 19, 1864, Early withdrew south to Fisher's Hill. The Federals pursued, and by September 21 the armies faced each other again. But after the losses at Third Winchester, the position was too large for Early's weakened army: his infantry covered only three-fourths of the line, while understrength cavalry brigades held the western end. Although the eastern end of the ridgeline was too rocky and precipitous for an assault, the line descended westward and the last stretch was relatively flat. Early placed his cavalry in that lower, weakest section, and Sheridan moved to exploit that weakness by sending Gen. George Crook's corps toward Little North Mountain on the morning of September 22 to strike the Confederate left.

Virginia · United States