After the Union victory at Third Winchester on September 19, 1864, both armies came to Fisher's Hill with sharply different moods. Moving there, Union Lieutenant John Mead Gould felt that the Shenandoah was no longer a place of humiliation and that his days of retreat before a victorious enemy had ended. In contrast, some of General Jubal Early's Confederates were demoralized and had lost confidence in Early's leadership after the defeat. Yet the strong defensive position at Fisher's Hill revived confidence among some Confederates and made Union soldiers wary. Captain James F. Fitts of the 114th New York wrote that although the Union had the prestige of victory and the Confederates the discouragement of defeat, the Confederate army now held one of the best defensive positions in Virginia and would defend it stubbornly. Confederate William F. Brand believed their fortified, commanding position might let them give the Union a sound thrashing, and another Southerner felt they could whip the world because they were so well fortified. Others remained doubtful, including Captain Samuel D. Buck, who believed the position was naturally strong but the army too small to man it, and Captain Henry Kyd Douglas, who remembered ominous signs because the Union knew their exact strength and caution would have seemed like cowardice. Union commander General Philip Sheridan, however, had no intention of being cautious.

Photo: Bradley Owen

Strasburg, Virginia · USA