Lynchburg

In early May 1864, while Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee confronted the Union Army of the Potomac west of Fredericksburg, Union Gen. U.S. Grant sent Gen. Franz Sigel’s army to destroy Lee’s supplies in the Shenandoah Valley. After the Union defeat at New Market on May 15, Grant relieved Sigel and ordered his replacement, Gen. David Hunter, to seize Lynchburg, a strategic railway and supply center for the Confederate army. Hunter routed Confederate forces at Piedmont June 5th, captured both Staunton and Lexington, then advanced on Lynchburg. Sensing Hunter’s intentions, Lee dispatched Gens. John C. Breckenridge and Jubal Early to Lynchburg’s defense. Breckenridge arrived June 15, placing his troops alongside home guard soldiers manning Lynchburg’s inner defense line. Confederate cavalry slowed Hunter’s march, giving Early’s II Corps time to reach the city. The fighting began mid-day Friday, June 17, and lasted into the evening. Hunter failed to breach Confederate resistance. Hunter renewed the battle the next day but again was repulsed. That night, Hunter’s army began withdrawing toward West Virginia, leaving Early free to execute another part of Lee’s plan: a raid on Washington, D.C. Lee hoped this threat would relieve his own front by drawing Grant back to the Union capital. Early’s attack July 11 on Washington’s defenses thoroughly alarmed Washington, but Lee’s stratagem only delayed inevitable defeat. That fall, Confederate losses at Winchester, Fisher’s Hill and Cedar Creek finally disabled Early’s army.

Lynchburg, Virginia · United States