As
Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Anderson Early’s withdrew from Washington, DC
following the Battle of Fort Stevens, they were pursued by Union troops
commanded by Major General Horatio G Wright.
On July 15th 1864 as the two armies moved up the Valley, the
Union troops were reinforced by parts of Brigadier General George Crook’s
force. There were a couple of skirmishes
on July 16th 1864, before Early crossed the mountain at Snickers
Gap.
Early left a
part of his force covering the rear of the army, at the main Shenandoah River
crossing at Castleman’s Ferry. On July
17th 1864 Union cavalry moved through Snicker’s Gap but were held up
by the Confederate force there.
The next day
July 18th 1864 Union Generals Crook and Wright arrived at Snicker’s
Gap and decided to attack what they thought was Confederate skirmish line. Wright wanted a small force to cross the
river a short ways downstream and flank the Confederates at Castleman’s Ferry;
he assigned Colonel Joseph Thoburn the job.
The Confederates were alert to the movement and this allowed Confederate
Major General John B Gordon to move troops unseen to the Ford. Confederate General John C Breckinridge
backed him with more troops deployed on the left flank. Around 6pm the Confederates attacked along
the exposed Union left flank, and the cavalry fighting un-mounted collapsed. The Confederates then ran up against a Union
reserve line which was able to push them back to the river. After some spirited skirmishing along the
river, Thoburn withdrew his troops from the river.
2 comments:
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Warfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.
Your article is very well done, a good read.
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