October 19, 1864
The Battle of Cedar Creek, (or Bell Grove), VA, where Lieut. Gen. Jubal Early and his subordinates, Maj. Gens. John Brown Gordon and Joseph Brevard Kershaw, CSA, attack and overwhelm the Union forces and where Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, USA, regroups the disorganized, beaten back and retreating Union army of the 6th, 8th, and 19th US Army Corps, and repels the Confederate onslaught and effectively terminates the last major Confederate threat in the Shenandoah Valley, VA. Total casualties approximate 8,575. The Confederates will continue to annoy the Federals but will never be able to effectively stage another major offensive in the Shenandoah Valley.
Maj. Gen. Stephen Dodson Ramseur, CSA, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek, VA, shot through both of his lungs, he was captured and died the next morning.
Brig. Gen. Daniel Davidson Bidwell, USA, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek, VA, while leading his men against the Confederates.
Brig. Gen. Charles Russell Lowell, USA, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek, VA, while at the head of his brigade, receiving his death wound during the Union counter attack against Lieut. Gen. Jubal Anderson Early’s army, CSA.
Note: All “Today In The Petersburg Campaign” blog entries are used with permission from Ronald A. Mosocco’s Chronological Tracking of the American Civil War per the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion. Order the book HERE.
Copyright © 1993, 1994 by Ronald A. Mosocco
Mentions of This Date at The Siege of Petersburg Online:
- OR XLII P1 #207: Reports of Brigadier General Robert B. Potter, commanding 2/IX/AotP, Sept 29-Oct 19 and Oct 27-28, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #357: Report of Lieutenant General James Longstreet, commanding First/ANV, October 19-27, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #362: Reports of Major General Bushrod R. Johnson, commanding Johnson/DNCSV, Aug 2-Dec 31, 1864
- NP: August 04, 1902 New Orleans Times-Picayune: Donaldsonville Cannoniers at the Siege of Petersburg, Part 8
- NP: October 20, 1864 Philadelphia Inquirer: The Late Major General David B. Birney
- 150 Years Ago Today at Petersburg: October 19, 1864
- NP: October 20, 1864 Richmond Examiner: The War News, October 13 and 19
- NP: October 21, 1864 Philadelphia Inquirer: Army of the Potomac, October 17-19
- NP: October 22, 1864 Philadelphia Inquirer: Army of the Potomac, October 16, 19-20
- NP: October 24, 1864 Richmond Whig: Skirmish on the James Near Fort Brady, Oct. 22
- LT: October 21, 1864 Henry F. Young (7th Wisconsin)
- LT: October 22, 1864 Henry F. Young (7th Wisconsin)