The Action at Nineveh was a cavalry action that occurred on November 12, 1864, during the American Civil War. A Union cavalry division led by Brigadier General William H. Powell defeated a Confederate cavalry brigade commanded by Brigadier General John McCausland. The fight took place in Nineveh, Virginia, near the road from Newtown to Front Royal, which is known as the Front Royal Pike. Nineveh is located in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley south of Winchester and north of the Shenandoah River in Warren County.
Powell's 1st Brigade was sent south on the Front Royal Pike to search for Confederate cavalry. Commanded by Colonel William B. Tibbits, the brigade encountered a portion of Confederate Major General Lunsford L. Lomax's cavalry commanded by McCausland. The Confederates slowly pushed the 1st Brigade back, but Tibbits sent a messenger to notify Powell of the situation. Repelling the attackers twice, Confederate leadership believed they had driven the Union cavalry away. Powell, riding with his 2nd Brigade, brought it to the front while the 1st Brigade moved to the rear. The 2nd Brigade charged, resulting in a short clash that ended with the Confederates being chased for 8 miles (12.9 km). Powell captured all of McCausland's artillery (two guns), the ammunition train, numerous small arms, and took over 150 prisoners.
Two men received the Medal of Honor for their undertakings in this action. Private James F. Adams from Company D of the 1st West Virginia Cavalry received his award for the capture of the state flag of the 14th Virginia Cavalry. Sergeant Levi Shoemaker from Company A of the 1st West Virginia Cavalry received his award for the capture of the flag of the 22nd Virginia Cavalry.
On October 19, 1864, a Union army defeated a Confederate army in the Battle of Cedar Creek in the American Civil War. The battle took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Northern Virginia, near Cedar Creek, Middletown, and the Valley Pike. The Confederate Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Jubal Early, appeared to be victorious early in the battle. During the afternoon, Major General Philip Sheridan rallied his troops for a victory, and Union cavalry played an important role in both saving the army during the morning and the counterattack in the afternoon. Following the battle, Early's army reorganized further south at New Market, while Sheridan's army stayed on site until it moved north to Kernstown on November 9.
At New Market, Early received reports from his scouts concerning Sheridan's November 9 movement. While Sheridan's purpose was to have a shorter line of supply and better winter quarters, Early believed that Sheridan could be detaching some of his troops to eastern Virginia. Early moved his army north from New Market to Middletown. Sheridan became aware of Early's movement before noon on November 12, and countered with his cavalry. On Sheridan's right (west), the Union cavalry divisions commanded by Brigadier General Wesley Merritt and Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer were sent south where they would oppose cavalry commanded by Major General Thomas L. Rosser. On Sheridan's left (east), Brigadier General William H. Powell was sent with his division south on the Front Royal Pike. His cavalry expected to oppose cavalry commanded by Major General Lunsford L. Lomax.
The American Civil War (1861–1865) was the deadliest conflict in American history, killing an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers and an unknown number of civilians. The Confederate States of America, formed by eleven seceding Southern states, faced the Union in four years of warfare across 23 states and territories. Major engagements included First and Second Bull Run, Antietam (the bloodiest single day in American history, September 17, 1862), Chancellorsville, Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), Vicksburg (surrendered July 4, 1863), and Sherman's March through Georgia and the Carolinas (1864–1865). President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, transforming the war's stated purpose to include the abolition of slavery and enabling the enlistment of approximately 180,000 Black men in the United States Colored Troops. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The war resolved the question of secession and ended American slavery, though Reconstruction would face sustained resistance in its attempt to secure civil rights for formerly enslaved people.
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