The Third Battle of Winchester, also known as the Battle of Opequon or Battle of Opequon Creek, was an American Civil War battle fought near Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864. Union Army Major General Philip Sheridan defeated Confederate Army Lieutenant General Jubal Early in one of the largest, bloodiest, and most important battles in the Shenandoah Valley. Among the 5,000 Union casualties were one general killed and three wounded. The casualty rate for the Confederates was high: about 4,000 of 15,500. Two Confederate generals were killed and four were wounded. Participants in the battle included two future presidents of the United States, two future governors of Virginia, a former vice president of the United States, and a colonel whose grandson, George S. Patton, became a famous general in World War II.
After learning that a large Confederate force loaned to Early left the area, Sheridan attacked Confederate positions along Opequon Creek near Winchester, Virginia. Sheridan used one cavalry division and two infantry corps to attack from the east, and two divisions of cavalry to attack from the north. A third infantry corps, led by Brigadier General George Crook, was held in reserve. After difficult fighting where Early made good use of the region's terrain on the east side of Winchester, Crook attacked Early's left flank with his infantry. This, in combination with the success of Union cavalry north of town, drove the Confederates back toward Winchester. A final attack by Union infantry and cavalry from the north and east caused the Confederates to retreat south through the streets of Winchester.
Having sustained significant casualties and substantially outnumbered, Early retreated south on the Valley Pike to a more defendable position at Fisher's Hill. Sheridan considered Fisher's Hill to be a continuation of the September 19 battle and followed Early up the pike, where he defeated Early again. Both battles are part of Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley campaign that occurred in 1864 from August through October. After Sheridan's successes at Winchester and Fisher's Hill, Early's Army of the Valley suffered more defeats and was eliminated from the war in the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia on March 2, 1865.
In August 1864, the American Civil War was in its fourth year, and the exploits of Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early caused considerable consternation among leaders of the federal government of the United States. Major General Philip Sheridan, commander of the new Middle Military Division, faced constant pressure to attack Early, but Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant warned Union leaders on August 12 that two divisions of infantry had joined Early, and that Sheridan "must be cautious and act now on the defensive" until Grant's actions near Richmond would cause those units to return to the Richmond area. The impending presidential election of 1864 made it necessary to avoid any military disaster that might hamper the re-election of President Abraham Lincoln. Sheridan kept his troops between Early's army and Washington, and fought several small battles—including the Battle of Berryville that ended September 4. After that battle, Early withdrew during the night to the west side of Opequon Creek between Berryville and Winchester, VirginiaSheridan's troops kept their same positions for the next few weeks, with daily cavalry probes including the capture of the 8th South Carolina Infantry Regiment by a cavalry brigade led by Brigadier General John B. McIntosh. Sheridan's tentativeness caused Early to believe Sheridan was a timid commander.
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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