Union Command Failure in the Shenandoah: Major General Franz Sigel and the War in the Valley of Virginia, May 1864

by David Powell

Overview

The Battle of New Market in the Shenandoah Valley suffers from no lack of drama, interest, or importance. The ramifications of the May 1864 engagement, which involved only 10,000 troops, were substantial. Previous studies, however, focused on the Confederate side of the story. David Powell’s, Union Command Failure in the Shenandoah: Major General Franz Sigel and the War in the Valley of Virginia, May 1864, provides the balance that has so long been needed.

Union General Ulysses S. Grant regarded a spring campaign in the Valley of Virginia as integral to his overall strategy designed to turn Robert E. Lee’s strategic western flank, deny his Army of Northern Virginia much needed supplies, and prevent other Confederates from reinforcing Lee. It fell to Union general and German transplant Franz Sigel to execute Grant’s strategy in the northern reaches of the Shenandoah while Maj. Gen. George Crook struck elsewhere in southwestern Virginia. Sigel’s record in the field was checkered at best, and he was not Grant’s first choice to lead the effort, but a combination of politics and other factors left the German in command.

Sigel met Confederate Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge and his small army on May 15 just outside the crossroads town of New Market. The hard-fought affair hung in the balance until finally the Union lines broke, and Sigel’s Yankees fled the field. Breckinridge’s command included some 300 young men from the Virginia Military Institute’s Corps of Cadets. VMI’s presence and dramatic role in the fighting ensured that New Market would never be forgotten, but pushed other aspects of this interesting and important campaign into the back seat of history.

Award-winning author David Powell’s years of archival and other research provides an outstanding foundation for this outstanding study. Previous works have focused on the Confederate side of the battle, using Sigel’s incompetence as sufficient excuse to explain why the Federals were defeated. This methodology, however, neglects the other important factors that contributed to the ruin of Grant’s scheme in the Valley.

Union Command Failure in the Shenandoah delves into all the issues, analyzing the campaign from an operational standpoint.

Complete with original maps, photos, and the skillful writing readers have come to expect from the pen of David Powell, Union Command Failure in the Shenandoah will satisfy the most demanding students of Civil War history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611214352
Publisher:	Savas Beatie
Publication date:	12/19/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

David A. Powell is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (1983) with a BA in history. He has published numerous articles in various magazines, and more than fifteen historical simulations of different battles. For the past decade, David’s focus has been on the epic battle of Chickamauga, and he is nationally recognized for his tours of that important battlefield. The results of that study are the volumes The Maps of Chickamauga (2009) and Failure in the Saddle (2010), as well as The Chickamauga Campaign trilogy. The Chickamauga Campaign: A Mad Irregular Battle was published in 2014, The Chickamauga Campaign: Glory or the Grave appeared in September 2015, and the final volume, Barren Victory, was released in September 2016. David and his wife Anne live and work in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. He is Vice President of Airsped, Inc., a specialized delivery firm.

Table of Contents

List of Maps viii

List of Illustrations ix

Introduction x

Chapter 1 Politicking for a Command 1

Chapter 2 Defending the Valley 25

Chapter 3 The Department of West Virginia 42

Chapter 4 Crook's Advance and the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain 65

Chapter 5 Sigel's Advance 87

Chapter 6 Skirmishing, May 12-14, 1864 109

Chapter 7 Commencement-Morning, May 15, 1864 133

Chapter 8 Climax-Afternoon, May 15, 1864 157

Chapter 9 Conclusion-Late Afternoon, May 15, 1864 183

Chapter 10 Aftermath 199

Appendix: Order of Battle 213

Bibliography 215

Index 225

Acknowledgments 231

Editorial Reviews

"The author’s writing style is excellent, making it easy, even for the casual student of the Civil War, to follow the strategic and tactical movements and how they influenced each other."

The NYMAS Review

"...provides a fresh perspective on the May 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaign. By shifting attention away from the VMI cadets to the Union military’s strategic goals and command structure, Powell adds nuance and depth to a well-studied campaign."

The Civil War Monitor

"A masterful job. The author’s writing style is excellent. . . . Lots of information and analysis in a relatively short work . . . well worth the read."

Journal of the Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War Era