BATTLE OF FISHER'S HILL (21-22 September 1864)
General Location: On heights north and south of rte. 601 and Tumbling Run from the river to the Back Road; hamlet of Fisher's Hill is marked on contemporary maps.
Principal Commanders: [c] Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early; [u] Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan
Forces Engaged: [c] Four infantry divisions (Wharton, Gordon,
Pegram, Ramseur), one cavalry
division (Lomax), about 9,500; [u] Three infantry corps (Wright,
Emory, Crook), Averell's cavalry
division, about 29,444.
Casualties: [c] 1,235 (30k/210w/995m&c); [u] 528 (52k/457w/19m).
Significance: Lt. Gen. Jubal Early was ``outgeneraled'' by
Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan at Fisher's Hill.
Although the casualty figures were not high, this battle was a
masterpiece of maneuver and
surprise. Sheridan's flanking attack brought Crook's corps to
the left rear of Early's position on
Fisher's Hill and threw the CS army into a panic. Confederate
defeat at Fisher's Hill (on the heels of
defeat at Opequon) opened the Shenandoah Valley to a US advance
that reached beyond Staunton.
When Sheridan withdrew during the first part of October, his army
systematically burned mills,
barns, crops, and forage, and ran off livestock. By implementing
this strategy of "total warfare", Sheridan felt that he accomplished the primary objective of his
campaign--to deprive the Confederacy of the agricultural abundance of the Valley.
Description of the Battle
Phase One. CS Dispositions (19-20 September): After its crushing
defeat at Winchester on
19 September 1864, the CS army withdrew to Fisher's Hill. The
US army pursued as far as Hupp's Hill
on 20 September and massed near Strasburg. The Confederate position
at Fisher's Hill was a strong
one, particularly at the center and on the right flank. Wharton's
division, on the Confederate right
flank, entrenched along the high bluff overlooking Miller's bottom
extended to the left to cover the
Valley Pike (old alignment). Gordon's division deployed from the
Valley Pike across Manassas Gap
Railroad to near the Middle Road above the hamlet of Fisher's
Hill. Pegram's division (formerly
Ramseur's) was to Gordon's left, and Ramseur's division (formerly
Rodes's) extended the line west to
a high hill south of Tumbling Run South Fork (referred to a ``Ramseur's
Hill'' in this report). The CS
cavalry under Lomax extended the main line northwest to and beyond
the Back Road. Lomax's
position was held with little more than a skirmish line.
To mask these deployments, Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early placed a
strong skirmish line on the hills north of
Tumbling Run (Quarry Hill, Flint Hill, School House Hill). General
Early had his headquarters at the
Widow Funkhouser house on the Valley Pike. Confederate signal
stations on Massanutten (Signal
Knob) and Round Hill offered wide-ranging views of any Union moves
against this line. Early's artillery
commanded all approaches along the pike, the railroad, and the
Middle Road. The advanced CS
positions north of Tumbling Run were not supported by artillery.
A brigade of CS cavalry and a
battery of horse artillery were placed on Sandy Hook east of the
North Fork Shenandoah.
Phase Two. US Advance (21 September): About noon, 21 September,
Sheridan advanced his
army south and west from Strasburg, massing the bulk of the VI
Corps in a horseshoe opposite the
CS right center on the plateau north of Flint Hill, its left at
the Manassas Gap railroad. The XIX Corps,
weakened from the battle of Opequon, was placed on the US left
east of the railroad with a skirmish
line extending back through Strasburg to cover the fords over
the Shenandoah North Fork and the
road to Front Royal. The line of these two corps was entrenched.
Crook's corps (nominally the Army
of West Virginia) was held in reserve and out of sight of Signal
Knob ``in the timber near
Strasburg.'' Wright (VI Corps) established his headquarters in
the Amos Stickley House (near the
intersection of rte. 757 and I- 81). Averell's cavalry division
covered the Back Road. The rest of
Sheridan's cavalry was sent via Buckton Ford and Front Royal to
advance up the Luray (Page) Valley.
Sheridan established headquarters at the George Hupp House just
north of Strasburg.
Phase Three. Capture of Flint Hill (21 September): As US soldiers
entrenched their new
position, skirmishing heated up. Sheridan and Wright surveyed
the land but could see little of the
main CS line because of two intervening hills, called ``Flint
Hill.'' These hills were defended by a
reinforced skirmish line barricaded behind ``hog'' or ``bull pens''
(U-shaped barricades made of
fence rails that sheltered three men). Sheridan ordered Wright
to take the hills so that he would
have an ``unobstructed view.'' Two regiments (126OH and 139PA)
advanced but were thrown back.
Reinforced by a third regiment, they tried again without success.
The First Brigade/Second Division
(five New York and Pennsylvania regiments) was brought into battle
line and swept forward under
command of Col. J. M. Warner (formerly commander of the Vermont
brigade). The hills fell quickly.
General Wright described this movement as ``of the greatest importance
to the operations of the
next day, as it gave us a view of the enemy's line and afforded
excellent positions for artillery, of
which we availed ourselves in the more important struggle of the
22nd.'' Warner's men threw up rifle
pits and bivouacked on the hills within rifle-musket range of
the main CS line south of Tumbling Run.
Phase Four. US Battle Line Advanced (21-22 September): During
the night, Sheridan
extended his line westward with Ricketts division on the far right,
Getty next, and Wheaton
connecting with the XIX Corps at the railroad. After sunrise,
Crook's corps was brought forward,
following ravines and staying in timber to be out of sight of
the CS signal stations. Shortly before
noon, Ricketts division (VI Corps) moved to possess the heights
overlooking the North Fork of
Tumbling Run, while Averell's cavalry division advanced on the
Back Road to establish a connection
with Ricketts's right flank. Keifer's brigade assaulted and carried
the two hills south of the run
(School House Ridge), driving CS skirmishers back on their main
line. Union skirmishers were pushed
to within range of the CS works and began laying down a steady
fire. Ricketts formed his division
behind the crest of the hills and awaited Crook's attack. In the
meantime, about 1215 hours, Emory
(XIX Corps) rushed Quarry Hill on the left with a brigade and
seized the CS rifle- pits there. His men
immediately reversed the entrenchments, giving the Union army
an unbroken line of rifle pits,
extending from Quarry Hill across Flint Hill, confronting the
main CS line on Fisher's Hill at a range of
about 500 yards; skirmishing erupted along the line. US batteries
were brought up, and an artillery
duel erupted in the vicinity of the village of Fisher's Hill.
Skirmishing continued until about 1600
hours.
Phase Five. Crook's Flank Attack (22 September): During the
morning Gen. George Crook
moved his two divisions (about 5,000 men) to the base of Little
North Mountain beyond St. Stephens
Church, unseen by the Confederate signal station on Massanutten
Mountain. About 1400 hours,
Sheridan directed him to commence a flanking movement along the
shoulder of the mountain. Crook
formed his corps in two parallel columns and marched south until
more than half of the command
was beyond the Confederate left flank, which was held by Lomax's
cavalry division. Crook
encountered only scattered fire from a few surprised pickets.
About 1600 hours, Crook ordered his columns to face left and
to charge. The soldiers charged down
the side of the mountain, shouting at the tops of their lungs.
The CS cavalry took to their horses
and scattered. In their rush down the hill, Crook's divisions
lost all order; a mass of men funneled
through the ravine of the Middle Fork of Tumbling Run past the
Barbe House and closed on the
Confederate infantry on ``Ramseur's Hill.'' A second mass funneled
to the right along an old road
that penetrated to the rear of the Confederate positions. Grimes's
brigade of North Carolinians held
out against Crook's onslaught until Ricketts ordered his division
forward. Hearing, more than seeing,
that they were flanked, CS defenders along the remainder of the
line began abandoning their
entrenchments. Battle's CS brigade was sent to the left to confront
Crook but was misdirected into
a ravine and missed the fighting altogether. Sheridan advanced
his other divisions, the men attacking
generally up the ravines. Early's army was soon in full flight,
abandoning equipment and 14 artillery
pieces that could not be extricated from the works.
Phase Six. Rear Guard Action at Prospect Hill (22 September):
The CS army was a
shambles but attempted to collect itself at the base of Round
Hill on the Valley Pike. Generals
Gordon, Ramseur, and Pegram and staff officers established a rear
guard of artillery and infantry at
Prospect Hill and held off the disorganized Union pursuit. During
this action, Col. Alexander ``Sandie''
Pendleton, Stonewall Jackson's favorite staff officer, was wounded;
he died the following day in
Woodstock. The CS army retreated to Narrow Passage, and the wagon
train went on to Mt. Jackson.
Darkness and confusion among the Union victors prevented effective
pursuit.
During the fighting at Fisher's Hill, a CS cavalry division
turned back the Union cavalry at Milford
(present day Overall) in the Luray Valley, preventing an attempt
to gain Early's rear by crossing the
gap to New Market. Sheridan remarked that if his cavalry had been
successful, he could have
captured Early's army.
Current Condition of the Battlefield
The excellent state of preservation and the existing rural
character make the study of this
battlefield pleasant as well as informative. The battlefield can
be interpreted mostly from public
roads using about four vantage points, although the best- preserved
Confederate entrenchments
are on private property. The hamlet of Fisher's Hill retains a
historic appearance that includes an old
mill (Keller's Mill) and other structures of Civil War vintage.
Rte. 601 from rte. 623 (Back Road) to
US 11 (Valley Pike) is a pristine rural landscape, except for
a short stretch of trailers and a few
modern houses west of but out of sight of ``Ramseur's Hill.''
I-81 is conducted over rte. 623 with no
interchange and is not intrusive at ground level but becomes intrusive
if one climbs the hills adjacent
to it.
In 1990, the Association for Preservation of Civil War Sites
(APCWS) acquired about 195 acres of
land west of and adjacent to I-81 and north and south of rte.
601. (The parcel of land south of rte.
601 is referred to as ``Ramseur's Hill'' in this report.) This
was where the Confederate infantry met
Crook's flank attack from the west and the assault of Ricketts'
division from the north. The parcel
of APCWS land north of rte. 601 was the scene of preparatory skirmishing
and a staging area for
Ricketts' division. Access to Ramseur's Hill provides an important
vantage point for understanding
and interpreting the battle. Traces of Confederate entrenchments
remain on the hill. This area,
although critically important in understanding the action, is
visually degraded by I-81.
A vantage point slightly north of the intersection of rtes.
639 and 757 allows interpretation of
opening phases of the battle and offers views of Flint Hill (actually
two hills, separated by rte. 757)
assaulted on 21 September. The Emanuel Evangelical Church above
the hamlet of Fisher's Hill offers
a sweeping panorama of the CS positions south of Tumbling Run.
Many historic structures, including the Eastep and Barbe houses,
a brick house (S. Funkhouser
house) at the base of Ramseur's Hill, Keller's Mill, Stickley's
Mill, and the Miller House are along rte.
601 in Tumbling Run valley. The Widow Funkhouser House site, Early's
headquarters, is on US 11
(vintage of current house was not determined). Stone fences remain
near the shell of the Jacob
Funk house and barn, built by one of the county's first residents
in the mid-1700s.
Sections of the fieldworks on Fisher's Hill are extant with
some segments in a good state of
preservation. Portions were bulldozed years ago where the entrenchments
extended across
pastureland, although in some cases shallow traces remain. Works
overlooking the old bed of the
Valley Pike are in good condition. The line of entrenchments should
be professionally surveyed. Near
the intersection of rtes. 11 and 601 the abutments of the old
stone Valley Pike bridge remain. The
old road trace climbs the face of the hill and in places is supported
by stone retaining walls.
Perception of Threats to Battlefield
New construction activity in the area has been slight. Several
local landowners have erected modern
houses for themselves or their families along rte. 601. There
is a large trailer park along US 11 but
behind Fisher's Hill, where it is not particularly intrusive.
Several new homes have been built at the
base of Flint Hill and in the vicinity of the intersection of
rtes. 639 and 757, degrading the ability to
interpret the battle's initial phases. There is a short strip
of modern housing along rte. 757 south of
Fisher's Hill. Based on interviews with several local landowners,
there was general approval of the
recent APCWS acquisition and a strong consensus that new development
in the area should be
excluded. The major visual intrusion in the battlefield is I-81,
which prompted the field surveyor to
lower the integrity rating from good to fair. Any future move
to widen I-81 or to provide an
interchange would severely impact the battlefield's integrity.
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