Union Army of the Shenandoah
| Army of the Shenandoah | |
|---|---|
| Active | July 25, 1861 – March 18, 1862 August 1, 1864 – June 27, 1865 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
MG Robert Patterson MG Nathaniel P. Banks MG David Hunter MG Philip Sheridan MG Horatio G. Wright MG Philip Sheridan BG Alfred Thomas Torbert |
The Army of the Shenandoah was a Union army during the American Civil War. First organized as the Department of the Shenandoah in 1861 and then disbanded in early 1862, it became most effective after its recreation on August 1, 1864, under Philip Sheridan. Its Valley Campaigns of 1864 rendered the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia unable to produce foodstuffs for the Confederate States Army, a condition which would speed the end of the Civil War.
Under the command of Major General Robert Patterson before the three month enlistments of a majority of its troops expired, the Department of Pennsylvania operated as the lone element of Union Army in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After achieving a tactical victory at the Battle of Hoke's Run on July 2 and contributing indirectly to the Union disaster at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, its unexpired regiments and commanders were absorbed into a new Department of the Shenandoah under the command of Major General Nathaniel P. Banks on July 25, 1861. Neither Patterson nor Banks referred to his commands as the Army of the Shenandoah in official correspondence, and when the Army of the Potomac adopted a Corps structure on March 18, 1862, Banks' command was redesignated as the "Fifth Corps."
The force was next created by order of Ulysses S. Grant on August 1, 1864, in response to a raid by Jubal Early and his Confederate army of 15,000 on Washington, D.C., and especially his defeat of Lew Wallace at the Battle of Monocacy Junction. The new Army of the Shenandoah was composed of the Union VI Corps (commanded by Horatio G. Wright), XIX Corps (William H. Emory), and George Crook's Army of West Virginia (VIII Corps). It was placed under Sheridan's command with orders to repel Early, deal with Confederate guerillas, and press on into the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.
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