Why did Grant and the Union target the Shenandoah Valley?

Why did Grant and the Union target the Shenandoah Valley?

Phil Sheridan: The Shenandoah Valley Campaign His main target was the 15,000 Confederate cavalry troops under General Jubal Early (1816-94). The Confederacy relied on the fertile valley for much of its food, so Grant also ordered Sheridan to devastate the area’s precious farmland.

What was Grant’s strategy in the Civil war?

Grant hoped that “so far as practicable all the armies are to move together and towards one common [center].” Earlier in the war, Grant observed how “various [Union] armies had acted separately and independently of each other, giving the enemy an opportunity often of depleting one command, not pressed, to reinforce …

Why did the union burn the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the Civil war?

The destruction was part of Grant’s new war plan. By bringing the war to civilians, he believed, he could end the conflict more quickly because the Southern army could not sustain itself without a stable food supply. Grant’s order was to “eat out Virginia clear and clean.”

Who was in charge of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign?

Thus Ulysses Grant put in motion the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign, placing Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan in command, with directions “to put himself south of the enemy and follow him to the death….”Just over two months later, Sheridan had delivered a series of stinging defeats,during…

What did Sheridan do in the Shenandoah Valley?

Near5:00 p.m. Sheridan ordered his final forces into the attack; two divisions of cavalry who galloped in from the north.This enormous force of thundering hooves and flashing sabers was imposing. A New York veteran later wrote, “Looking in the direction of the setting sun, our men saw the most impressive sight…thousand [s] [of] sabers glistened….

Why was the Shenandoah Valley important to the Confederates?

The Shenandoah Valley was very important to the Confederates,because it was the principal storehouse…for feeding their armies…. It was well known that they would make a desperate struggle to maintain it.

What was the largest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley?

One flaw to this plan was that it funneled the bulk of Union infantry through a ravine known as the Berryville Canyon. Union cavalry splashed across the Oopequon Creek before dawn on September 19 th, initiating the Third Battle of Winchester, the largest and bloodiest engagement fought in the Shenandoah Valley.