End of Sheridan's Ride

Before dawn on 19 Oct. 1864, Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early launched a surprise attack on Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan’s Army of the Shenandoah, bivouacked near Cedar Creek four miles southwest of here. The Federals retreated and organized a defensive line in this area. Sheridan, who had spent the night in Winchester after a meeting in Washington, D.C., rode ten miles and rejoined his army here by midmorning, rallying demoralized troops along the way. Greeted by cheers along the battle line, he ordered a counterattack that drove the Confederates from the field. Sheridan’s ride, celebrated in poetry, painting, sculpture, and music, became one of the war’s best-known events.