Battle of Lynchburg

Other Names: None

Location: Lynchburg, Virginia

Campaign: Lynchburg Campaign (May-June 1864)

Date: June 17-18, 1864

Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. David Hunter [US]; Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early [CS]

Forces Engaged: 16,643 [US]; 14,000 [CS]

Casualties and losses: 900 total

Result(s): Confederate victory

Brief Description:

From Lexington, Maj. Gen. David Hunter advanced against the Confederate rail and canal depots and the hospital complex at Lynchburg. Reaching the outskirts of town on June 17, his first tentative attacks were thwarted by the timely arrival by rail of Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early's II Corps vanguard from Charlottesville. Hunter withdrew the next day after sporadic fighting because of a critical shortage of supplies. His line of retreat through West Virginia took his army out of the war for nearly a month and opened the Shenandoah Valley for a Confederate advance into Maryland. Early's army moved sixty miles in three days. At that point, Early called off the pursuit and waited for Hunter to make a move. Hunter decided to move across the Shenandoah Valley and into West Virginia. Hunter's retreat made it possible for Early to move up the Shenandoah Valley freely.