Battle of Guard Hill

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Battle of Guard Hill
Part of the American Civil War
Date August 16, 1864 Location Warren County, Virginia Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders
Thomas C. Devin	William Wofford
Strength
Brigades	brigades
Casualties and losses
71	480

v • d • e Sheridan's Valley Campaign Guard Hill – Summit Point – Smithfield Crossing – Berryville – 3rd Winchester – Fisher's Hill – Tom's Brook – Cedar Creek

The Battle of Guard Hill took place on August 16, 1864, in Warren County, Virginia as part of Philip H. Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign of the American Civil War.

On the morning of August 16, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's troopers scattered the Federal pickets at the Shenandoah River crossing at Front Royal. The troopers pursued them down the Front Royal Pike, eventually coming to Guard Hill, a prominent landmark. There, they were hit by Union Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Devin's dismounted cavalry brigade and sustained heavy losses. Confederate Brig. Gen. William T. Wofford's brigade attempted a flanking movement by wading across Crooked Run. There, they were attacked by two New York brigades, who took 300 of them captive. Union Brig. Gen. George A. Custer's Michigan Brigade rode toward the battle and sustained Devin's line along Crooked Run until they were forced to withdraw to Cedarville by Confederate artillery now on Guard Hill.

[edit] References

• Kennedy, Frances H., ed., The Civil War Battlefield Guide, 2nd ed., Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998, ISBN 0-395-74012-6.
• National Park Service battle description