So Badly Routed: The Battle of Fisher’s Hill in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, September 22-24, 1864

A detailed military study of the Fisher’s Hill engagement, tracing Sheridan’s plan, battlefield actions, and related operations through First World War? No―wait.

“I do not think that there was ever an army so badly routed,” announced Maj. Gen. Phil Sheridan in a message to Lt. Gen. U. S. Grant on the morning after the decisive victory at Fisher’s Hill, Virginia, on September 22, 1864. The battlefield triumph was the result of Sheridan’s elaborate plan to destroy Lt. Gen. Jubal Early’s Confederate Valley army, deployed on a supposedly impregnable position along an aptly named stream called Tumbling Run, south of Strasburg in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. This engagement was Early’s last chance to prevent the wholesale destruction of the Valley during the autumn of 1864. So Badly Routed: The Battle of Fisher’s Hill in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, September 22–24, 1864, is the first book-length treatment of the battle.

After several unsuccessful Union attempts to control the valley (known as the “Breadbasket of the Confederacy”), Grant directed Sheridan and the Army of the Shenandoah to rid the region of enemy troops and to strip it clean. Grant was tired of Early’s persistent threats to Washington, D.C., and his presence in the Valley helped feed Robert E. Lee’s struggling Army of Northern Virginia.

The authors draw on extensive firsthand archival research to explore the military operations from the days following the Third Battle of Winchester through Sheridan’s attack at Fisher’s Hill. Their descriptions of the fighting—supported by informative maps and firsthand accounts—provide a complete treatment of the decisive battle and related military actions in Warren and Page counties, and of the Mosby Affair at Front Royal. Students and genealogists will welcome the extensive original muster-roll data used to create the Order of Battle, which, for the first time, identifies the actual unit commanders present on the field that day.

In addition to significant new material published here for the first time, So Badly Routed includes pertinent illustrations, complete casualty listings, and a self-guided tour. This study is an important addition to the libraries of Civil War scholars, enthusiasts, and genealogists.

Larry W. Allamong has lived in the Fisher’s Hill community since 1974 and has farmed and maintained battlefield land originally preserved by the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites. An excellent horseman, he has ridden over every inch of the battlefield.

Michael (Mike) Kehoe is a former resident of Fisher’s Hill. He is president of the Strasburg Museum, serves on the board of directors of the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation, and was instrumental in the creation of the Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. He is a principal in M3 Archaeology, LLC, and serves as a consultant, field technician, and historian. Mike is co-author (with Joseph W. A. Whitehorne and Clarence R. Gier) of A Military History of the Events Along Cedar Creek in the Lower Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Including the Action of October 19, 1864.

Richard B. Kleese is self-employed as a CPA in Strasburg, Virginia. He is the author of two Virginia Regimental Histories published by H. E. Howard, as well as several other Civil War titles. In 1997 Richard was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to serve on the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic Commission. He has served on the board of the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation and on the board of directors of the Strasburg Museum.

Nicholas (Nick) Racey was born in Cirencester, England, and spent his early years as a U.S. Air Force child, traveling the world. He is a student of Eastern Theater battles, particularly those involving the 10th Virginia Infantry. He has served as a member of the board of directors and as president of the Strasburg Museum.

William L. (Bill) Stover, Jr., is a direct descendant of the town’s original founder. His residence at Fisher’s Hill includes portions of the Confederate trench line and an artillery position. His professional career includes forty-four years with the Virginia Department of Transportation. Bill is a member of the Strasburg Heritage Association, the Shenandoah Historical Society, the Stuart-Mosby Historical Society, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He serves on the board of directors of the Strasburg Museum.