Union Forces Commanded by: Brig. Gen. George Crook
Confederate Forces Commanded by: Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early
**Missing and Captured Conclusion: Confederate Victory |
BATTLE SUMMARY
Following his daring march to the gates of Washington after the Battle of Monocarcy at Frederick, Maryland, Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, content to have thrown a scare into the residents of the Union's capital, began a measured and disciplined retreat back to the Valley. By the evening of July 20, Early had reached Strasburg — and there he would make a critical decision. Given the option by Gen. Robert E. Lee of either returning his 17,000-man II Corps to the main army, by then dug in at Petersburg, or remaining in the Valley to divert Union troops from their advance on Richmond, Early — prodded by his second-in-command, Gen. John C. Breckinridge — chose the latter course.