The Battle of Tom's Brook

Toms Brook, Virginia

Toms Brook is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. The population was 258 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Toms Brook is located at ....

was fought on October 9, 1864, in Shenandoah County, Virginia

Shenandoah County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 35,075 people, 14,296 households, and 10,064 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile . There were 16,709 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...

, during Philip Sheridan

Philip Sheridan

Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...

's Shenandoah Valley Campaign

Valley Campaigns of 1864

The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...

 of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. It resulted in a significant Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 victory, one that was mockingly dubbed The Woodstock Races for the speed of the Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 withdrawal.

After his victory at Fisher's Hill

Battle of Fisher's Hill

The Battle of Fisher's Hill was fought September 21–22, 1864, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. Fisher's Hill is located near Strasburg, Virginia....

, Maj. Gen.

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 Philip Sheridan pursued Jubal A. Early's Confederate army up the Shenandoah Valley to near Staunton

Staunton, Virginia

Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....

. On October 6, Sheridan began withdrawing, as his cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 burned everything that could be deemed of military significance, including barns and mills. Reinforced by Maj. Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw

Joseph B. Kershaw

Joseph Brevard Kershaw was a lawyer, judge, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...

's division

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

, Early followed. Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Rosser

Thomas L. Rosser

Thomas Lafayette Rosser was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and later an officer in the Spanish American War and railroad construction engineer. A favorite of J.E.B...

 arrived from Petersburg

Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...

 to take command of Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee

Fitzhugh Lee

Fitzhugh Lee , nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish-American War.-Early life:...

's Confederate cavalry division and harassed the retreating Federals. On October 9, Brig. Gen.

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 Alfred Torbert

Alfred Thomas Torbert

Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert was a career United States Army officer, a Union Army General commanding both infantry and cavalry forces in the American Civil War, and a U.S. diplomat.-Early life:...

's Union troopers turned on their pursuers, routing the divisions of Rosser and Lunsford L. Lomax

Lunsford L. Lomax

Lunsford Lindsay Lomax was an American educator, farmer, and officer in the United States Army who resigned his commission to join the Confederate Army at the outbreak of the American Civil War.-Biography:...

 at Tom's Brook. With this victory, the Union cavalry attained overwhelming superiority in the Valley.

"That's General Custer

George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...

, the Yanks are so proud of,

and I intend to give him the best whipping today that he ever got,"

Confederate Major General Tom Rosser

Thomas L. Rosser

Thomas Lafayette Rosser was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and later an officer in the Spanish American War and railroad construction engineer. A favorite of J.E.B...

 on the eve of the battle.

Jubal Early later commented sourly about Rosser's Laurel Brigade, "The laurel is a running vine".

See also

• Edward R. Hanford
  Edward R. Hanford
  Edward R. Hanford was a private in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry, Company H, during the American Civil War. Born in Allegany County, New York, in 1845, Hanford captured the battle flag of the 32nd Battalion Virginia Cavalry of the Confederate States of America at the Battle of Tom's Brook, Woodstock,...
  
  – Union private, capturer of the 32nd Battalion Virginia Cavalry battle flag