The Middle Military Division was an organization of the Union Army

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...

 during 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...

, responsible for operations around the Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...

 of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 and the Valley Campaigns of 1864

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...

.

In the summer of 1864, 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...

 General Jubal Early's army had defeated several Union armies, had advanced close to Washington, D.C., and continued to operate in the Shenandoah Valley into August. Faced with this continued threat, the Union high command created the Middle Military Division and ordered the cavalry commander of the Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...

, Major General

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...

 Phillip Sheridan, to command it. The military division (an entity that controlled multiple military departments) was established on August 7, 1864. It comprised the geographic and military assets of the Departments of the Susquehanna, Washington, West Virginia, and the Middle Department

Middle Department

The Middle Department was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Middle Atlantic states....

. On December 1, 1864, the Department of the Susquehanna within the military division changed its name to the Department of Pennsylvania.

The operational field forces of the division were collectively known as the Army of the Shenandoah

Army of the Shenandoah (Union)

The Army of the Shenandoah was a Union army during the American Civil War. First organized in 1861 and then disbanded, it is best known for its recreation in 1864 under Philip Sheridan...

. Philip Sheridan commanded both the military division and the army from August 7 to October 18, 1864.

Command history

Commander	From	To
Major General 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...  (temporary)	August 7, 1864	September 21, 1864
Major General 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...	September 21, 1864	February 27, 1865
Major General Winfield S. Hancock	February 27, 1865	June 27, 1865

When Hancock was assigned to the military division, his command did not include the troops under the command of Sheridan. Hancock relieved Sheridan of troop command on May 17, 1865.