Battle of Tom's Brook

County: Shenandoah, VA

General Location: Valley Pike (US11) at Tom's Brook and Jordon Run, I-81, Back Road (rte. 623) at Tom's Brook.

Size of Study/Core Areas: 6,644/2,018 acres

GIS Integrity of Study/Core Areas: 83/83 percent; Good/Good

Field Assessment of Study Area Integrity: Fair

USGS Quadrants: Tom's Brook, Woodstock

Select to view a summary of 1991 LAND USE / LAND COVER

Campaign: Sheridan's Valley Campaign

Principal Commanders: [c] Maj. Gen. Thomas Rosser, Maj. Gen. Lunsford Lomax; [u] Brig. Gen. Alfred Torbert

Forces Engaged: [c] Two cavalry divisions (Rosser and Lomax) about 3,500; [u] Two cavalry divisions (Wesley Merritt and George A. Custer), about 6,300

Casualties: [c] 350 (20k/50w/280m&c); [u] 57 (10k/47w)

Significance: Tom's Brook was a battle of strategy and maneuver that pitted cavalry against cavalry. The CS cavalry were eager for revenge against the US cavalry, which had been burning barns and mills in the Valley for the previous week. On 9 October 1864, however, Sheridan ordered his cavalry to ``whip'' the enemy or get whipped themselves. In the resulting conflict, the US troopers routed the CS cavalry, impairing its morale and efficiency for the remainder of the campaign. The CS flight was referred to by Valley residents and victorious Union troopers as the ``Woodstock Races.'' The fighting on the Back Road at Spiker's Hill pitted two former West Point roommates against one another--Tom Rosser and George Armstrong Custer. Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan watched the battle unfold, reputedly from the summit of Round Hill.

Description of the Battle

Phase One. Disposition of Forces: On 8 October 1864, the Confederate Cavalry under overall command of Maj. Gen. Thomas Rosser harried the withdrawing US cavalry on the Valley Pike and the Back Road, fighting a brisk skirmish along Tom's Brook near the Back Road. The CS cavalry were enraged by the destruction of the Valley they had witnessed in the last week and were ...

The Battle of Tom's Brook was fought on October 9, 1864, in Shenandoah County, Virginia, during Philip Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign of the American Civil War. It resulted in a significant Union victory, one that was mockingly dubbed The Woodstock Races for the speed of the Confederate withdrawal.

After his victory at Fisher's Hill, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan pursued Jubal A. Early's Confederate army up the Shenandoah Valley to near Staunton. On October 6, Sheridan began withdrawing, as his cavalry burned everything that could be deemed of military significance, including barns and mills. Reinforced by Maj. Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw's division, Early followed. Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Rosser arrived from Petersburg to take command of Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's Confederate cavalry division and harassed the retreating Federals. On October 9, Brig. Gen. Alfred Torbert's Union troopers turned on their pursuers, routing the divisions of Rosser and Lunsford L. Lomax at Tom's Brook. With this victory, the Union cavalry attained overwhelming superiority in the Valley.