On the positive side, Fisher’s Hill also offered Early (left) the opportunity to establish a defensive position with great depth. In addition to the east-to-west chain that formed Early’s main position, a series of crests and ridges on the north side of Tumbling Run screened the main Confederate position from prying Federal eyes. The Confederate commander posted his dependable sharpshooters upon these eminences and forced Sheridan to battle for every inch of ground as he moved toward Early’s main line. Confederate forces would be well supplied for the coming battle. An ordnance train from Staunton arrived early on the morning of September 22 to supply the troops with much needed arms, accoutrements, and ammunition. Ammunition boxes were distributed along the trenches and limber chests were removed from the wagons and placed near the guns on the firing line. Early’s men were dug in and meant to stay.6

The combat strength of both the Federal and Confederate forces operating in the main Valley would dwindle significantly following the Third Battle of Winchester. In addition to the casualties previously noted, detachments would be made from the forces operating at Fisher’s Hill. Five thousand of Union Brig. Gen. Alfred T. A. Torbert’s cavalry would head toward the Luray Valley. One foot brigade from each of Sheridan’s three infantry corps would be assigned either to garrison duty in Winchester or escorting supply trains back and forth between Harper’s Ferry and the front. As a result, Sheridan would have 27,000 men available for his immediate operations at Fisher’s Hill. In the Southern army, Jubal Early would detach Brig. Gen. Williams C. Wickham’s cavalry division to guard the Luray Valley. This would leave Old Jube outnumbered nearly three-to-one with about 9,500 men to confront Sheridan’s victorious legions.7

The loss of key officers in both armies resulted in changes to their command structures. In the Union force, Brig. Gen. Frank Wheaton assumed command of Russell’s VI Corps division. Brig. Gen. Emory Upton had been seriously wounded in the final victorious attack at Third Winchester, so Col. Rutherford B. Hayes took over for his wounded division commander in the Army of West Virginia. Jubal Early had more than his share of slots to fill after Winchester. He prudently assigned the aggressive and popular Maj. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur to lead Rodes’ Division. Unfortunately, the “arrogant” and “selfish” Brig. Gen. John Pegram in turn assumed command of Ramseur’s Division. Pegram had amassed a lackluster record prior to 1864, his membership in one of Virginia’s “First Families” apparently being enough to qualify him for a Virginia brigade in Robert E. Lee’s army. Wickham took over the wounded Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry division. In addition to battlefield attrition, Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge was ordered to return to the Department of Southwest Virginia, thereby depriving Early of the services of his top two senior subordinates. Early would now be forced to collaborate with Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon (left), a relationship handicapped by sometimes stormy relations.8

Atop Fisher’s Hill, Jubal Early’s Confederate army occupied the fortifications that had been constructed earlier that summer. They worked continuously to strengthen and improve their situation from September 20 through the 22nd. Brig. Gen. Gabriel C. Wharton’s wrecked division occupied the formidable bluff on the right of the Confederate line (see Map, Pg. 12, for troop dispositions prior to the battle, and Pp. 6 & 60 for Wharton’s trenches). Wharton took 2,500 men into the fight at Winchester and sacrificed 1,200 of them in saving Early’s army from utter destruction at the close of the battle. The losses at the regimental level were so heavy that captains replaced fallen brigadiers. Two of his three brigade commanders went down wounded, one mortally. This battered outfit barely mustered 1,200 men, but the natural strength of the rocky bluff overlooking the Valley Pike made up for Wharton’s paucity of numbers. Wharton posted the brigade of wounded Col. Augustus Forsberg on his extreme right, overlooking the Shenandoah River and its floodplain. The brigade of the mortally wounded Col. George S. Patton occupied a sector of Wharton’s line where it bent back 90 degrees and overlooked the Valley Pike from the east. Col. Thomas Smith’s brigade remained in reserve behind Patton. Maj. William McLaughlin’s artillery battalion deployed along Wharton’s battle line. From there the Virginia gunners completely commanded the Federal approaches to Fisher’s Hill, including the Valley Pike.

On Wharton’s left, Gordon’s Division counted no more than 2,000 men in its ranks, but had emerged from the Winchester fight in much better condition than Wharton had. Col. Edmund N. Atkinson’s Georgia brigade, the largest in Early’s army, occupied the high ground immediately west of the Valley Pike behind Isaac Fisher’s house and mill (see Pg. 54). Brig. Gen. William Terry’s Virginia brigade, which included the remnants of the renowned Stonewall Brigade, extended the Confederate line to the left toward the inoperable Manassas Gap Railroad, which passed over Fisher’s Hill. Terry anchored his left flank upon a ravine through which a tributary of Tumbling Run flows from the south and separates two of the hills. Across the ravine and on the other side of the railroad, the famed Louisiana Tigers, or what was left of two brigades, held Gordon’s left flank on the next hill over. A healthy dosage of artillery added much to the firepower along Gordon’s line.

Pegram’s 1,500-man division defended the line westward from the Middle Road. Directly in front of this command lay the mill and home of Levi Piper (see Pg. 54) on the opposite side of Tumbling Run. The run presented more of an obstacle in this area because of a mill dam and race. On Pegram’s right flank, the tiny Virginia brigade under the near-sighted Col. John S. Hoffman manned the line. The North Carolina brigades of Brig. Gen. Robert Johnston and Lt. Col. William Davis continued the line westward from Hoffman’s left flank to Ramseur’s right.

Ramseur occupied the left of Jubal Early’s infantry battle line with the largest division in the army. In addition to the loss of Rodes at Winchester, 1,100 men were killed, wounded or captured on September 19, many of them in a counterattack that saved Early from disaster at the battle’s outset. Although a number of regimental commanders were lost, all four of its brigade commanders came out of the battle unscathed. This combined with the appointment of Ramseur to replace Rodes ensured that the division maintained much of its cohesiveness despite the severe losses.

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