Center for Research on Vermont's Andrew E. Nuquist Award
Abstract 2004
2004 Nuquist Award Abstracts
2004 Nuquist Award Recipient
James LaMonda. "Closing the Backdoor to Washington:
Vermont Civil War Soldiers in the Shenandoah Valley, 1864" 240
pp., including appendices, notes, photos, and bibliography.
Advisors: Gary Lord, History; and Jack Anderson, Adjunct Faculty,
Norwich University
1864 was the decisive year for the American Civil War. The Confederacy
would not fall until the spring of 1865, but the events of 1864 brought
about that collapse. The significant events of 1864 leading to ultimate
victory for the North were: General U.S. Grant taking command of the
Union Army, including his personal oversight of the Army of the Potomac
as it endured its bloodiest campaign of the war; the Shenandoah Valley
Campaign, with the Confederacy attempting to relieve military pressure
around Petersburg while protecting its food supply grown in the valley;
and the presidential election of 1864, in which the reelection of
President Lincoln insured a fight to the end.
This paper tells the story of the Vermont soldiers who participated in
the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. Using a wide variety of
sources, it is an attempt to expand on our understanding of Vennont's
Civil War history. Vennont contributed a total of twelve three-year
regiments to the war effort (eleven infantry and one cavalry), and nine
of those regiments took part in the] 864 campaign in the Shenandoah
Valley. The valley campaign began witJt the pursuit of the Confederate
anny attempting to draw Union forces away from Richmond/Petersburg, and
lasted throughout the fall. The Vermonters endured long days of
marching and four major battles, culminating in the Battle of Cedar
Creek, which has been immortalized by the Julian Scott painting which
hangs in the Vermont State House.
Material for this paper was drawn from 19th-Century regimental
histories and memoirs, contemporary studies, as well as manuscripts
from the collections of the Vermont Historical Society, the University
of Vermont, the Vermont Public Records Division, and the U.S. Army
Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The trip
to the latter was partially funded by the Student Research Program at
Norwich University.
The theses of this work were: what were the Vermonters' experiences in
the Shenandoah Valley; what compelled the soldiers to continue to fight
at that late stage of the war; and what did the soldiers think of
President Lincoln, and the upcoming presidential election?
Last modified August 06 2007 11:13 AM
