Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia - Command Under Lt. Gen. J.A. Early

Command Under Lt. Gen. J.A. Early

With Ewell's reassignment, Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early took command, bringing a wealth of experience. He had already temporarily commanded both the Second and Third Corps during the incapacitation of Ewell and Hill during The Battle of the Wilderness. Early had much experience as a division commander and had served under Generals Jackson and Ewell. Therefore, Lee decided in June 1864 to use the Second Corps on yet another invasion of the Union in an attempt to cause General Ulysses S. Grant to fall back from pressing Lee's front. Early took the Second Corps, technically as a detached Army of the Valley, down through the Shenandoah Valley and up to the outskirts of Washington, D.C., raiding the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and countryside of Maryland and Pennsylvania along the way. But the invasion was short lived, as the Union was able to respond with a counter campaign under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, who pressed Early back into Virginia with overwhelming Union forces. As Sheridan fought Early up the Shenandoah Valley, Sheridan commenced upon his famous "Burning" of the Valley, destroying crops, livestock, farms, barns, homes and destroying everything in his path. The Second Corps, in this final campaign, fought to the death, expending itself battle by battle until practically the entire corps was gone, and the remnants were routed in the Battle of Belle Grove (also Cedar Creek). Defenseless now, the citizens and communities of the Shenandoah Valley were subject to unhindered devastation from General Sheridan. Although Early was one of Lee's most highly regarded division commanders, and had successfully created a large diversion, Lee chose to officially "relieve" Early of command, rather than let the Union gather the intelligence that the Second Corps had become so expended.