Battle of Lynchburg, June 17-18, 1864
Lynchburg, a rail and canal transportation hub, was the objective of General Hunter's advance up the Shenandoah Valley in the spring of 1864. After marching south from Staunton through Lexington and Buchanan, the army crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains near the Peaks of Otter and arrived at the outskirts of Lynchburg on June 17. Their arrival was met with increasing resistance by Confederate reinforcements led by General Jubal Early, which also began arriving by rail on the 17th.
The Union army resumed the offensive on June 18, assaulting a line of earthworks about two miles west of the city. The 116th Ohio, positioned on the left of the Union advance, was engaged in some of the heaviest fighting and acheived the deepest penetration of the Confederate defenses, actually planting their regimental colors on the enemy works before being driven off by superior numbers. The 116th Ohio also suffered heavy casualties (12 killed, 22 wounded, 10 captured) with Company B suffering the heaviest losses (1 killed, 5 wounded and 8 captured, including 3 of the wounded). The company commander, Captain Keyes was one of the wounded and captured; he died of his wounds a month later while still a captive in Lynchburg
Deep in enemy territory, short of supplies, and facing a growing enemy force, Hunter broke off the engagement and began a rapid retreat the same night. Fearing that he might be cut off if he returned back up the Shenandoah Valley, Hunter continued west, over the mountains into West Virginia, removing his army from the war for nearly a month and leaving the valley open for Early's invasion of Maryland and Washington, DC.
A portion of the Confederate defensive line, now known as Ft. Early, has been preserved, and, along with a memorial to General Early, can still be seen at the intersection of Fort and Memorial in Lynchburg.
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