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Pennsylvania 20th Cavalry (Union)

2/1/64

Organized - Pennsylvania 20th Cavalry - Pennsylvania

5/15/64

Battle - New Market - Shenandoah County, Virginia

New Market
New Market

In conjunction with other spring 1864 offensives against strategic points in the Confederacy, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant ordered Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel to move up the Shenandoah Valley along the Valley Turnpike to destroy the railroad and canal complex at Lynchburg. Union control of the strategic and agriculturally rich valley was a crucial part of Grant's plans. Receiving word that the Union Army had entered the valley, Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge pulled together all available troops to repulse the invad…READ MORE

6/5/64

Leadership Change - Regiment - Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Middleton

Lieutenant ColonelGabriel Middleton

6/5/64

Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel John Wynkoop

6/5/64

Battle - Piedmont - Augusta County, Virginia

6/10/64

Battle - Staunton, Virginia

6/17/64

Battle - Lynchburg - Lynchburg, Virginia

Lynchburg
Lynchburg

The Union threat forced Robert E. Lee to dispatch General Jubal Early with his Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia to defend Lynchburg. On June 17 and 18, the opposing forces clashed, resulting in a Union retreat all the way into West Virginia, leaving the Valley open for another Confederate advance into the North.READ MORE

6/21/64

Battle - Salem, Virginia

6/24/64

Battle - Winchester, Virginia

7/3/64

Battle - MARtinsburg, West Virginia

3/25/65

Battle - Fort Stedman - Petersburg, Virginia

Fort Stedman
Fort Stedman

By March of 1865, Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's grip on the Confederate lines around Petersburg was having its desired effect. Outnumbered and weakened by disease, desertion and shortage of food and supplies, Gen. Robert E. Lee had few options. After careful study of the Union troops in his sector of the line, Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon suggested to Lee the possibility of a successful offensive strike against Grant. In front of Gordon's men, Union-held Fort Stedman seemed the best target for a Confederate a…READ MORE

3/31/65

Battle - Dinwiddie Court House - Dinwiddie County, Virginia

4/1/65

Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel Charles Lane Fitzhugh

4/1/65

Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General Thomas Devin

Brigadier GeneralThomas Devin

4/1/65

Battle - Five Forks - Five Forks, Virginia

Five Forks
Five Forks

The Union victory along the White Oak Road on March 31st threatened to destabilize the entire Confederate line west of Petersburg. General Robert E. Lee ordered Maj. Gen. George Pickett with his infantry division and the cavalry divisions of Col. Thomas Munford, Maj. Gen. W.H.F. Lee, and Maj. Gen Thomas Rosser to hold the vital crossroads of Five Forks, along the White Oak Road five miles west of the previous fighting there. Pickett's defensive line was not well constructed, and much of his cavalry force w…READ MORE

4/2/65

Battle - Third Petersburg - Dinwiddie County, Virginia; Petersburg, Virginia

Third Petersburg
Third Petersburg

With the Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1st, Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George Meade ordered a general assault against the Petersburg lines by the Second, Ninth, Sixth and Twenty-Fourth Corps to take place April 2nd. In the pre-dawn darkness, the Union infantry gained a successful breakthrough where Maj. Gen. Horatio G. Wright's advancing Sixth Corps met the Confederate lines held by Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill near the Boydton Plank Road. Hill was killed trying to reach his troops in t…READ MORE

4/9/65

Battle - Appomattox Court House - Appomattox Court House, Virginia

Appomattox Court House
Appomattox Court House

Between 26,000 and 28,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered and were paroled.READ MORE

6/17/65

Mustered Out - Pennsylvania 20th Cavalry - Pennsylvania

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