The men were roused from their sleep at about two o’clock on the morning of June 13, 1864, and the whole Corps was put into motion. Battle’s Brigade led the way as the long gray column moved towards Mechanicsville. They reached Mechanicsville after day break marching towards Richmond, where after crossing the Central and Fredericksburg railroads, they picked up the Brook Pike and marched north to the Plank Road. They then marched northwest to the Old Mountain Road where, sweltering from heat and choking on dust, they began to wonder when they would stop. After twenty-five miles, the column finally jostled to a halt at Auburn Mills. Unbeknownst to the rank and file, General Early had been ordered to take his Corps, which included the men of the 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment, to the Shenandoah Valley.
So it was that finally, on June 14, 1864, the armies of Lee and Grant advanced to Petersburg and began their “Trench Warfare”. The War in Virginia in the second half of 1864 presented a tactical paradox. On the one hand, at Petersburg, the two armies embraced each other in an extended trench stalemate. Across the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the Shenandoah Valley, however, smaller forces spared in a fluid war of feint and manoeuvre that had few equals during the war. Although always considerably outnumbered, Confederate General Jubal Early and his retitled Army of the Valley, substituted bluff and movement for numbers. With only four Division, Early’s little army may have numbered 16,000. It was composed of the small Divisions of Major-Generals Robert E. Rodes, J. C. Breckenridge (the former Vice-President of the United States), John B. Gordon, and Stephen D. Ramseur. Some of the Brigades were no larger than a full regiment, some of the regiments no larger than a good company, and many of the companies without a commissioned officer present, having only a corporal’s guard in number of enlisted men. In part because of the poor quality of Early’s cavalry, the sharpshooters played an even more prominent role in the campaign than usual. They often acted as advance and rear guard, operating for extended periods as an independent unit. During the Valley Campaign, Early would achieve his main objective. He would succeed in drawing Union forces away from Petersburg. He did this by going on the offensive, but the tactics used in his offensive were markedly different from those of the past. There were no direct frontal assaults. The Sharpshooters would use their flanking tactics and long range firepower to successfully brush aside Union forces. All the regiments had to detail 1/6 of their men for the sharpshooters, who often operated independently, particularly in Rodes' division. Both brigade and division sharpshooters participated in the almost daily skirmishing in the Valley. To date no one has made a detailed list of all the engagements but they could have been almost anywhere. For example, at Charles Town, Battle's sharpshooters were actively engaged but not their parent regiments. It becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish when only the sharpshooters were involved, or the fighting included the entire regiment they were spawned from. Major Eugene Blackford and his men were to play a dominant role over the next several weeks.
Moving again at daybreak, the men under General Early’s command, reached Louisa Court House that evening, after a hot dusty march of twenty-two miles, making camp for the night at Gardner’s Cross Road. On June 15, 1864, the troops passed through Louisa in the morning and at Trevilians , took the road to Charlottesville. On their route, they passed the site of some recent cavalry engagements where a great many dead and swollen horses lay on the ground and numerous new graves attested to the severity of the contests. By the end of the following day, they were at the Rivanna Bridge within five miles of Charlottesville and made camp near Shadwell at Keswick Depot on the Virginia Central Railroad. The tough veterans had covered eighty miles in four days of intense heat and humidity. A collection of dilapidated locomotives and cars of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad awaited the troops on the tracks the next morning; however, there weren’t enough cars to accommodate the entire army.
General Rodes demanded the right to be sent forward with his division ahead of Ramseur, on the grounds that he would be defending his native city. This privilege, for some reason, was denied him, a denial that lead to harsh words between him and General Early. Subsequently, Ramseur’s Division boarded first and then two Brigades from Gordon’s Division were loaded. General Rodes was ordered to march his Division and the remainder of Gordon’s men along a narrow roadway parallel to the tracks until the trains could return. Having started at daylight once again, the men passed through Charlottesville continuing down the railroad towards Lynchburg. Much to delight of the troops, the merchants of Charlottesville gave them plenty of tobacco. The men stopped for the night at North Garden, to await the return of the trains.
At about ten o’clock on the morning of June 18, 1864, the men under General Rodes’ command, boarded the rail cars. By noon, General Early had moved the men already at Lynchburg, north of town and confronted Union General Hunter, who had been sacking the Shenandoah Valley. After riding several uncomfortable hours out in the open on flatcars, where the men dodged hot cinders that stuck in their hair and beards, the train with Rodes’ men, arrived within two miles of Lynchburg. It was about 4:00 P.M. when they pulled into the depot. The train cars were literally covered with troops hanging to the sides and roofs. Quickly they detrained, formed their ranks, and began marching quickly up the steep Fifth Street Hill amid cheering crowds. Major Eugene Blackford recognized his sister-in-law in the crowd and soon after, found himself on line in a cemetery beside his father’s grave. On they raced past the fairgrounds, turning west onto the Forest Road. Once he had several brigades on line, General Rodes advanced these units to the crest of the hill and opened a heavy artillery fire. The Federal troops quickly fell back.
All the Confederate Division commanders were anxious to attack before sunlight faded, and they urged General Early to throw caution to the wind. But Jubal Early decided to wait for morning, believing that Union General Hunter would renew his attack at daybreak. Very early the next morning, the men were moved to a position of attack on the Forest Road and awaited daylight. By the time the night had faded away, it was discovered that the Yankees had fled. The men were sent in pursuit, marching rapidly all day. Along the way, the wanton destruction of private property by the enemy was very evident. Livestock was killed, barns burned and homes were plundered. The Confederates reached Liberty late in the day, and had a skirmish in the mountain pass. That night they camped near Liberty.
June 20, 1864, was another day of early rising and pursuit of the Federals, who were still retreating. The commissary wagons were well behind the rest of the army and consequently, the men had little or nothing to eat. They caught up with the Yankees yet again late in the day and had a skirmished at Buford’s Gap, another mountain pass. General Early deployed Ramseur’s men in the centre, Gordon to the left, and Rodes on the right. Rodes men drove the Federal skirmishers and moved in close, feeling out the enemy line and exchanging heavy volleys with Union General Crook’s Division. Early was not anxious to make a direct assault on the fortified pass, so he dispatched Gordon left and Rodes right, each to search for a route around the pass. However, there was neither road nor trail and the divisions were forced to climb over the precipitous slopes. All formation was lost and the movement of Rodes Division was hampered by darkness, when the men experienced real difficulty in descending the steep passages. Meanwhile, Hunter departed with half of his army, leaving troops under Generals Crook and Averell to hold the pass. The Confederates bivouacked at the railroad near Buford’s Gap.
The next day, the Confederate attempted to cut the Yankees off by moving off early in the morning and pursuing very hard. Many of the men were overcome by heat and hunger, having had no rations issued for three days. Their only food was that handed out by Lynchburg citizens as they detrained. Once near Salem, when Rodes and Early rode by the marchers, a cry of “Bread! Bread!” was raised to the embarrassment of both officers. Although the Confederate troops arrived at the mountain gap late, the Yankees were forced to abandon several wagons and eleven pieces of artillery. The Federals set fire to some of their ordinance wagons that had barrels of powder in them, which exploded while some of their own men were passing, killing six or eight of them. Their mangled forms were left lying at the roadside. Some of them had their arms and legs torn off and thrown fifty yards from their bodies. The Confederates moved back a mile or two and made camp on the Lexington Turnpike. The pursuit was called off the next day and the men received some rations and were allowed to rest.
The men moved out at daybreak on June 23, 1864, moving towards Buchanan. They passed Botetourt Springs. The men were inspired by a number of beautiful ladies that came out to see them pass. They marched twenty miles and made camp at four or five o’clock that afternoon. The next day they were on the march before daybreak, passing through Buchanan and then following the Valley Turnpike towards Lexington. After another twenty mile march, they made camp within six miles of Lexington. On June 25, 1864, the men started their march before daylight. In passing through Lexington, the men performed a solemn ceremony which seemed to be deeply felt by every man. On entering the town, they passed through the graveyard by the grave of Stonewall Jackson. They marched in two ranks with arms reversed, the bands playing a funeral dirge. His grave was covered with flowers and at the head of it, hung the stars and bars on a pole erected by the ladies of Lexington. In passing, every eye was turned on the grave and tears were seen flowing in a great many instances. As they passed through the rest of town, they were kindly offered ice water and other refreshments by the ladies that crowded the streets. They proceeded past the Virginia Military Institute, where there were only ruins left, having been burnt down by the Yankees on June 11, 1864. The men marched seven miles beyond town and made camp near Brownsburg.
The next day they were on the march by three o’clock in the morning. They marched another twenty miles camping at Middlebrook. “It was furiously hot all morning but we had a little shower in the afternoon, which cooled the atmosphere and made it much more pleasant.” a small town ten miles from Staunton. They reached Staunton about noon the following day to find that General Early had secured new uniforms; however, the badly needed shoes had not yet arrived. Half of his infantry and many of his officers were without shoes. The weather did not affect their feet, but experience had taught them that Northern roads were most unkind to unshod troops. The impatient General called on Richmond to send shoes to Staunton’ but they did not arrive. Undismayed, Early set out with his barefoot men, leaving wagons behind to bring up the needed footgear. While near Staunton, General Early reorganized his little army for the hard campaign he was preparing to initiate.
On June 28, 1864, the men remained quietly in camp until about 1:00 P.M. They then moved through Staunton and took the Winchester Pike. They stopped for the night about seven miles north of the town. The Confederate troops that were embarking on this new campaign were a lean, mean little force of experienced soldiers. They had fought many battles, conducted numerous campaigns and were accustomed to hard, difficult marches, short rations, and variable weather. Their uniforms were new, equipment clean, and for once they were well fed, carrying five days rations in their wagons and two days supplies in their haversacks. Shoes were still a major deficit as evidenced by the trail of blood which followed their passage.
It was an early start the next morning, getting on the march by 4:00 A.M. They passed through Mount Sidney and then left the pike at the Keezletown Road and passed through Cross Keys, marching in the direction of New Market. On June 30, 1864, the men began their march at 4:00 A.M. again, coming back to the pike and reaching New Market where they made camp.
The men of the 5th Alabama had a 3:00 A.M. departure on July 1, 1864, marching through Mount Jackson, Edenburg, and made camp near Woodstock. They took up line of march at 3:00 A.M. again the following day, travelling through Strasburg, Middletown, and camped near Newtown. Many of the ladies in all these towns complained of the Yankee depredations. On July 3, 1864, the men moved out at 4:00 A.M. passing through Winchester. Once again they received a kind welcome from the citizens. About three miles beyond the town, they took what is now the Old Charles Town Road, towards Smithfield camping near there for the night.
On July 4, 1864, the men moved out at daylight passing through Smithfield and then Charles Town, where once again they were greeted warmly by the townspeople. They continued on towards Harpers Ferry and when about three miles from there, they met some Federal cavalry. The sharpshooters were ordered out and pressed forward, driving the Yankees back off of Bolivar Heights and eventually across the river. The Federals had a number of large guns on the opposite side of the river on Maryland Heights, and continued to shell the Confederates heavily the rest of the day. Private Edward P. Moore of Company K, was wounded during the fighting. The men marched through ravines attempting to shelter themselves as much as possible. They remained in a deep ravine until nightfall, at which time they and the rest of Battle’s Brigade were ordered to go into Bolivar to see what, if any, stores there were left. They found a large quantity of provisions and other quartermaster stores, such as tents, that the Yankees were unable to destroy before their hasty retreat. As it was the 4th of July, preparations had also been made for a big celebration. The Federals had invited all the local citizens to participate and there were any quantity of candy, ice cream, whiskey, cakes, etc. The men all came out with their haversacks full. A quantity of shoes and clothing were captured as well. The Yankees abandoned Harpers Ferry that night.
The next morning, the men returned from Bolivar, coming back about two or three miles to the camp near Halltown , under an artillery shelling by the Yankees. They made camp in a wooded area and the commissary wagons were brought forward to issue rations. Most of the men refused to take any, as they were well supplied from the town. At dusk, Rodes’ Division sent about 100 wagons into Harpers Ferry to bring off the stores. They returned just after midnight, well loaded. At about 4:00 A.M., the troops took up their line of march towards Shepardstown. Between ten and eleven o’clock, Rodes’ Division crossed the Potomac River near Shepardstown, and by one o’clock that afternoon, they were in Sharpsburg, Maryland. Signs of the battle fought there in September 1862, were everywhere. Great holes made by cannonballs and shells could be seen in many of the houses and the trees, fences, and houses were pot marked by the innumerable Minnie balls. About dark they moved across Antietam Creek and made camp. A number of the men went for a bath in the creek. The men were on the march again early on the morning of July 7, 1864. At about noon they reached Auroraville where contact with the Federal cavalry was made again. The troops were formed into line of battle and skirmishing continued the rest of the day. Late in the day, Battle’s Brigade halted near Rohnerville, three miles from Crampton’s Gap, and the five regiments of which the brigade was composed, were sent in different directions to guard roads. The 5th Alabama was sent onto the Brownsville Road and made camp near the village. A heavy rain fell that night and after lying in the pouring rain for a few hours, the men were ordered to move out at about 4:30 A.M. Rodes’ Division was taken within a short distance of Harpers Ferry, halted for an hour or two, and then they crossed over South Mountain at Crampton’s Gap and continued on towards Frederick. They passed through Burkittsville and made camp for the night near Jefferson. The Sharpshooters had gone on ahead to Frederick and engaged the enemy west of the town , where they drove in several lines of battle with the loss of a great many killed and wounded.