Kurz & Allison Part X: Late 1864

 While General Grant and the Army of the Potomac were still stuck at Petersburg, the Union scored various victories in late 1864 that hastened the end of the Confederacy and ensured Abraham Lincoln's reelection as President. Naturally Union veteran Louis Kurz would feature some of these victories in his lithographs, two from Union General Phil Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign and two from Confederate John Bell Hood's ill-devised Tennessee offensive.

Battle of Opequan or Winchester

The title for this lithograph is somewhat misleading. Opequan is in fact spelled Opequon and this is the Third Battle of Winchester. To be fair to Kurz this is the largest Winchester battle of the war (Winchester changed hands at least 72 times). This was a major battle of the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. General Jubal Early and his Confederates had been running rampant, even approaching Washington D.C. itself. Newly arrived the aggressive Sheridan was determined to end his run. On September 19 he assailed the Confederates along Opequon Creek. The Federals broke through, only to be repulsed by canister fire. General Wesley Merrit's cavalry brigade got into the Confederate rear and after confused fighting Early withdrew to Fisher's Hill, the site of the next battle. This started a string of defeats for the Confederates in the Valley.

Kurz & Allison Part IX: Atlanta Campaign

 While Grant oversaw what was hopefully the final offensive in Virginia, General William Tecumseh Sherman led three armies (Army of the Tennessee, Army of the Cumberland, and Army of the Ohio) on a drive to the vital railroad and communications hub of Atlanta, Georgia. General Joseph E. Johnston led the Confederate resistance. Sherman tried to outmaneuver Johnston while the Confederate commander attempted defensive battles to compensate for his numerical inferiority. Louis Kurz selected three battles from this campaign for his lithographs.

Battle of Resaca

Resaca was the first major battle of the campaign. General James B. McPherson’s Army of the Tennessee had an opportunity to get around the left of the Confederates and into their rear, thus trapping them. He failed to act on it. As a result timely reinforcements under General Leonidas Polk were able to reach Johnston and force the Union into a headlong battle from May 13-15. Johnston ordered a retreat as Sherman again threatened to cut into his rear.