Episode 16: CPL Preston L. Ledford and the 14th North Carolina at the Battle of Cedar Creek

At the Battle of Cedar Creek, the morning of 19 October 1864, Corporal Preston L. Ledford and the 14th North Carolina participated in a surprise attack upon the Army of West Virginia, also known as the VIII Corps. Thanks to a dense fog, the Confederate Army of the Valley surprised the Union Soldiers in their camp. COL Rutherford B. Hayes, commander the Second Division VIII Corps, and future 19th President of the United States, managed to form his division in line of battle before CPL Ledford and the attacking force routed them.

Despite the fog, the Union XIX and VI Corps, just north of the VIII Corps, formed in line and engaged the Confederates. But CPL Ledford, the 14th North Carolina and the rest of the attacking force flanked the XIX Corps, forcing both Union formations to retreat to a location about 1 mile away.

The Union Army of the Shenandoah managed to reform in the late morning, check the Confederate afternoon advance, and push the Army of the Valley off of the field.

Sources used for this episode:

Ledford, Preston L. Reminiscences of the Civil War 1861-1865. Thomasville: News Printing House, 1909. https://www.loc.gov/item/09027417/.

Davis, George B., Perry, Leslie J., Kirkley, Joseph W. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1893. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924080776929&view=1up&seq=3.

“Prof. P.L. Ledford Dies in Thomasville.” Dispatch, May 29, 1922. Newspapers.com.