The first October surprise in a presidential election, considered the most important in history

In U.S. politics, a contrived or spontaneous event that influences a presidential election is called an “October Surprise.” Like the upcoming election that was just weeks away, the election of 1864 was considered the most important in history up to that point.

Accordingly, the Confederacy arguably planned the first October Surprise – a bold attack on Cedar Creek to defeat a Union army – a desperate attempt to help the Copperhead Peace Democrats at the ballot box.

At their convention in Chicago weeks earlier, Democrats had proposed a truce with the South and the continuation of slavery as a course correction for an unpopular and seemingly eternal war.

On the night of October 18, thousands of Confederate troops, without canteens or anything else that might make noise, set out by moonlight along a remote trail. Days earlier, Confederate General John Brown Gordon, considered one of the South’s boldest, climbed a mountain near General Sheridan’s Union Army and discovered an obvious weakness in the Federal lines: They had exposed their left flank.

On this day in history, September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln proclaims that slaves will soon be “free forever.”

The Federals encamped in the Shenandoah Valley had mistakenly assumed that Massanutten Mountain would be too rugged for any force to cross the Union line undetected and attack. Gordon, under the command of General Jubal Early, hoped to deliver a crushing victory to the Confederates on the eve of the election.

In one of the most daring attacks of the war, some 14,000 Confederates attacked 32,000 Union troops.

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The untold story and many others about brave Civil War warriors are told in my new bestselling book, The Unvanquished. The book uncovers the drama of irregular guerrilla warfare that changed the course of the Civil War, including the story of Lincoln’s special forces who wore Confederate fatigues to hunt Mosby and his Confederate Rangers at Appomattox from 1863 until the end of the war. These soldiers inspired the creation of U.S. special operations in World War II.

On this day in history, November 19, 1863, President Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address

The icy autumn fog of October 19 obscured thousands of ghostly Confederates as they raised the rebel cry and descended on the slumbering Union VIII Corps around 5 a.m. Complete chaos engulfed many Union regiments and brigades as they disbanded and fled north to Middletown. Union soldiers were bayoneted while sleeping in their tents. Hordes of Grays swept through the rapidly crumbling Federal lines.

Hungry, shod Confederates attacked not only the Federals but also their rations. After hours of bloody fighting, much of it man-to-man, the exhausted and starving Confederates slowed their attack.

Portrait of Philip Henry Sheridan in uniform, circa 1870s. (Photosearch/Getty Images).

The brief pause allowed Crook to reinforce the Union defenses. We arrived at the front early, around 10:30 a.m., and declared, “Well, Gordon, that’s enough glory for one day. This is the 19th. Exactly a month ago today we were traveling in the opposite direction.” [At the Third Battle of Winchester].”

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, JULY 23, 1885, ULYSSES S. GRANT, 18TH PRESIDENT, DIES OF THROAT CANCER

Early on it was believed that the Federals were defeated and on the verge of leaving the field. Recognizing that his men were exhausted, hungry and thirsty, he planned to regroup his lines and consolidate his gains. Gordon implored Early to launch another attack immediately and pointed to the VI. Corps. Gordon’s advice was rejected early on.

Gordon later recalled: “My heart was in my boots. Visions of the Deadly Standoff on the First Day at Gettysburg.”

General Philip Henry Sheridan (1831-1888) in camp. His drive and rally would be legendary. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

History would describe the controversial pause as a “fatal standstill.”

Early’s men heard excited, loud cheers from the Union ranks shortly after the stop. Many of the Federal and Confederate troops believed that powerful Union reinforcements had arrived. In fact, they had. They took the form of a man: General Philip Henry Sheridan himself had appeared.

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At about 8:30 a.m. he left Winchester and galloped toward the epic ride of the Civil War on his huge, jet-black gelding with white pasterns named Rienzi. The ride and rally would become legends, and the rally would go down in military history as an epic comeback.

General Philip Henry Sheridan is cheered on by his troops, circa 1870s. (Engraving by NE Taylor – Photosearch/Getty Images).

And later, a famous poem by Thomas Buchanan Read entitled “Sheridan’s Ride” played a prominent role during Lincoln’s 1864 campaign, reinforcing the campaign slogan, “Don’t change horses in midstream.”

As Sheridan approached the front, one of his men called out, “General, where are we going to sleep tonight?” Silence fell over the men as they waited for his answer. “We will sleep in our old camps tonight, or we will sleep in hell!” he replied. The men responded with “like crazy cheering.”

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General Sheridan’s October 19 victory at Cedar Creek boosted morale in the North and greatly increased President Abraham Lincoln’s chances of re-election. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Sheridan deployed his entire army. The Confederate lines withheld and rebuffed several charges, initially leading Early to believe that “the day is our day at last.” But at 5:30 p.m., under a shower of lead and iron, the Federals pierced Early’s left side. The Confederate lines collapsed and fled in disorder southwest toward Fisher’s Hill.

Crucially, Sheridan’s October 19 victory at Cedar Creek boosted Northern morale and greatly increased Lincoln’s chances of re-election.

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