The first October surprise in what is considered the most important presidential election in history

In American politics, a man-made or naturally occurring event that affects a presidential election is called an “October surprise.” Like the election just weeks away, the election of 1864 was considered the most important in history up to that point.

Thus, the Confederates likely planned the first October Raid, a daring attack on Cedar Creek to defeat Union forces, and planned a desperate operation to support the Copperhead Peace Democrats at the polls.

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

On the night of October 18, by the light of the moon, thousands of Confederate soldiers, stripped of their water bottles and anything that could make noise, made their way down a secluded trail. A few days earlier, Confederate General John Brown Gordon, considered one of the most daring men in the South, had climbed a mountain near General Sheridan's Union army and discovered an obvious weakness in the Union line. They had their left wing exposed.

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

Union troops encamped in the Shenandoah Valley mistakenly believed that Massanutten Mountain was too rugged for any force to overcome the Union lines and attack unnoticed. Under the command of General Jubal Early, Gordon hoped to deliver a resounding victory to the Confederacy on the eve of the election.

In one of the most daring attacks of the war, approximately 14,000 Confederates fired upon 32,000 Union soldiers.

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The untold stories of these brave Civil War warriors and many others are told in my new bestselling book, The Unvanquished. The book tells the story of Lincoln's Special Forces, who donned Confederate gray to hunt Mosby and his Confederate Rangers, from 1863 to the end of the war at Appomattox, and tells the story of the forces that changed the course of the Civil War. It reveals the drama of regular guerrilla warfare. These soldiers inspired the creation of U.S. Special Operations in World War II.

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

The frigid autumn fog of October 19 showed thousands of ghostly Confederate soldiers attacking the sleeping Union 8th Corps with a rebel battle cry around 5 a.m. Utter chaos ensued as many Union regiments and brigades broke up and fled north to Middletown. A Union soldier was bayoneted while sleeping in his tent. The Gray Horde mowed down the rapidly crumbling Federation lines.

Hungry and shoeless, the Confederates attacked not only the Union troops but also their food supplies. After hours of bloody fighting, much of it hand-to-hand, the exhausted and greedy Confederates slowed their attack.

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

The brief pause allowed Crook to strengthen the Union defenses. Early arrived at the front line around 10:30 and declared: “Well, Gordon, that's enough glory for one day. Today is the 19th. Exactly one month ago today, we were going in the opposite direction (Third Battle of Winchester).” ”

On this day in history, July 23, 1885, the 18th president, Ulysses S. Grant, passed away from throat cancer.

Early believed that the Union army had been defeated and was about to abandon the battlefield. Realizing that his men were exhausted, hungry, and thirsty, he planned to regroup and consolidate his gains. Gordon implored Early to launch another attack immediately, pointing to the VI Corps. Gordon's advice was quickly dismissed.

Gordon later recalled, “My heart trembled. I had a vision of that fatal stop on the first day at Gettysburg.”

General Philip Henry Sheridan (1831-1888) in camp. His driving and rallies will become legendary. (Photo credit: © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

History will record this controversial suspension as a “fatal suspension.”

Early's men heard excited cheers from the Union lines shortly after the halt. Many Union and Confederate forces believed that strong Union reinforcements had arrived. Indeed, they were. They appeared in the form of a man, General Philip Henry Sheridan.

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Leaving Winchester around 8:30 a.m., he galloped off on an epic journey through the Civil War on a huge black and white-speckled gelding named Rienzi. The run and rally became legendary, and the rally will go down in military history as a grand revival.

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

And later, Thomas Buchanan Read's famous poem “Sheridan's Ride” was featured prominently during Lincoln's campaign in 1864, and the campaign slogan “Don't change your horse mid-river” has been strengthened.

As Sheridan approached the front line, one of his men shouted, “General, where are you going to sleep tonight?” The men fell silent as they waited for his answer. “You can sleep in the old camp tonight, or you can sleep in hell!'' he answered. The men responded with “crazy cheers.”

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

Sheridan committed his entire army. The Confederate line withstood and repulsed several charges, leading Early to initially believe that “the day was finally ours.” But by 5:30 p.m., Union troops had penetrated Early's left flank in a rain of lead and iron. The Confederate line collapsed and fled in disorder toward Fisher's Hill to the southwest.

Importantly, Sheridan's victory at Cedar Creek on October 19 boosted northern morale and greatly increased Lincoln's chances of reelection.

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