Chambersburg and Moorefield

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, was burned on this date in 1864 by Confederate Brigadier General John McCausland, by order of Lt. Gen. Jubal Early. 

Retreating into West Virginia, McCausland's force was pursued by cavalry under US Brigadier General William W. Averell, another obscure Union raider.

Outnumbered, Averell launched a surprise and victorious night attack at Moorefield on Aug. 7, inflicting losses which reduced the effectiveness of Confederate cavalry for the rest of the Shenandoah Valley campaign.

On Sept. 23, after the Battle of Fisher's Hill, Averell would be relieved by Major General Philip Sheridan, in circumstances not dissimilar from his relief the next year of Maj. Gen. Gouverneur Warren at Five Forks. Sheridan may or may not have been justified , but both Averell and Warren did good service through most of the war.