inally formed on the rolling
ground overlooking the vale of the Opequon to the rear and Winchester
to the front. Even as it was, Sheridan's eagerness being great,
and the delay seeming interminable, Emory felt obliged to take upon
himself the responsibility of departing from the strict order of
march, and directed Dwight to move his men to the right of the road
and pass the train. Thus it had taken six hours to advance three
miles and to form in order of battle, and the immediate effect of
this delay was that Sheridan had now to deal, not only with Ramseur,
or with the two divisions counted on, but with the whole of Early's
army; for between five and six o'clock in the morning Gordon, Rodes,
and Wharton were all at Stephenson's, distant only five miles from
Winchester or from the field of battle, toward which they all moved
rapidly at the sound of the first firing, due to Wilson's advance.

Opequon Creek flows at the foot of a broad and thickly wooded gorge,
with high and steep banks. The ravine through which the Berryville
road rises to the level of the rolling plain, in the middle of
whose western edge stands Winchester, is nearly three miles long.
Here and there the high ground is covered with large oaks, pines,
and undergrowth, and is intersected by many brooks, called runs.
Of these the largest is Red Bud Run, which forms a smaller parallel
ravine flanking the defile on the north, while a still larger
stream, called Abraham's Creek, after pursuing a nearly parallel
course on the south side of the defile, crosses the road not far
from the ford, and just below it falls into the Opequon.

Wilson, after crossing the Opequon and completing his task of
covering the advance of the infantry through the defile, had turned
to the left on the high ground and taken post to cover the flank
on the Senseny road, which, after crossing the Opequon about a mile
and a quarter above the main ford, reaches the outskirts of Winchester
at a point little more than three hundred yards from the Berryville
road. The Sixth Corps formed across the Berryville road, Getty on
its left, Ricketts on its right. Getty rested his left on Abraham's
Creek. Behind him Russell stood in column in support. Emory
prolonged the line of battle to the Red Bud on the right by posting
Sharpe's and Birge's brigades of Grover, with Molineux and Shunk
in the second line, the 9th Connecticut deployed as skirmishers to
cover the right flank of Birge. Dwight'