26 to October 8, has been known to locals ever since as "the Burning" or "Red October". It encompassed the area of Harrisonburg, Port Republic, Staunton and Waynesboro. Sheridan claimed that when the destruction was completed, "the Valley, from Winchester up to Staunton, ninety-two miles [148 km], will have but little in it for man or beast." While this action achieved one of Grant's goals, Grant preferred attacks on the railroads that supplied Lee's army in Richmond. Early reinforced After Early's September 22 defeat at Fisher's Hill, he retreated up the valley (south) to Mount Jackson. On September 26, he was reinforced by the infantry division of Major General Joseph B. Kershaw, who also brought a battalion of artillery. More reinforcements arrived on October 5, when the Laurel Brigade of Brigadier General Thomas L. Rosser also joined Early and was combined with two other cavalry brigades to form a division commanded by Rosser. Early believed that the addition of Kershaw's Division (2,700 fighters), Rosser's Laurel Brigade (600 men), the artillery battalion, and the return of stragglers from the September battles almost made up for his losses at Winchester and Fisher's Hill. After much of "The Burning" was conducted, Sheridan's cavalry began moving north down the valley. The Confederate cavalries of Major General Lunsford L. Lomax and Rosser harassed Sheridan's rear guard. By October 8, Rosser's men were near the Union cavalry division commanded by Brigadier General George Custer, while Lomax was near the division commanded by Brigadier General Wesley Merritt. On that evening, an annoyed Sheridan told his cavalry commander, Brigadier General Alfred Torbert, to "whip the rebel cavalry or get whipped". On October 9, in the Battle of Tom's Brook, Custer and Merritt routed the Confederate cavalry in a battle that was described by Torbert as "the most decisive the country had every witnessed". Opposing forces Union In mid-October, the Army of the Shenandoah had 11 divisions plus artillery units, totaling about 31,610 effectives with 90 artillery pieces. A few days before the battle, Sheridan attended a meeting in Washington, and Major General Horatio Wright commanded the army in Sheridan's absence. The Union forces were divided into the following: VI Corps had three infantry divisions and an artillery brigade, and was commanded by Major General Horatio Wright. When Wright temporarily commanded the army during Sheridan's initial absence from the battle, the corps was commanded by Brigadier General James B.