[58]

Army of the Shenandoah[edit]
George Crook was Hayes's commander and the namesake of his fourth son
The division spent the following winter and spring near Charleston, Virginia (present-day West Virginia), out of contact with the enemy.[59] Hayes saw little action until July 1863, when the division skirmished with John Hunt Morgan's cavalry at the Battle of Buffington Island.[60] Returning to Charleston for the rest of the summer, Hayes spent the fall encouraging the men of the 23rd Ohio to reenlist, and many did.[61] In 1864, the Army command structure in West Virginia was reorganized, and Hayes's division was assigned to George Crook's Army of West Virginia.[61] Advancing into southwestern Virginia, they destroyed Confederate salt and lead mines there.[62] On May 9, they engaged Confederate troops at Cloyd's Mountain, where Hayes and his men charged the enemy entrenchments and drove the rebels from the field.[62] Following the rout, the Union forces destroyed Confederate supplies and again successfully skirmished with the enemy.[62]
Hayes and his brigade moved to the Shenandoah Valley for the Valley Campaigns of 1864. 