Early, ever the cunning strategist, kept his force moving so as not to be trapped by Sheridan's vastly superior force. His raid had, if anything, a good deal of success for southern morale. Confederate General Robert E. Lee, coming to the conclusion that Early had done all that was practical, ordered Early to return two of his divisions to Richmond and remain to tie up Sheridan. Learning of this, Sheridan waited until Early weakened himself and then attacked at the Third Battle of Winchester on September 19 and then again at the Battle of Fisher's Hill on September 20–21. By the end of these battles, Early's force was effectively out of the war, and Sheridan proceeded with his secondary orders to destroy the ability of the Shenandoah Valley to produce foodstuffs for the Confederacy, torching farms and more than 2,000 mills.