Valley Campaign

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Stonewall Jackson

Jackson's Valley Campaign
1st Kernstown – McDowell – Princeton Courthouse – Front Royal – 1st Winchester – Cross Keys – Port Republic

The Valley Campaign was Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's brilliant spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Employing audacity and lightning movements, Jackson's 17,000 men won several minor battles and successfully engaged three Union armies (over 60,000 men), preventing them from reinforcing the Union offensive against Richmond.

1 Background
2 Initial movements
3 Battles
4 Aftermath
5 References

[edit] Background

The spring of 1862 was one of anxiety for the Confederacy. They had seen their prospects in the successful summer of 1861 (particularly the First Battle of Bull Run) decline quickly. Union armies in the Western Theater, under Ulysses S. Grant and others, captured Southern territory and won significant battles at Fort Donelson and Shiloh. And in the East, Major General George B. McClellan's massive Army of the Potomac was approaching Richmond from the southeast in the Peninsula Campaign, Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell's large corps was poised to hit Richmond from the north, and Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks's army was threatening the Shenandoah Valley. The performance of Jackson in the Valley that spring helped derail the Union plans and reenergized Confederate morale.

[edit] Initial movements

In November 1861, Jackson commanded the Valley District, with his headquarters at Winchester. Jackson, recently a professor at Virginia Military Institute and suddenly a hero at First Bull Run, was familiar with the valley terrain, having lived there most of his life. His command included the Stonewall Brigade and a variety of militia units. In December, Jackson was reinforced by Brigadier General William W. Loring and 6,000 troops, but his combined force was insufficient for offensive operations. While Banks remain north of the Potomac River, Jackson's cavalry commander, Col. Turner Ashby, raided the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Jackson fought inconclusively with two small union posts at Romney and Bath.

Banks reacted by crossing the Potomac in late February and moving south to protect the canal and railroad from Ashby. Jackson's command was operating as the left wing of Joseph E. Johnston's army, and when Johnston moved from Manassas to Culpeper in March, Jackson's position at Winchester was isolated. On March 12, 1862, Banks continued his advance to the southwest ("up the Valley") and occupied Winchester. Jackson had withdrawn up the Valley Pike to Strasburg. Banks's orders, as part of the overall strategy for the Peninsula Campaign, were to move farther south and drive Jackson from the Valley. After accomplishing this, he was to withdraw to a position nearer Washington, D.C. A strong advance force under Brigadier General James Shields began the movement south from Winchester on March 17, about the same time that McClellan began his amphibious movement to the Virginia Peninsula.

Jackson's orders from Johnston were to avoid general combat because he was seriously outnumbered, but at the same time he was to keep Banks occupied enough to prevent the detachment of troops to reinforce McClellan on the Peninsula. As Shields advanced on Strasburg, Jackson withdrew to Mount Jackson, leaving behind a cavalry screen. The Union cavalry erroneously reported to Shields that Jackson had fled from the Valley. Banks concluded that the first part of his mission—to eject Jackson from the Valley—had been accomplished, and he proceeded to move east, back to the vicinity of Washington. Jackson was dismayed at this movement because Banks was doing what Jackson had been directed to prevent.

On March 22, Ashby's cavalry skirmished with outposts that Shields had left at Kernstown, just south of Winchester, and reported to Jackson that there was only a weak union force in the area, fewer than four regiments. In actuality, Shields's force was a full infantry division of almost 9,000 men, much stronger than Jackson's 3,400.

[edit] Battles

Valley Campaign: Kernstown to McDowell

First Battle of Kernstown (March 23, 1862): The Federals, commanded in Shields's absence by Col. Nathan Kimball, stopped Jackson's advance at Kernstown and then counterattacked, turning Jackson’s left flank and forcing him to retreat. Jackson had operated on faulty intelligence that the Federals had fewer men at Kernstown than were present. This was a tactical defeat for Jackson. But it was a strategic victory for the Confederacy, forcing President Abraham Lincoln to keep Banks's forces in the Valley and McDowell's 30,000-man corps near Fredericksburg, subtracting about 50,000 soldiers from McClellan's invasion force. Also, three separate commands were created (one under McDowell, one under Banks, and one under newly arrived Major General John C. Frémont). This meant that there was no single military officer to coordinate their strategic actions, a situation which proved fatal for the Union armies.

Battle of McDowell (May 8 to May 9, 1862): Jackson combined Richard S. Ewell's large division and Major General Edward "Allegheny" Johnson's small division, bringing his forces to 17,000. He marched on a devious route (see map) to West View, hoping to mask his intentions. Meanwhile, Frémont decided to advance on Staunton, Virginia, and ordered Brigadier General Robert H. Milroy to prepare his brigade at McDowell for that campaign. Had Frémont and Banks combined, Jackson's forces would have been overwhelmed. Therefore, Jackson decided to attack the Union forces piecemeal, first attacking those at McDowell—the brigades of Milroy and Robert C. Schenck. At McDowell on May 8, while Jackson was looking for an opportunity to cross the river and envelop the Union force, Milroy seized the initiative and assaulted the Confederate position on Sitlington’s Hill. The Federals were repulsed after severe fighting, lasting four hours. Afterwards, Milroy and Schenck withdrew to Franklin, setting forest fires to delay any Confederate pursuit.

Following Jackson's victory at McDowell, there was a two-week lull in combat while forces repositioned and Jackson tried to determine the best way to prevent Banks from leaving the Valley and reinforcing Irvin McDowell or McClellan. Robert E. Lee, military advisor to Jefferson Davis, caused some command confusion by communicating directly with Ewell, bypassing Jackson and Johnston (the overall commander in the theater), and urging him to attack Banks's line of communication. Ewell's orders from Jackson had been to take up a position at Swift Run Gap and counter any advance by Banks. While this disagreement was being worked out, Banks sent Shields and his division to reinforce Irvin McDowell's forces at Fredericksburg, leaving Banks only 8,000 troops, which he relocated to a strong position at Strasburg, Virginia. He detached about 1,000 men under Col. John R. Kenly to Front Royal to watch for a potential Confederate attack in the Luray Valley. Johnston ordered Ewell to leave the Valley to react to Shields's departure, but a combination of Jackson and Lee convinced him that a potential victory in the Valley had more immediate importance than countering Shields.

Valley Campaign: Front Royal to Port Republic

On May 21, Jackson marched his command east from New Market, combining with Ewell, and proceeded (northward) down the Luray Valley. Their speed of forced marching was typical of the campaign and earned his infantrymen the nickname of "Jackson's foot cavalry". He sent Ashby's cavalry directly north to make Banks think that he was going to attack Strasburg, but his plan was to defeat Kenly's small outpost at Front Royal and quickly attack Banks's line of communication at Harpers Ferry.

Battle of Front Royal (May 23, 1862): Confederate forces, spearheaded by the "Louisiana Tigers" Brigade and the 1st Maryland Infantry, surprised and overran the pickets of the 1,000-man Union garrison at Front Royal. Driven through the town, the Federals made a stand on Camp Hill and again at Guard Hill after attempting to fire the river bridges. Outnumbered and outflanked, Kenly continued the retreat to Cedarville, where two cavalry charges led by Col. Thomas L. Flournoy broke the roadblock and routed the Union force. Nearly 900 Federals surrendered. Jackson’s victory at Front Royal forced the Union army under Banks at Strasburg into a rapid retreat towards Winchester early on May 24. Although Jackson attempted to pursue, his troops were exhausted and looted Union supply trains, which slowed them down immensely. One column was behind schedule when it reached Middletown, just after Banks's vulnerable column had passed.

First Battle of Winchester (May 25, 1862): After skirmishing with Banks’s retreating army at Middletown and Newtown on May 24, Jackson’s division continued north on the Valley Pike toward Winchester. There, Banks was attempting to reorganize his army to defend the town. Ewell’s division converged on Winchester from the southeast using the Front Royal Pike. On May 25, Ewell attacked Camp Hill, while the Louisiana Brigade of Jackson’s division outflanked and overran the Union position on Bowers Hill. Panic spread through the Federal ranks, and many fled through Winchester. Banks’s army was soundly defeated and withdrew north across the Potomac River. Jackson attempted pursuit but was unsuccessful.

The Washington politicians, reacting to Banks's ejection from the Valley, made a fatal mistake. Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton decided that the defeat of Jackson was an immediate priority (even though Jackson's orders were solely to keep Union forces occupied away from Richmond). They ordered Irvin McDowell to send 20,000 men (under Shields and Maj. Gen. Edward Ord) to Front Royal and Frémont to move to Harrisonburg. If both forces could converge at Strasburg, Jackson's only escape route up the Valley would be cut. The immediate repercussion of this move was to abort McDowell's coordinated attack with McClellan on Richmond.

On May 30, Jackson left the Stonewall Brigade to keep Banks in check north of the Potomac, while he withdrew from Harpers Ferry. Although both Shields and Frémont were closer to Strasburg than Jackson, they proceeded slowly. Shields recaptured Front Royal from a small Confederate force and then dawdled without explicit orders; Frémont was delayed by Ashby's cavalry and did not press forward vigorously; both were delayed by poor roads, while Jackson's troops had the use of the Valley Pike. Jackson was able to escape Strasburg on June 1 before the Union forces could trap him.

On June 2, Union forces pursued Jackson—McDowell up the Luray Valley and Frémont up the Valley Pike. Banks crossed the Potomac and followed. For the next five days, frequent clashes occurred between Turner Ashby's cavalry (screening the rear of Jackson's march) and lead Union cavalry. A single Union cavalry brigade reached the rear guard of Jackson's column and routed it, but Ashby rallied up some survivors and held the guard back. He also burned some bridges across the South Fork of the Shenandoah River, delaying the Union pursuit and keeping Shields's and Frémont's forces separated. When contact was reestablished on June 6, Ashby was killed on Chestnut Ridge near Harrisonburg in a skirmish with Frémont. This was a significant loss for the Confederacy since Ashby (the "Black Knight") was one of its most promising cavalry generals.

Jackson's army took up defensive positions in Cross Keys and Port Republic, where the final battles would be fought over two days. On June 8, a raid by Shields's cavalry on Port Republic almost captured the Confederate trains and Jackson himself.

Battle of Cross Keys (June 8, 1862): Frémont's army encountered Ewell’s division at Cross Keys on June 8. Brig. Gen. Julius Stahel’s brigade, attacking on the Union left, was stunned by a surprise volley from Isaac R. Trimble's command and driven back in confusion. After feeling out other parts of the Confederate line, Frémont withdrew under protection of his batteries. Jackson resisted a full assault on Frémont; his close call with the cavalry on June 8 convinced him that Shields was the more serious threat. The next day, Trimble’s and John M. Patton’s brigades held Frémont back, while the rest of Ewell’s force crossed the river to assist in the defeat of Brig. Gen. Erastus B. Tyler's command at Port Republic.

Battle of Port Republic (June 9, 1862): Jackson concentrated his forces east of the South Fork of the Shenandoah against the isolated brigades of Erastus Tyler and Samuel Carroll of Shields’s division (Tyler was commanding in Shields's absence). Confederate assaults across the bottomland were repulsed with heavy casualties, but a flanking column turned the Union left flank. Union counterattacks failed to reestablish the line, and Tyler was forced to retreat. Confederate forces at Cross Keys marched to join Jackson at Port Republic, burning the North River Bridge behind them. Frémont's army arrived too late to assist Tyler and Carroll, and they watched helplessly from across the rain-swollen river.

[edit] Aftermath

After Jackson's victories at Cross Keys and Port Republic, the Union forces were withdrawn. Jackson joined Lee on the Virginia Peninsula for the Seven Days Battles (where he delivered an uncharacteristically lethargic performance, perhaps because of the strains of the Valley Campaign). He had accomplished his mission, withholding over 50,000 needed troops from McClellan (who felt that the Confederate Army outnumbered him, although the entire Army of Northern Virginia had about 60,000, including Jackson). With the success of his Valley Campaign, Stonewall Jackson became the most celebrated soldier in the Confederacy (until he was eventually eclipsed by Lee), and his victories lifted the morale of the public. In a classic military campaign of surprise and maneuver, he pressed his army to travel 646 miles (1,040 km) in 48 days of marching and won five significant victories with a force of about 17,000 against a combined force of 60,000.

On the Union side, a command shakeup resulted from the embarrassing defeat by a smaller force. McDowell's corps remained in the Valley, with only one division (under George A. McCall) able to join McClellan on the Peninsula. Lincoln was disillusioned by the command difficulties of controlling multiple forces in this campaign and created a single new army, the Army of Virginia, under Maj. Gen. John Pope, incorporating the units of Banks, Frémont, McDowell, and several smaller ones from around Washington and western Virginia. This army was soundly defeated by Lee and Jackson in the Northern Virginia Campaign and the Second Battle of Bull Run.