Shenandoah Valley

Immortalized in song, not to mention photo essays and painting, the Shenandoah Valley nestles between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. Massanutten Mountain, now a popular ski resort, divides the countryside into two narrow valleys between Harrisonburg and Strasburg. Otherwise, the Shenandoah Valley runs a diagonal course from southeast to northwest. Its beauty provides poetic counterpoint for the vital role in American history played by the Valley Turnpike. One of the longest all-weather graded roadways in North America, constructed in the 1840s, the macadam surface enabled troops to move quickly during the Civil War.

Stonewall Jackson said, “I have only to say this – that if this Valley is lost, Virginia is lost.” The Shenandoah Valley proved to be a key element in both Confederate invasions of the North. After defeats along the Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Md. in Sept. 1862, and at Gettysburg in July 1863, Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate troops used the Valley Turnpike to withdraw and to regroup.

The Federal High Command realized the importance of the Valley. In May of 1864, near New Market, Union Troops led by Gen. Franz Sigel met with resounding defeat. Gen. David Hunter took over with some success until he encountered Jackson’s old corps under the command of Gen. Jubal S. Early. Early used the “Avenue of Invasion” to march into Maryland and onto the gates of the Federal capitol.

It took Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to insist on a force large enough to be deployed to destroy Early and his Confederate troops. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan commanded the army that finally secured the Valley and prevented it from feeding Lee’s troops at Petersburg. When Washington, D.C. was no longer threatened, Union forces concentrated on the final push against Petersburg.