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47 Army Hist. 1 (1999)

handle is hein.milandgov/aryhsy0047 and id is 1 raw text is: ARMY HISTORY ThE PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN OF ARMY HISTORY PB-26- 9- (No.47f %Na ,hinglon, D.C. .Spring-Suimmer 1999 Actions and Reactions The Spring 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign Revisted Ry Robert S. Ru,4h Maj. Gerr. Thoans J Stonewal Ijackso1 I8( 2 campaign tn Vrn mus Shenandoah Valley prolonged th hFe Cfth C federc ytwoin thre years Wihi a onc-momb penid he , onfedcri \ alky Army nevei reukding I th men. marched more that 200 tmle, toughI three batIte , and ne itr I d more than 7(000 Union soldaeon in a campign that cauOed the Federal fousto shftt. at least mnoerwnarily from the pemnsula formed by the York and imn Rier to the Shenandoah Valley Dnrng hi perIod Jackson look advantage of every opportunity in pursa mng his pIimary objective to keep Unon troops frmm remnforcing Maj. Len Gleorge H McClelan\ Army ot 1hw Potomac in tts drve on R aehrond. Virgama 1)ecisicns miade by t he Union's semnor ciilan leaders also co nbuted to General Jackson's sucess. II President A braham Lincoln and Sec etary of W ar Edwin Stanton had not infuenced the Federal military vtraregy in the s alley General McCleLn % Penansuta campawgn might have attained its strategic goal in sructions onsed by Secretary Stanton, not any vikio ries won by General Jack son, effectively stopped Maj. Gen Nahaniel P Banks' successful march up the valey toward Stanton mn Ari 1862. Jacksons sub- sequent military suc.cesses against Banks at I'ont Royal and Winchester are dirctlly attributable to Stanton's actions which reduced Banks' kirce F rom 23.00 soldiers at the begonning of May to tewer than 9. by 4Mr F r t eConfederates General R obent E Lees lit i ti hvy 3 e son ati I . tlt'Ed m a rt In ito the valley of 20.000 Union soldier who would have better sered the Federal cause by participaing in the bats around Richmond d M4 Gen. Iawin Mcl uwcloT hbeen adaiiable to LiClenan in lat May. General Joseph E Johnston and hi 60.000 soldiers of the Army of Nor themn Virginia would have faced a combined Union torceo otmore than 135,0 or an imbalance of roughly two to one flereating the Army t Northern Viginia would haeclearedthe way for General McClellan to take first Richmond and then all kfVir mia with its substantial populat on and induatial and agriultural onuput In that Case. the war might not have lasted another year. Theueo thetrele rphmade th Sh ndoah Vall cmpaingn one ofthe first in which civilian government officials could influence events almost Tnstantaneously, without openly eampCiuging them- secs As a byproduct. i's situation left a legacy of e Ieelent pnmary sources Published In the War a /the Reb< bowt A C ompihaumn vf ;he (4J wc urd afdwh U+nhrn wtd Congfderaie A lme w t hese communica- tions are the only soure s that were not modified to fit percepion or memory , as were after-action reports nd rsi I 'ount R ly mf on the ffi l erds and the p I ppers Of the pa ipant this article wil evaluate the effects of the messages reced by those involved in the Valle campatin and suggest how these direcives infuenced its course. The paper will com pare the understandag an mi riou of higher h Iaqi rerm wtht e ty of th bttl aeld arwa- tion Aniongihe signifcant challengesGeneralsBanks and Jackson faced was the need to balance reality with their superiors' perceptions Military campaigns arc not fought in vacuums The Shenandoah Valey campag a a prmer on hwindmdual of bte bartle- field can deisively influence a campaign. An Overview of the Eastern Theater In 21 April 1862 the AmericanCivi War wasjusr oer a year old. After the bloody hrst Battle of Manassas. fought between the c-prepared forces fa

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