Campaign Year Description:
In the summer of 1863, Gen. Robert E. Lee made the Shenandoah Valley an “avenue of advance” for his invasion of the north. He selected the Valley due to its obvious advantages. The Shenandoah Valley’s bounteous farms and ample goods were a welcome respite for Lee’s long-suffering Army of Northern Virginia. The Valley supplied his army with vital food stuffs, horses and animal stock.
But more importantly, Lee used the Blue Ridge—the mountain range on the eastern side of the Valley—to screen his army from Federal eyes thus avoiding a general engagement until he and his troops were ready. The Valley was a natural avenue of advance that led perfectly to the Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania where Lee hoped to draw the Federal army away from war-weary Virginia. During the advance, Confederate Gen. Richard Ewell defeated a small Federal force at the Second Battle of Winchester in mid-June, clearing the way for Lee to move north.
After the stinging defeat at Gettysburg, the Confederates crossed the Potomac at Williamsport and once again found safety and provisions in the Shenandoah Valley as the Army of Northern Virginia regrouped and amassed vital supplies.
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