A

rguably the most celebrated cam-

paign feat of arms of the Ameri-

can Civil War is that of Stonewall

Jackson in the Shenandoah Val-

ley in May and early June 1862.

Others might vie for honors: Grant’s risky

marches and battles to invest Vicksburg

from the east; Sherman’s dislodging of

Johnston down the Western & Atlantic

Railroad to Atlanta in 1864. These and

others have their adherents, but Jackson’s

accomplishment remains an acme. He

was surrounded by larger armies, but at

every point of attack he possessed numer-

ical superiority; he used geography

superbly; and he exceeded almost beyond

hopes the strategic aspirations of his com-

manding officer and national president.

Jackson was by turns crafty and lucky.

Most of his Shenandoah Valley campaign

was improvised; his genius was in devising

shrewd solutions to shifting problems. He

made mistakes, but he learned from them,

and if he did not put the lessons he learned

to use in the valley, then he did so during

the year that remained to his life. The chief

brilliance of his spring valley campaign was

that he saw inaction and the status quo as

defeat. He would not accept the situation

as it presented itself. He had to change it,

and radically. In this, he was like Grant

across the river from Vicksburg, or Lee

behind fortifications at Richmond in June

1862. The prevailing condition would only
      lead to frontal assaults, great loss of life,
      and no guarantee of success. The remedy
      was movement, to win battles not by the
      breasts of men presented in line of battle
      but by marching feet. And like Grant and
      Lee in their own situations, Jackson was
      faced by commanders who expected their
      opponent to accept the prevailing condi-
      tion, who were not expecting movement,
      or at least of the radical kind Jackson—or
      Grant and Lee—set into motion.
      No one can now “get into” or discern
      Jackson’s mind. For that matter, no one
      really could in 1862 either and not a few
      observers, including many of his footsol-
      diers and some immediate subordinates,

The Valentine Richmond History Center 79

Stonewall Jackson rides

into Winchester after

defeating the Yankees

south of the town. He was

given a hero’s welcome. His

star would rise even higher

as he continued his string

of victories through the

Shenadoah Valley.

Jackson

CONFOUNDS

THE YANKEES

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