achieved. Jackson issued his marching
orders for a withdrawal and set the valley
army in motion toward Strasburg, 45
miles from Charles Town.
The army strung out for more than 10
miles with captured wagons and more
than 2,000 Federal prisoners. The
Stonewall Brigade, which had closed on
Harper’s Ferry, had the farthest to tramp.
Rain hampered the march, but all in the
valley army could sense that speed was
essential to survival. Fortunately for the
Confederates, both Fremont and Shields
were timid. Shields took Front Royal but
remained there while Ord’s division
marched toward him from Fredericksburg
as reinforcement. Fremont was checked by
a demonstration by Ewell just west of
Strasburg. So Jackson won the race to
Strasburg on the 31st. Then he held the
gate open on June 1 for the Stonewall
Brigade, which one day marched 42 milesthrough rain and muddied roads, all with-
out food—one of the most extraordinary
such acts during the war.
Jackson had leaped through the jaws of
a closing vise, but he was not out of dan-
ger. The two forces opposing him were
both formidable; he had to continue his
retreat up the valley and determine some
way of thwarting Federal aims. He had
some idea from geography what these
would be. Likely, Fremont would pursue
up the western valley. Shields would march
up the Luray Valley. At Luray, Shields
might try to cross Massanutten Mountain
to get in Jackson’s rear or combine with
Fremont in the pursuit. Failing this, he
would likely march to Conrad’s Store and
Port Republic, covering exits from the val-
ley into the Piedmont and trapping Jack-
son in a vise, the other part of which was
Fremont, where Massanutten Mountain
gave out.Jackson sent men to burn the bridge at
Luray that crossed the South Fork of the
Shenandoah. Owing to all the rain, the
rivers were high and the loss of the bridge
would keep Shields on the east side of it,
thus unable to march westward over Mas-
sanutten Mountain. Later Jackson would
have the bridge at Conrad’s Store burned
also, further keeping Shields on the east
side of the river and again thwarting any
linkup with Fremont. South of the bridge
at Conrad’s Store there was only one other,
at Port Republic. Up the valley from this
town, armies could ford the tributaries and
join as they pleased. If Jackson was to keep
Fremont and Shields apart, he had to con-
trol the bridge at Port Republic; so here heABOVE: Pennsylvania “Bucktails” engage South-
erners outside of Harrisonburg as the Rebels are
retiring up the valley on June 6. It was in this
fight that Turner Ashby, Jackson’s cavalry leader,
was killed.Q-Spr16 Shenandoah_Layout 1 1/14/16 12:29 PM Page 86