Civil War series - Episode 2 - Jackson in the Shenandoah

oh daughter of the stars the indians called it and shenandoah it has been known as ever since behind me is the great valley of virginia and all of its splendor and beauty yet in 1862 it became a battlefield and the southern general defending it became immortal i'm james robertson and blue ridge public television and i cordially invite you to watch jackson in the shenandoah [Music] jackson shenandoah valley extended from stanton 125 miles north to the potomac river the eastern border of the valley was the picturesque blue ridge range to the west were the imposing alleghenies in average width the valley was 30 miles the shenandoah extended in the northeasterly direction it was like a spear aimed at the very heart of the north and for the confederacy it could be a line of advance a line of communication as well as a line of retreat of equal importance to the confederacy with the agricultural holdings here in the valley it was a veritable bread basket for the confederacy horses livestock poultry corn wheat orchards all were raised here in tremendous abundance so that the army of northern virginia the confederacy's premier army literally depended upon the valley for its livelihood in the spring of 1862 the days of the young southern confederacy seemed numbered indeed the north had secured maryland kentucky and missouri out in the west general u.s grant had seized fort henry and donaldson and was driving through west tennessee on the atlantic coast union forces that occupied one oak island north carolina in port orioles south carolina and in virginia george b mcclellan was leading the largest army ever seen in the western hemisphere and the union offensive up the virginia peninsula toward the confederate capital in command of the confederate forces with general joseph johnston at manassas but johnston outflanked and outmanned had given up northern virginia and was falling back rapidly to the aid of richmond in short nothing remained in virginia to stop this union offensive with one man who was in charge of the shenandoah valley of virginia he was 150 miles away he was unknown unheralded but he was about to make history and the campaign so brilliant that it is still taught at military academies around the world [Music] so much loneliness and sadness marked his childhood that he would not talk about it in later years such was the start in life of thomas jonathan jackson he was born in january 1824 in the village of clarksburg nestled in the mountains of what was then northwestern virginia his father an impoverished attorney died when tom was two years old a wife and three children were left destitute when the lad was seven his mother gave him away to other members of the jackson clan the mother died shortly thereafter with her passing young jackson lost the one anchor the one sanctuary he had to have in an unstable existence tom jackson spent his youth on the family estate at jackson's mill a dozen miles south of clarksburg a bachelor uncle cummings jackson was his guardian the unscrupulous money-conscious uncle gave him a home instructions and a number of farm chores and a methodical way of life for 11 important years they often received security what he never got was the love so basic to the growing years of life only to a younger sister often to an uncle in aunt some distance away did jackson express terms of endearment in 1842 somewhat by default he gained an appointment to the u.s military academy jackson was anxious to go the school offered a free education it had one of the finest engineering curricula available and it would likely be the only opportunity jackson would have to make something of himself the mountain often was poorly prepared for the academic demands of west point jackson initially appeared to have little chance of surviving the first year studies yet the tall heavyset but bumpkin-like figure applied himself with a determination that caught the attention of everyone at the academy jackson studied day and night he had no time for friendships and took no part in social activities his four years as a cadet turned on one of his favorite axioms you may be whatever you will resolve to be not only did jackson graduate in the famous class of 1846 he stood 17th among 59 classmates faculty and cadets alike insisted that if the curriculum had lasted one more year thomas jackson would have graduated first in his class determination became jackson's hallmark the mexican war immediately summoned the young artillery officer he quickly demonstrated that the military was his true vocation and wore his natural element jackson won three brevet promotions for gallantry in the field during a six-month period at the age of 23 he was one of the most decorated american soldiers in mexico in the law of peacetime army life that followed jackson sought a religious denomination with which he could comfortably exercise an increasingly burning devotion to god he also worried about a host of physical problems some genuine others imagined he became an exercise buff before calisthenics was fashionable jackson's idea's own diet was severe but faithfully followed he once told the startled hostess that he never used pepper because it made his left leg itch jackson's life took a major turn in 1851 when the 27 year old major accepted an offer to join the faculty at a fledgling academy located in lexington at the southern end of the shenandoah valley the school was called the virginia military institute in this second floor room in the barracks at vmi stonewall jackson for 10 years taught a course called natural philosophy and optics which was an unnatural mixture of just about everything physics chemistry astronomy magnetism and the like for 10 years he taught young teenagers who as freshmen and sophomores ridiculed him belittled him as a poor professor but as juniors and seniors came to see the greatness that was in the man many of these boys would later serve unto him a large number died for him so many vmi graduates were with jackson as he prepared to make the great attack at chancellorsville that the journal was heard to say the institute will be heard from today and it was jackson remains the living symbol of virginia military institute and all for which it stands [Music] jackson and vmi are intertwined almost into one being this is evident in the displays at the institute's on-campus museum lieutenant colonel keith gibson is director of museums as well as a helpful friend to every serious historian who seeks his help professor jackson wore this blue virginia militia officers uniform as all did all the faculty at bmi in the pre-war years this particular one has a added significance and the fact that it is also the one jackson wore on that day that uh he earned his celebrated nickname he in the brigade uh indicated by the uh regular generals straps which have been added to the shoulders of course that's not confederate regulation but it's the regulation that jackson as a former united states officer would have been most familiar with chris jackson spent many hours laboring as did his students at this old blackboard from his section room in the barracks during jackson's celebrated valley campaign he was seeing often on the battlefields wearing this uh dilapidated kepi perhaps made by mrs jackson at least jedi hotchkiss thought that mrs jackson made this keppy but of course the item the most poignant item perhaps is the raincoat that jackson was wearing on that fateful late evening of the second of may at chancellorsville as he went to examine the disposition of his troops across the field after his very successful flank march and attack of the union right flank jackson was leaving his headquarters when one of his staff officers suggested he might put on this old slicker because jackson had been indicating that he might not be feeling well and it was a damper and mist in the air so jackson wears this coat as he marches off on little sorrel and his staff and to the front of his lines in his uh has the unfortunate mishap of coming back down the road when he's fired upon by his uh his own pickets from north carolina that are in the line the coat still carries the scars of that moment with the bullet hole in the upper left sleeve and one down closer to the wrist ultimately the coach is returned to mrs jackson through general lee who by this time is here living here in lexington general lee recognizes the coat and says i've seen jackson wear it on many occasions and it is lee who then presents the code to mrs jackson ultimately returning here to vmi genuine happiness comes from turning a house into a home jackson had but one home in his adult life located in lexington it is now wonderfully preserved by the stonewall jackson foundation whose director is hardworking and congenial michael ann lynn this was already an old house when the jacksons purchased it it had been built around 1800 with a large stone addition that was put on in the mid part of the century jackson and anna moved in in early 1859 and had a little over two years here together nine months of which they were probably alone together in the house the rest of the time they were traveling up north or seeking medical treatment or entertaining family who came for visits a childhood home and family love are basic foundations of life thomas jackson had neither in the real sense on the existence of an orphan in the mountains of western virginia he would go on to west point a lonely boy win his fame in the mexican war and in 1851 he came here to lexington virginia here in the parlor of this home he and his second wife with no joys the likes of which had never before touched his life [Music] jackson knew pathetically little about adult or civilian life when he came to lexington and his rube ways his country style habits quickly caused him to be labeled an oddball here in lexington but it was here in this town that he learned social graces that he learned for example which fork to use for what when to use this knife how to use that spoon he found an established worship the presbyterian church he became an astute businessman serving on the board of directors of more than one corporation in this town and in the ten years that he was in lexington he quickly matriculated if you will from an eccentric former army officer into a good citizen and a good christian on sunday afternoon april 21st 1861 jackson led the vmi corps of cadets from lexington to richmond the young cadets were to serve as drill masters for the thousands of eagle recruits flooding into the state capitol jackson gained appointment as a confederate colonel his first assignment was to take charge of the post at harpers ferry it was the northernmost point of the confederate states the site of a famous arsenal the junction of the shenandoah and potomac rivers and the entrance into the strategically vital shenandoah valley jackson's small force consisted of everything from gaudy militia to enthusiastic recruits to bewildered teenage volunteers yet with calm authority and infectious self-assurance he soon brought order where chaos had been late in may jackson received appointment as commander of all virginia soldiers in the lower valley subsequent organization of those units produced what initially was called the first brigade of virginia promotion to brigadier general came to jackson on the eve of the opening major battle of the civil war that collision took place in northern virginia along bull run at a place called manassas on a hot sunday in mid-july jackson's brigade took position on a hilltop commanding the entire southern position when union soldiers broke through the first line of confederate defenders and swept up the hill in anticipation of victory southern general bernard b sought to inspire his faltering troops by shouting look men thou stands jackson like a stone wall valley behind the virginians confederate success and an immortal nickname were the results of the bible yet the shy unpretentious former professor did not capture the popular imagination of a war hero of that day he continued to be a virtual unknown in the war for several months to come late in 1861 jackson was elevated to major general and assigned to command all confederate defenses in the shenandoah valley he welcomed the new appointment to that part of virginia closest to his heart quickly he made his way to his new headquarters at winchester this historic trading center was virtually key to control of the northern end of the valley for half of the year to come winchester would be jackson's adopted home he initially made his headquarters at the taylor hotel in the center of town when the clouds became too large and too noisy jackson accepted the invitation to move into a private home several blocks away near the end of a residential street his wife joined him for most of the winter months if only i had my little woman here jackson wrote in the autumn of 1861 but through the blessings of another kind heavenly father i am quite comfortable here this is alta vista the home of colonel louis t moore who had served under jackson at the battle of first manassas where he had received a serious leg wound when jackson arrived at winchester in november 1861 colonel moore still recuperating from his injury graciously offered him the hospitality of this his home it was basically a cottage t-shaped three rooms downstairs three rooms upstairs it was only one block off the main thoroughfare it was two blocks from where anna would come to live when she arrived in winchester and it was very close to the fairgrounds where the major confederate encampments were located all in all it was an ideal headquarters for the man who had charge of the shenandoah valley this is jackson's headquarters room at alta vista the lewis moore residence it was here in the winner of 61 and 62 that he faced the heavy responsibilities thrust upon him by the confederate government his duties in the valley were one he had to protect the valley from infusion by federal forces and secondly should such forces come into the valley jackson had to block them from leaving the shenandoah and going to the help of general george b mcclellan and the major union army then threatening richmond on the surface it seems so absolutely impossible jackson had three thousand men and he was facing a union army in excess of thirty eight thousand and yet as jackson wrote a friend on march 3rd 1862 if this valley is lost virginia is lost and determination was going to be jackson's major virtue as a military officer an 18th century philosopher once commented that a good horse was the noblest conquest man has ever made famous mounts were commonplace in the civil war lee had his traveler mcclellan his daniel webster grant his cincinnati jackson too had a favorite behind me is the general's most constant companion in the war this is little saul the favorite of the four animals that jackson rode he obtained the horse from a dozen seas from a baltimore and ohio railroad train at harpers ferry in the first weeks of the war jackson intended to give the horse to his wife but after riding it once a bonding occurred between horse and rider the animal initially was called fancy but the one in all it became little sorrow it was a durable animal one of the fastest in all of the confederate armies immune to bottle noises it bolted only once in the civil war and that came when jackson was mortally wounded by his own men the horse lived to the age of 36 only three years younger than jackson and at its death all the flags here at vmi went to half-mast in tribute one of the most spectacular military campaigns of all time began in march 1862 when a large union army moved into the valley and forced jackson to abandon winchester the confederate general took his men southward up the shining door to the vicinity of mount jackson his responsibilities continued to be twofold to block any federal advance into the heart of the shenandoah and if possible to prevent the enemy there from reinforcing general george b mcclellan's army then moving on richmond ten days after occupying winchester federals gave indication of withdrawing from the valley jackson wasted no time in putting his outman force in motion the enemy must be contained if not defeated marching hard through sleet and rain the confederates retraced their steps until they came to the hamnet of kearnstown just south of winchester hill was one of many instances in the civil war when the village became a battleground and the front yard was turned into a killing field robert glass was a virginia militia officer on duty in march 1862 when the battle of kearnstown began he had no idea that his home immediately behind me would become the western edge for the bottle at kearnstown on sunday afternoon around two o'clock march 23rd jackson in his column halted here at kernstown he had led his men 31 miles in 40 hours only about 3 000 had withstood the trip it was overcast and cold the roads were muddy the men were tired and yet they stopped because federal cannon atop pritchett's hill were contesting his advance on winchester jackson faced a number of problems here the first was it was sunday the lord's day and jackson deeply respected the sabbath but he concluded it was best to launch an attack now and if he could gain victory it would be a triumph for the lord in order to combat the obstacle of pritchett's hill jackson decided to send his men straight west and try and take command of a low heavily wooded elevation known as sand ridge if he could get that he could then flank the union column get behind pritchett's hill and march directly on winchester far on the union right flank was one of the key positions on the kernstown field it was a stone wall originally built to divide pasture land now whoever controlled the wall had a strong advantage on the battlefield the 37th virginia made a dash for the wall so did the 110th pennsylvania the virginians won the race and according to jackson opened a destructive fire which drove back the northern forces in great disorder union reinforcements soon forced the virginians to fall back by then bloodstains coated both sides of what had been an innocent stone barrier today 130 years later this is all that is left of the stone wall it stands silent inside the woods gentle rain lapping over the stones but here was a scene of great sacrifice and heroism on the part of american boys north and south this stonewall or what is left of it serves as a reminder of a great war and of such it should be preserved as much as possible for future generations to see jackson discovered too late that he was heavily outnumbered at kearnstown when his left flight gave way for want of ammunition he abandoned the field three hours of fighting produced almost thirteen hundred casualties with confederates suffering the higher percentage as the attacking force usually does yet jackson's tactical failure became a strategic success his little band of three thousand men had struck with such force that shields was convinced a full fifteen thousand man division had attacked him he so informed washington officials federal divisions were there upon order to remain in the shenandoah to guard against another thrust from the unpredictable jackson while the valley had once been a buffer zone it now became a major theater of operations jackson fell back up the valley the conrad store east of harrisonburg and known today as elkton the position was at the southern end of the massanutten mountain this imposing barrier stretched 50 miles from harrisonburg to strasbourg and actually divided the valley into two separate parts for most of april while jackson strengthened his forces and developed a master plan federal units threatened from three different directions general nathaniel p banks with the largest army advanced southward along the valley turnpike some 40 000 union soldiers were at fredericksburg and poised to head into the valley from the east in the allegheny mountains two ranges to the west were general john c fremont and fifteen thousand more federals jackson was not detained by the situation his hope was to keep banks in fremont west of the blue ridge mountains the easternmost range of the alleghenies and isolated from one another at the same time the southern commander wanted to hold general irvine mcdowell's full core at fredericksburg and stop it from moving either on richmond or into the valley to do all of this jackson was facing almost 10 to 1 odds in manpower his task seemed hopeless yet old jack felt that deception hard marches and unexpected attacks delivered in strength would accomplish his goals as for the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy he would petition god to handle that problem near the end of april jackson got what he needed most reinforcements general richard ewell's division of 8 000 confederates headed toward jackson's basic conrad store another 2 000 southerners under general edward johnson were guarding the mountain passes west of stampin that town was the only railroad link between the valley and richmond stanton was also a major supply depot and as vital to control of the southern end of the shenandoah as winchester was to the northern end word came to jackson in the last week of april that at least a portion of fremont's command was advancing towards stanton through the mountains to the west leaving ewell to watch banks activity in the valley jackson secretly moved his command to stanton and then began a hard 35-mile march over the mountains to the village of mcdowell there he expected to confront the van of fremont's force namely 4 000 union soldiers under general robert milroy a slim sullen sale officer in his mid-40s and a man of military experience mcdowell was 35 miles west of stanton and there the federal army had stopped a mile away from mcdowell and 600 feet straight up atop sitlington's hill where we now are stonewall jackson gathered his forces on this knoll inside the village of mcdowell general milroy first caught sight of the confederate smashing atop distant sidlington's hill mill roy was not a professional soldier and he quickly fell victim to reports that the confederates were dragging cannon up to the distant heights rather than wait to be assaulted miller determined that he would attack on his own launch an assault with the hope of buying time until he could either receive reinforcements or get out of what he considered the death trap in mcdowell his target those distant heights and the precipitous ground that stood between him and the confederates no more improbable sight for a battle existed than that which was fought at mcdowell that spring day of 1862. certainly here in the east no soldiers ever scaled more steeper heights than did these midwestern boys serving under milroy for 600 feet they had to come straight up right into the face of concentrated confederate fire one confederate officer was led later to say such gallantry deserved a better fate mcdowell was strictly an infantry fight neither calvary nor artillery played a major role here i am standing in the middle of the confederate battle line this sector manned by the 12th georgia no earthworks were available the georgians stood at the lip of the hill shooting downhill at the attacking federals yet the confederates did not realize that from the edge of the wall of the hill they were silhouetted against the sky and hence easy targets for the federals for two hours the fighting rage much of it hand-to-hand general edward johnson went down seriously wounded in the foot a virginia colonel rallied his men when the line was about to break by shouting remember men you are virginians do not let them take your soil around six o'clock that evening the lions fell apart in mutual exhaustion and the battle of mcdowell ended this is the hall house in the middle of mcdowell here on may 8 1862 general miller had his headquarters here on may 9th 1862 general jackson had his headquarters it was from this home early that morning that jackson sent a cryptic message to richmond god blessed our arms with victory at mcniel yesterday confederate authorities immediately hastened to look at maps to discover where jackson and mcdowell were the bottle of mcniel lasted from 4 p.m until nightfall although federals inflicted twice as many casualties as they suffered they could not shatter jackson's lines milroy left the field under cover of darkness jackson gave pursuit for several days meanwhile confederate engineers closed the mountain passes thus protecting jackson's western flank in the southern half of the shenandoah nion jackson was ready to clear the enemy from all of the valley thanks in large part to his map maker major jedi hodgkiss jackson could discuss valet terrain as easily as he could quote scripture he knew that it was 80 miles on the macadamia valley turnpike from stanton to winchester the major line of transportation in the shenandoah at the time was the famed valley turnpike begun in 1834 the road stretched from winchester to stanton it was a two-lane machotomized pike paved 18 feet wide with pulverized limestone packed tightly to make the road impervious to rain road shoulders were two feet wide on each side not only was the pike double laned which was exceedingly rare for that time it was also unusually level no grade exceeded three degrees further and in more contrast to other roads then in use east of the mississippi river the turn pike ran straight for miles of the cliff the seven mile section between newmarket and marseille contained one curve open for traffic in 1840 the turnpike was an engineering wonder for that age east of that main thoroughfare inside the valley from heisenberg to strasbourg laid the dark ridge called massanutten mountain to the east of it was a parallel and almost hidden road it snaked through the now alluray valley to fort royal and beyond more importantly in that 50 mile length of the massanutten was only one place where the mountain could be crossed namely through the past connecting louis with newmarket the next stage of jackson's strategy was to unite his forces sneak through the pass at newmarket use the massanutten as a screen and head north toward the major concentration at strasbourg and front royal of union forces under general banks jackson swiftly consolidated the soldiers of yulin johnson with his own men this gave him an army of seventeen thousand soldiers it also gave him an almost two to one superiority in numbers over the federals in and around winchester in the third week of may jackson started his men on a hard march northward down the shenandoah the confederates disappeared at newmarket not a union soldier in the valley knew where jackson was throughout a hot but quiet may 22nd confederate soldiers marched deadly and secretly down the louisville valley this road would take them straight to winchester banks's base of supplies no obstacle stood in that path saved the union garrison at front royal and not a man that i had any reason to suspect that stonewall jackson was anywhere in the neighborhood so here at asbury chapel four and a half miles south of front royal jackson predictably did the unpredictable he divided his army the cavalry he sent off to the left and its job was to suffer the communication lines between front royal and banks's main force at strasbourg a major part of the army jackson would leave here at asbury chapel to guard the louis valley road and the strike force he would send off to the east up on the shoulder of the blue ridge to attack front royal from the south jackson's men always took pride in their marching ability but that advance on the morning of may 23 taxed their endurance to the limit they were on this snake road as it would call the road went straight up in the air for a distance of about two miles and it sorely strained the limits of these soldiers leg cramps began to develop there was no wind because the trees and the underbrush on either side of the road blocked off all circulation many men began to develop leg cramps some staggered out of links to empty their stomachs and then staggered back into the columns again it was an ordeal but ahead of them they knew was old jack and in front of him would surely be victory [Music] at two o'clock on the afternoon of may 23rd jackson delivered a completely unexpected attack at front royal the union first merlin was guarding the town jackson placed the confederate first merlin at the head of his assault within an hour or so surprise and disorder was so total among the federals that ballot 200 of the union regiments 1 000 men escaped banks was at strasbourg when he heard of the front royal debacle he quickly began a desperate retreat northward jackson meanwhile was moving with equal haste to get astride the valley turnpike through the night of may 24 and 25 the determined confederate general forgot fatigue as he urged his men forward toward the major target the town of winchester one of the secrets of stonewall jackson's success was his secrecy he did not like to use main thoroughfares in advancing rather he preferred abundant wagon trails such as you see here and he had a vast knowledge of them thanks to his map maker jed hotchkiss who knew the valley backwards and forwards and instructed jackson the same way and he was on roads such as this that much of the valley campaign was waged confederate soldiers marching four breast the average marching day 17 hours they were expected to cover 20 plus miles he was the best topographical engineer in the confederate army and the man most responsible for jackson's keen and sure knowledge of the shenandoah valley and yet jedediah hotchkiss was a connecticut native who moved to new york then migrated to virginia to become headmaster of a boys academy near stanton his hobbies took the form of surveying and map making hotchkiss was 34 when he joined jackson's staff at the outset of the valley campaign almost six feet tall with sleepy eyes and scraggly beard the serious-minded hotchkiss had no vices save a tendency in jackson's estimation of talking too much hotchkiss and jackson developed a close relationship based on a mutual devotion to duty and an abiding faith in god the sun had not even cleared the top of the blue ridge mountains on may 25th when jackson unleashed a two-prong attack on the federal supply base that winchester had become by noon the light was complete what was left of banksy's army was fleeing for the safety of the potomac river 30 miles away in the short campaign for winchester the confederates had 400 casualties but thanks to the inspiration of their commander they had captured half of banksy's force nine thousand small arms and such a wealth of badly needed supplies that confederates scornfully referred thereafter to their union opponent as commissary banks this is stonewall cemetery in winchester virginia here lie 3 000 confederate dead many of whom gave their lives in defense of this town in 1861 winchester was a thriving commercial center of some four thousand four hundred residents every road in the lower shenandoah valley converged here at winchester the winchester and potomac railroad began here and snaked 32 miles northward to con verge with the baltimore and ohio system at harpers ferry in short this town was absolutely vital to the security of the shenandoah valley at its northern end for that reason the town would change hands and incredible 70 times during the american civil war no town in this country suffered more from being in no man's land than winchester jackson never forgot the tumultuous welcome that greeted him as he led his victorious little army into downtown winchester to his wife he later wrote the people seemed nearly frantic with joy indeed it would be almost impossible to describe the manifestations of rejoicing in gratitude our entrance into winchester was one of the most stirring scenes of my life the generals who fought against jackson in the valley campaign were indicative of the northern tendency early in the war to appoint generals of prominent background whether or not they were men with military experience in the first and last battles of the shenandoah campaign jackson faced 51-year-old general james shields he had come to the civil war from ireland by way of illinois and the west coast shields had once challenged abraham lincoln to a duel he led troops with distinction in the mexican war where our battle wound helped get him elected a u.s senator from two different states beneath the politician shields was a competent and well-balanced army officer in the valley he led solid soldiers from the midwestern states however this lean tough combative shields acquired the mistaken and dangerous belief that stonewall jackson was afraid of him the union officer assigned to secure the valley was 46 year old nathaniel p banks the fourth ranking general in the union armies banks's entire professional career was as a new england political leader over the years he had changed party affiliation seven times which a supporter explained gave banks philosophical flexibility this former speaker of the house of representatives and governor of massachusetts owed his military commission solely to political influence banks was a decent man and thorough gentleman he cut a fine figure had had some features and wore a spectacular uniform he possessed an audacity born of ignorance banks gave the military everything he had the problem was that as a general he did not have much to give by the time of the valley campaign john c fremont was a shop one hero and misguided abolitionist his defenders praised him as handsome and precocious his detractors thought him headstrong and unstable earlier fremont had surveyed much of the american frontier which earned him the title pathfinder of the west yet his repeated disobedience to orders led to a forced resignation from the army fremont was one of california's first u.s senators in 1856 he had been the republican party's first presidential nominee lincoln appointed fremont a general for political reasons and the president sent him to command the remote allegheny mountains department simply to get him out of the way fremont would move with hesitation throughout this campaign jackson would never defeat him soundly the confederate commander would simply push and that would knock fremont out of the ball game smashing victories by the strange silent pious confederate general had now disrupted the entire union offensive in virginia with banks defeated and useless on the northern bank of the potomac and with jackson's army poised like a dagger at the northern end of the valley federal authorities in washington reacted desperately james shields twenty thousand man division which had just arrived at fredericksburg was ordered to march back to the valley john fremont's mountain army got orders to move with all dispatch into the shenandoah with shields marching west and fremont advancing east both towards strasbourg behind jackson's position the confederate commander seemingly was about to be caught in the jaws of a massive union vice the union strategy failed because of a combination of vacillation on the parts of shields and fremont and incredible marching on the part of jackson's so-called foot cavalry in less than a day confederate units marched between 35 and 50 miles through inclement weather and all of them slipped through the safety before fremont and shields could barricade the door to the valley jackson retired to harrisonburg then turned southeast to a point where the north and south rivers came together to form the south fork of the shenandoah river fremont was giving chase up the valley turnpike shields was marching south up the louisville valley road jackson skillfully saw to it that all bridges and mountain passes between fremont and shields were immobilized thereby blocking any junction between the two union columns with a calmness born of confidence the southern general positioned euless part of the army at cross keys to face fremont while jackson himself formed his men in battle line three miles away at port republic on june 8 fremont gingerly moved forward to make contact with us confederates in the undulating farm country known as cross keys shenandoah valley historian john heatwall explains what happens while jackson and yule move down the port republic road to cross keys in the village of port republic with the main body of confederates general turner ashby fought a rearguard action here on chestnut ridge under his command were the 58th virginia infantry and the first maryland infantry they were fighting four companies of the famous pennsylvania bucktails of the 13th pennsylvania reserves under the command of colonel thomas kane the fighting here was fairly severe because the bucktails were known for their sharpshooting prowess one of the bucktails remembered that we shot them down like pigeons tonight ashby was truly inspiring that friday when the 58th virginia recalled under heavy union fire ashby on foot because his horse had been killed valid the men he seemed as to be enjoying the action tremendously look at ashby one confederate shouted see how happy he is ashby got his men together and staged a counter attack he had just shouted forward men for god's sakes forward when a bullet ripped through his body and here at this spot senator ashby died he was the first general of heroic proportions to fall in virginia during the civil war jackson's cavalry chief in the valley campaign had been a northern virginia farmer before the war turner ashby was then 31 of medium height with higher eyes and complexion so dark that people fought him of middle east background a gifted horseman with a passion for danger ashby seemed to be the reincarnation of a knight in olden days offsetting those assets was ashby's unwillingness or inability to control his horsemen effectively his non-performance with crippled jackson's movements on several occasions just as his presence inspired the southern cause at other times the militarily unto that ashby seemed to dwell in the naive belief that simple patriotism was an adequate substitute for discipline general fremont made the mistake of all inexperienced battle commanders and not wreaking ordering the ground he sent general julia stalls brigade against the strong confederate right while almost neglecting the confederate left where he had his best chance of success along these ridges and through these fields fremont came into a rude awakening of what war was about in the tree line immediately behind me occurred one of the most vicious volleys of the entire civil war the eighth new york in fremont's forest was a totally german regiment it had seen no action until it reached here at cross keys it became the spearhead indeed it was the only major regiment to launch an assault it came this way went down that this hill and it reached that gully that you see behind me the confederates were on the immediate hill beyond a mere 40 yards away when the 8th new york came up out of that gully and at a distance of 40 yards three regiments approximately one thousand muskets delivered a point-blank file literally into the faces of these new yorkers over half of the regiment 260 men were killed or wounded by this single blast fremont's effort to hit the confederate life flank collapsed immediately after the fighting ended new york correspondent charles welb who was with fremont's army walked through the wheat field where the 8th new york lay in death he noted the poor fellas lie around in all postures and positions some on the very spot where they fell others propped up against the fences where they had crawled to die many of them lie on their backs with their arms stretched wearily callously out resembling men who have thrown themselves on the ground to rest and suddenly sank into slumber with fremont thrown into confusion on june 8th at cross keys jackson turned his attention the next day to his old adversary james shields that union general had advanced his division to the northern outskirts of the village of port republic early on monday morning june 9th and without waiting for his army to consolidate jackson ordered an assault against the hastily prepared union defenses i'm standing in the middle of the maine union battle line here on the morning of june 9 1862 confederates approached this line from the fields behind me they came under fire from the infantry regiments here and also from the coaling to my right later in the day yule's forces came up from cross keys and also crossed these fields coming against this battle line jackson can neither win nor lose the bottle of port republic on the open ground although he outnumbered his opponent by two and a half to one the federals had a decided advantage it was a culling station on top of a spur of the blue ridge mountains about 70 feet above the bottom land there the federals had placed heavy artillery and a sizeable number of troops until jackson seized that high ground the battle of port republic remained in doubt and so did the valley campaign general dick taylor's louisiana brigade consisted of 1700 men they outnumbered the federals up here at the coaling station by a wide margin and yet the louisianians were making an uphill frontal attack and they were doing so right into the face of union artillery firing at point blank range in addition the louisianians were alone they had no support troops on either side or in their rear fighting was vicious hand-to-hand in places but eventually late in the morning the louisianans seized control of the station and brought stonewall jackson victory at port republic cross keys in port republic ended an almost unbelievable 1862 campaign jackson had saved the shenandoah valley from federal occupation and destruction with never more than seventeen thousand men he had totally thwarted the plans of over fifty thousand federal soldiers organized into three armies and each having the single objective of defeating him in 48 days jackson's foot cavalry had marched over 600 miles those farm boys students and clerks had fought four battles six skirmishes and a dozen delaying actions confederates had inflicted 5 000 casualties at a loss of less than half that number jackson would not accept accolades that he had accomplished such smashing successes behind me is an old oak tree but for the past 134 years to the folks here in the mount meridian area this has been called the prayer tree for here on june 15 1862 jackson came to the camps of his beloved stonewall brigade and here he performed the ultimate duty to give thanks to god for the victory in this recent campaign god has been our shield and to his name be all the glory that was jackson's summation of the valley campaign such faith is commendable as god's instrument jackson had made astounding achievements his strategic masterpiece changed the whole face of the war in virginia the seemingly unstoppable union advance on richmond ground to a halt as defeated and dejected union columns filed out of the shenandoah in that second spring of the civil war following months of loss after loss the confederate cause shuttered with pessimism the specter of defeat loomed large suddenly from the obscure western part of virginia came good news and a flash of hope the quiet but determined jackson had combined initiatives secrecy audacity rapid marches heavy attacks in unexpected places and dogged pursuit in the quest for total victory love for and faith in jackson by his soldiers amounted to idolatry a richmond newspaper late that spring term jackson and his valley warriors chief in the hearts of the nation and the newspaper added strange it may appear news from the armies within five miles of richmond is of secondary importance invariably the crowds which daily flock around the bulletin boards ask first what news from jackson from the valley campaign jackson moved on to other battlefields the seven days cedar mountain second manassas antietam fredericksburg then in may 1863 at chancellorsville it all ended by then this orphan from the mountains of western virginia had become arguably the most famous soldier on earth his death was the greatest loss that the southern confederacy faced and the loss to robert e lee's army was irreparable for jackson had given that army mobility which lee had to have for survival and yet jackson died peacefully he had kept the faith and fought the good fight what else can one ask of any human being hence as long as faith has meaning and human goodness has value the image and the inspiration of stonewall jackson will never die [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] ah [Music] you

Channel: Blue Ridge Streaming from WBRA-TV - Roanoke VA

Views: 64,754

Keywords: Civil War, Bud Robertson, Jack Davis, Virginia Tech, Robert E. Lee, Virginia in the Civil War, Virginia, Stonewall Jackson

Id: hCyMAov5vsc

Length: 56min 51sec (3411 seconds)

Published: Mon May 10 2021