Valley District
Encyclopedia
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
and subsection of the Department of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, responsible for operations between the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
and Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. It was created on October 22, 1861, and was surrendered by the authority of Gen Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
at Appomattox Court House
Appomattox Court House
The Appomattox Courthouse is the current courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892. It is located in the middle of the state about three miles northwest of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, once known as Clover Hill - home of the original Old Appomattox Court House...
on April 9, 1865.
Background
The Valley District was created to administer various home guard and military units and armies which operated in the Shenandoah ValleyShenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
. The first forces organized in this area prior to the creation of the Valley District were the Forces In and About Harper's Ferry, Virginia, which existed from April 18, 1861, to June 15, 1861. The Forces In and About Harper's Ferry were originally under the Virginia State Militia
Virginia Militia
The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the British militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulsory for all free males...
, and were placed under three commanders during that time. MajGen Kenton Harper
Kenton Harper
Kenton Harper was an American printer, soldier, town mayor, banker, newspaper editor, and legislator. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army during the Mexican–American War and later as a Confederate general officer during the American Civil War...
(Virginia State Militia) commanded from April 18 to April 28, then command fell to Col Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (Virginia State Militia) from April 28 to May 24, and finally the forces were transferred to the Confederate States Army and BGen Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph Eggleston Johnston was a career U.S. Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
from May 24 to June 15, 1861.
From June 15 to October 22, military organization in the Shenandoah Valley came under local leadership until the Department of Northern Virginia. It was created on October 22, 1861, as Johnston prepared defenses in Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
. The Valley District was defined as the area between the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Alleghenies and extended south from the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
to the vicinity of Staunton, Virginia
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
and covered an area of roughly five thousand square miles.
Three districts were created under the Department of Northern Virginia were:
- The Aquia District
- First commander: MajGen Theophilus H. HolmesTheophilus H. HolmesTheophilus Hunter Holmes was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate Lieutenant General in the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
- Period of existence: October 22, 1861 to April 18, 1862
- First commander: MajGen Theophilus H. Holmes
- The Potomac District
- First commander: MajGen Pierre G. T. BeauregardP. G. T. BeauregardPierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard was a Louisiana-born American military officer, politician, inventor, writer, civil servant, and the first prominent general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Today he is commonly referred to as P. G. T. Beauregard, but he rarely used...
- Period of existence: October 22, 1861 to January 29, 1862
- First commander: MajGen Pierre G. T. Beauregard
- The Valley District
- First commander: MajGen Thomas J. "Stonewall" JacksonStonewall Jacksonຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
- Period of existence: October 22, 1861 to April 9, 1865
- First commander: MajGen Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
While the Aquia and Potomac Districts ceased to exist by the spring of 1862, the need remained for military organization in the Valley throughout the remainder of the war.
1864
During 1864, while under the command of LtGen Jubal EarlyJubal Anderson Early
Jubal Anderson Early was a lawyer and Confederate general in the American Civil War. He served under Stonewall Jackson and then Robert E. Lee for almost the entire war, rising from regimental command to lieutenant general and the command of an infantry corps in the Army of Northern Virginia...
, the Valley District operated its own independent army, the Army of the Valley
Army of the Valley
The Army of the Valley was the name given to the army of Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's independent command during the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns in the summer and autumn of 1864. The Army of the Valley was the last Confederate unit to invade Northern territory, reaching the outskirts of Washington, D.C....
, which was essentially composed of the Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
The Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia was a military organization within the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during much of the American Civil War. It was officially created and named following the Battle of Sharpsburg in 1862, but comprised units in a corps organization for quite...
. The Second Corps was detached from Lee's main army to invade, threaten and assault Washington, D.C., on the hopes of drawing forces away from General
Commanding General of the United States Army
Prior to the institution of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1903, there was generally a single senior-most officer in the army. From 1783, he was known simply as the Senior Officer of the United States Army, but in 1821, the title was changed to Commanding General of the United...
Grant's
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
forces, and thereby relieving pressure on his siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
around Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, and Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
.
Command history
| Commander | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| LtGen Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson Stonewall Jackson ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=... |
October 22, 1861 | December 29, 1862 |
| BrigGen William E. "Grumble" Jones William E. Jones William Edmondson Jones, known as Grumble Jones, was a planter, a career United States Army officer, and a Confederate cavalry general, killed in the Battle of Piedmont in the American Civil War.-Early life:... |
December 29, 1862 | May 28, 1863 |
| MajGen Isaac R. Trimble Isaac R. Trimble Isaac Ridgeway Trimble was a United States Army officer, a civil engineer, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War, most famous for his leadership role in the assault known as Pickett's Charge at the Battle of... |
May 28, 1863 | July 21, 1863 |
| BGen John D. Imboden John D. Imboden John Daniel Imboden was a lawyer, teacher, Virginia state legislator. During the American Civil War, he was a Confederate cavalry general and partisan fighter... |
July 21, 1863 | December 15, 1863 |
| MajGen Jubal A. Early | December 15, 1863 | March 9, 1864 |
| BGen John D. Imboden John D. Imboden John Daniel Imboden was a lawyer, teacher, Virginia state legislator. During the American Civil War, he was a Confederate cavalry general and partisan fighter... |
March 9, 1864 | May 4, 1864 |
| MajGen John C. Breckinridge John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S... |
May 4, 1864 | June 13, 1864 |
| LtGen Jubal A. Early | June 13, 1864 | March 29, 1865 |
| MajGen Lunsford L. Lomax Lunsford L. Lomax Lunsford Lindsay Lomax was an American educator, farmer, and officer in the United States Army who resigned his commission to join the Confederate Army at the outbreak of the American Civil War.-Biography:... |
March 29, 1865 | April 9, 1865 |
See also
- Army of Northern VirginiaArmy of Northern VirginiaThe Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
- Winchester in the American Civil War
- Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters MuseumStonewall Jackson's Headquarters MuseumThe Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters Museum was an antebellum home owned by Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Tilghman Moore, commander of the 31st Virginia Militia. Later, while commanding the 4th Virginia Infantry, Colonel Moore offered his home at 415 North Braddock Street, Winchester, Virginia, USA, to...
- Army of the ValleyArmy of the ValleyThe Army of the Valley was the name given to the army of Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's independent command during the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns in the summer and autumn of 1864. The Army of the Valley was the last Confederate unit to invade Northern territory, reaching the outskirts of Washington, D.C....