The Battle of McDowell

The Battle of McDowell. Jackson's Valley Campaign. , You are standing on one of the pivotal battlefields of the Shenandoah Valley campaign. Here, on May 8, 1862, Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and his 6,000 men defeated Union Gens. Robert C. Schenck's and Robert H. Milroy's 6,500-man commandes. Jackson's victory here gave him temporary control of the Shenandoah Valley., The western edge of the Valley, where farmers produced a significant portion of the Confederacy's food, is over the mountains to your right. These mountains and the Valley offered concealment for Confederate armies marching north toward the Mason-Dixon Line, as well as an avenue of invasion for Union forces heading south. The Shenandoah Valley was a strategic corridor that both sides highly prized., Heavy fighting here lasted from 3 P.M. until 8:30 P.M. Jackson's men captured the high ground early in the battle, repulsed uphill attacks from our left, and compelled the Federals to evacuate the town of McDowell under threat of artillery fire from the heights., Jackson's triumph here secured his supply lines in the Shenandoah Valley, where he and his men soon won four more victories. Jackson's Valley Campaign drew Union troops away from the major Union thrust toward Richmond in the spring and summer of 1862. Today, Jackson's Valley Campaign is regarded as a major military accomplishment.,

"We'll yield not a foot to treason, and so we must fight!" , , Gen. Robert H. Milroy, USA, "I am willing to die, for it is a righteous cause." , , Lt. William A. Massey, 12th Georgia Infantry, CSA