Army of the Valley

The Army of the Valley (officially the Army of the Valley District) 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.. The Army became defunct after its decisive defeat at the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, on March 2, 1865.

General Robert E. Lee, entrenched at Petersburg, wanted to siphon off some of the overwhelming number of Federal troops that he faced. He was also concerned with recent Union victories in the Shenandoah Valley (a vital source of supplies and food for his army). He devised a daring plan to accomplish both ends. On June 12, 1864, Lee ordered Jubal Early to take independent command of the Army of Northern Virginia's Second Corps, renaming it as the Army of the Valley (the name given to many of these same troops by Stonewall Jackson during his 1862 Valley Campaign). Early was to march north through the Shenandoah Valley, cross the Potomac River into Maryland, and possibly threaten either Baltimore or Washington. Early immediately made preparations for independent action. Departing Petersburg via train, the army arrived in the valley at the rail center of Lynchburg to reinforce John C. Breckinridge and to contest the Federals in the region. However, David Hunter withdrew his Union troops in the face of Early's larger force.

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