Jackson's Valley Campaign

During the Shenandoah Valley Campaign (March-June 1862) Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson used deceptive maneuvers and sharp attacks to divert Union forces from the Peninsula Campaign against Richmond. Late in April, Jackson's men began an eastward march over the Blue Ridge Mountains, convincing the Federals that they were bound for Richmond. On 3 May, Jackson bivouacked at nearby Mechum's River Station on the Virginia Central Railroad. The next day, part of his army returned to the Valley by train while the rest followed on foot. At the Battle of McDowell in the Allegheny Mountains on 8 May, Jackson defeated the vanguard of Union Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont's army.