Three Days in the Shenandoah: Stonewall Jackson at Front Royal and Winchester (Volume 14)

Campaigns and Commanders

by Gary L. Ecelbarger

The battles of Front Royal and Winchester are the stuff of Civil War legend. Stonewall Jackson swept away an isolated Union division under the command of Nathaniel Banks and made his presence in the northern Shenandoah Valley so frightful a prospect that it triggered an overreaction from President Lincoln, yielding huge benefits for the Confederacy. Gary Ecelbarger has undertaken a comprehensive reassessment of those battles to show their influence on both war strategy and the continuation of the conflict. Three Days in the Shenandoah answers questions that have perplexed historians for generations. Bypassing long-overused sources that have shrouded the Valley Campaign in myth, Ecelbarger draws instead on newly uncovered primary sources—including soldiers’ accounts and officers’ reports—to refute much of the anecdotal lore that for too long was regarded as fact. He narrates those suspenseful days of combat from the perspective of battlefield participants and high commanders to weave a compelling story of strategy and tactics. And he offers new conclusions regarding Lincoln’s military meddling as commander in chief, grants Jefferson Davis more credit for the campaign than previous accounts have given him, and commends Union soldiers for their fighting. Written with the flair of a seasoned military historian and enlivened with maps and illustrations, Three Days in the Shenandoah reinterprets this important episode. Ecelbarger sets a new standard for envisioning the Shenandoah Campaign that will both fascinate Civil War buffs and engage historians.

Genres: Civil War, American Civil War

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2008

About the author

He has published more than a dozen articles and reviews for Civil War and historical periodicals and has conducted group tours and Marine Corps staff rides of the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. He is a former president of the Bull Run Civil War Round Table and a charter member of the Kernstown Battlefield Association.

Reviews

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent history of the three days in May of 1862 that culminated in Confederate forces pushing the Union Forces out of the Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, all the way into Maryland. That movement caused President Lincoln to reassign forces designated to reinforce the Union Army threatening Richmond to return to the Valley to remove any threat Jackson’s forces may have posed to Washington. This book clearly shows that each Army was still learning how to be an Army. Many mistakes were made by both sides. Each Army tried hard, but poor communications, poor intelligence work, and a lack of good maps often thwarted both commanders. General Thomas Jonathan (“Stonewall”) Jackson was the overall Confederate Army commander and General Nathaniel Banks commanded the Union Army. Overall, this book makes the case that numerical superiority by the Confederates ultimately won the day. The book provides many details to support that theory as well as detailed descriptions of the tactics and execution of those tactics to the reader.

[Mark Harden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent detailed account of the heart of Jackson’s Valley Campaign, his defeat of Banks at Front Royal and Winchester. Ecelbarger does not flinch from criticism of Jackson’s numerous mistakes, but keeps his perspective in branding the campaign itself as a magnificent accomplishment that, by causing Lincoln to divert McDowell’s Army, probably saved Richmond from certain loss.

[W Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! A balanced account of the battles of Front Royal and First Winchester.