Alice Teller

On this day in 1861 — November 5 — Confederate Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson arrived in Winchester, Virginia, to take command of the Shenandoah Valley District. Fresh from his stand at First Manassas that earned him his famous nickname, Jackson established headquarters in the town that would later become what he and his wife Anna called “our war home.” With limited forces of militia and a handful of regulars, he faced a difficult strategic situation: Union forces held Romney to the west and threatened the Valley, the Confederacy’s left flank and vital breadbasket. From this modest beginning grew the legendary 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Jackson’s rapid marches, use of terrain, and ability to defeat larger Union forces in detail tied down tens of thousands of Federal troops that otherwise could have reinforced McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign against Richmond. His “foot cavalry” became the stuff of military legend. Winchester and the Valley would see hard fighting in the months ahead, but the foundation of Jackson’s fame was laid on these early autumn days when he took the field in earnest. Remember the history. #StonewallJackson #ShenandoahValley #OnThisDay #WinchesterVA #ConfederateHistory .