Jackson deceived Banks into
believing that the Confederate States Army was in the main
Valley near Harrisonburg; instead he had marched swiftly
north to New Market and crossed Massanutten via New Market
Gap to Luray.
The advance to Front Royal placed Jackson in position to
move directly on Winchester in the rear of the Union Army.
On May 24, Banks retreated down the Valley Pike to
Winchester, harassed by CS cavalry and artillery at
Middletown and Newtown (Stephens City), setting the stage
for the battle of First Winchester the following day.
The action at Front Royal demonstrated Jackson’s use of
Valley topography and mobility to unite his own forces while
dividing those of his enemies. At a minimal cost, he forced
the withdrawal of a large Union army by striking at its
flank and threatening its rear. The confusion engendered by
Jackson’s appearance at Front Royal and the hasty Union
retreat from Strasburg to Winchester contributed materially
to the defeat of Bank’s army at First Winchester on 25 May.
Jackson used his cavalry to good advantage at Front Royal,
to sever US communications east and west, and to strike the
final blow at Cedarville.
(Excerpt from Study of Civil War
Sites in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Pursuant to
Public Law 101-628, September 1992. U. S. Department of
Interior, National Park Service)
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