Shenandoah Valley

Today I have my friend Ben Zimmerman.

Ben is also a referee and a referee mentor and a signer here in Virginia, out in the Shenandoah Valley.

And he reached out to me on one of our social media platforms and said, hey, we're doing some pretty cool stuff about conduct, spectator conduct a bit.

And so I thought, well, that'd be great.

Along the way, I became the president of their small travel club in Page County.

So I've been on the administrative side of things as well.

And then a move brought me to a larger area where the local travel club, Shenandoah Valley United, reached out to me to see if I would be interested in assigning for them.

took that on.

And, you know, to me, that's just that that's the message that you hit between now and November 3rd.

I was in Virginia out in the Shenandoah Valley last weekend, and I was at my alma mater, James Madison.

And I love JMU Go Dukes.

But, you know, my recollection over the last several years traveling out to going out to football games and seeing alumni and stuff like that, you would see a lot of Trump flags as you're driving around the Shenandoah Valley.

The flags have come down.

And my theory is as the gas prices go up, the Trump flags come down.

Arriving at Manassas Junction, I took command on the 2nd of June, 49 days after the evacuation of Fort Sumter.

although the position at the time was strategically of commanding importance to the confederates the mere terrain was not only without natural defensive advantages but on the contrary was absolutely unfavourable its strategic value was that being close to the federal capital it held in observation the chief army then being assembled near arlington by general mcdowell under the immediate eye of the commander-in-chief general scott for an offensive movement against richmond and while it had a railway approach in its rear for the easy accumulation of reinforcements and all the necessary munitions of war from the southward at the same time another the manassas gap railway diverging laterally to the left from that point gave rapid communications with the fertile valley of the shenandoah then teeming with livestock and cereal subsistence as well as with other resources essential to the confederates there was this further value in the position to the confederate army that during the period of accumulation seasoning and training it might be fed from the fat fields pastures and garners of loudon fakir and the lower shenandoah valley counties which otherwise must have fallen into the hands of the enemy but on the other hand bull run a petty stream was of little or no defensive strength for it abounded in fords and although for the most part its banks were rocky and abrupt the side from which it would be approached offensively in most places commanded the opposite ground at the time of my arrival at manassas a confederate army under general joseph e johnston was in occupation of the lower shenandoah valley along the line of the upper potomac chiefly at harper's ferry which was regarded as the gateway of the valley and of one of the possible approaches to richmond a position from which he was speedily forced to retire, however, by a flank movement of a Federal army, under the veteran General Patterson, thrown across the Potomac at or about Martinsburg.

On my other or right flank, so to speak, a Confederate force of some 2,500 men under General Holmes occupied the position of Aquia Creek on the lower Potomac, upon the line of approach to Richmond from that direction through Fredericksburg.

The other approach, that by way of the James River, was held by Confederate troops under Generals Huger and Magruder.

Lack of rations, as well as the necessity for information, detained McDowell at Centerville during these two days.

Returning to the text.

and meanwhile general johnston brought 8 340 men from the shenandoah valley with 20 guns and general holmes 1265 rank and file with six pieces of artillery from a quiet creek as these forces arrived most of them in the afternoon of the 20th i placed them chiefly so as to strengthen my left center and left the latter being weak from lack of available troops the disposition of the entire force was now as follows at union mills ford ewell's brigade supported by holmes's at mclean's ford dr jones's brigade supported by earlies at blackburn's ford longstreet's brigade at mitchell's ford bonham's brigade cox brigade held the line in front and rear of bull run from bottoms left covering lewis's balls and island fords to the right of evans's demi brigade which covered the stone bridge and a farm ford about a mile above and formed part also of cox command the shenandoah forces were placed in reserve b's and bartow's brigades between mclean's and blackburn's fords and jackson's between blackburn's and mitchell's fords This force mustered 29,188 rank-and-file and 55 guns, of which 21,923 infantry, cavalry, and artillery, with 29 guns, belonged to my immediate forces, i.e., the Army of the Potomac.

The preparation, in front of an ever-threatening enemy, of a wholly volunteer army, composed of men very few of whom had ever belonged to any military organization had been a work of many cares not incident to the command of a regular army these were increased by the insufficiency of my staff organization an inefficient management of the quartermaster's department at richmond and the preposterous mismanagement of the commissary-general who not only failed to furnish rations but caused the removal of the army commissaries who under my orders procured food from the country in front of us to keep the army from absolute want supplies that were otherwise exposed to be gathered by the enemy so specially severe had been the recent duties at headquarters aggravated not a little by night alarms arising from the enemy's immediate presence that in the evening of the 20th i found my chief of staff sunken upon the papers that covered his table asleep in sheer exhaustion from the overstraining and almost slumberless labor of the last days and nights i covered his door with a guard to secure his rest against any interruption after which the army had the benefit of his usual active and provident services there was much in this decisive conflict about to open not involved in any after battle which pervaded the two armies and the people behind them and colored the responsibility of the respective commanders The political hostilities of a generation were now face to face with weapons instead of words.

This plan was feasible enough, provided his cavalry could beat back that of Pleasanton and act as a screen to conceal his movements.

This they were not in a condition to do after the battle of Brandy Station, and Lee was thus forced to take the route down the Shenandoah Valley, which had many advantages.

The mountain wall that intervened between the two armies was a sure defense against our forces, for it was covered by dense thickets, and the roads that lead through the gaps, and the gaps themselves, were easy to fortify and hold against a superior force.

If Hooker had attempted to assail these positions, one corps could have held him in check while the other two captured Washington.

Colonel Tyler had therefore very wisely moved across the river to Maryland Heights, where he had a strong fortified post.

From that commanding eminence he could very soon shell out any force that attempted to occupy the town.

The Shenandoah Valley was now clear of Union troops and soon became the great highway of the invasion.

However disastrous Milroy's defeat may be considered on account of the losses incurred, it was not without its compensation.

I've been really into Pilates.

We're in the Shenandoah Valley.

I really enjoy hiking.

And again, all types of music.

We're going to wrap up here in just a minute, but we want to make sure.

First of all, we know you're playing this Friday night with the Robbie Lyman Band at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.

Tickets are sold out, but folks, be perseverant.

Maybe you have a friend that will want to give them up or something, and if they do, grab them because you don't want to miss the show.

Just making sure.

In the Shenandoah Valley.

Yeah.

It makes sense.