One of the most intriguing and storied episodes of the Civil War, the
1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign has heretofore been related only from
the Confederate point of view. Moving seamlessly between tactical
details and analysis of strategic significance, Peter Cozzens presents a
balanced, comprehensive account of a campaign that has long been
romanticized but little understood. He offers new interpretations of the
campaign and the reasons for Stonewall Jackson's success, demonstrates
instances in which the mythology that has come to shroud the campaign
has masked errors on Jackson's part, and provides the first detailed
appraisal of Union leadership in the Valley Campaign, with some
surprising conclusions.