General Stonewall Jackson’s 1861 Civil War Battle Plan

In 1861 and the beginning of the Civil War, Thomas J. Jackson, the West Virginia Confederate General who would later become known as “Stonewall” Jackson, believed he had the key to a quick and sure victory for the newly formed Confederacy. His ambitious plan was to invade the United States from the panhandle of northern Virginia and continue north all the way to Canada. His plan made good military sense as it would carry the war to the enemy and effectively divide the eastern from the western states. Not only would this invasion be a good logistical move but would give the Confederate States of America legitimacy with foreign countries and the opening of foreign trade relations.

In Jackson’s mind, Confederate control of the railways and turnpikes in the Trans-Allegheny area would be crucial to its defense of the Shenandoah Valley and it’s ready source of supplies in the Virginia heartland.  Unfortunately for the CSA, Stonewall Jackson’s plan for invading the United States was to be overruled by the Generals in Richmond. Politics in the new Confederate States had yet to be ironed out to say the least.

Going forward with Richmond’s orders, General Jackson, having been raised in Western Virginia (which was to become the state of West Virginia) knew that transportation routes were far and few between in the rugged mountainous terrain. The dense forests and mountains posed logistical problems in moving supplies and large numbers of people through the area. There were very few roads and the rivers were not large enough to navigate. There were few railways in the area but they were the most efficient means of transporting supplies.

West Virginia would see both the United States and the Confederacy in a constant struggle to control these vital railroads and other transportation routes. Use of these routes was important to both sides but was critical logistically to the South’s being able to re-supply their commissary from the Shenandoah Valley

In time both sides learned hard lessons in that the mountains and valleys proved difficult to build fortifications that effectively protected important logistical positions on the few roads and railroads. The Civil War in Western Virginia was to largely become a war of flanking tactics, battles that were more skirmishes than full fledged battles and deadly hit and run warfare. The Union by sheer numbers had a definite advantage in moving supplies. Even with this advantage the Confederates proved to be a significant foe in disrupting supply lines.

General Jackson’s ambitious plan to invade the United States from Western Virginia was not to be. Even with the North’s superior forces, the Shenandoah Valley was never won by their drive eastward. The Confederates forces coming from the east were equally ineffective due to logistical and political infighting. Had the powers in Richmond implemented General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s invasion plans as he saw them, would the war have had a different outcome? Probably not, but the history of the Civil War would have surly been re-written.