The Chamberlain Civil War Round Table welcomes Peter Dalton from Richardson's Civil War Round Table as our speaker on February 16, 2012. Mr. Dalton offers a summary of his presentation in the following essay.

     Conventional history assigns the beginning of the Valley Campaign to February 27, 1862, when Union general-in-chief George B. McClellan ordered General Nathaniel P. Banks to cross the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry and press on to Winchester. On March 11 Stonewall Jackson was in the town and withdrew to the outskirts of Mount Jackson a few miles up the valley.

     Banks directed the commander of his second division, Brigadier General James Shields, to conduct a reconnaissance-in-force to Strasburg. Finding nothing there, Shields withdrew to Winchester on March 20. Confederate cavalry chief, Colonel Turner Ashby, followed Shields and told Jackson on March 22^nd that Banks had left the Valley and that only a handful of Union troops remained. In fact Shield's entire division, just over 10,000 strong, was there. Heeding orders that he keep Banks in the Valley, Jackson threw his small command of 3,500 men against Shields at Kenrstown on March 23^rd. Jackson suffered a serious reverse and fell back in disorder up the valley.

     Despite a tactical defeat at Kernstown, Jackson had gained a strategic victory. The battle compelled Banks to return to the Valley. Employing boldness and rapid movements on interior lines, Jackson' 17,000 men marched 646 miles in 48 days and won several minor battles, including McDowell, Winchester, Cross Keys, and Port Republic. He successfully engaged three Union armies numbering 52,000 men, and prevented men from reinforcing McClellan's offensive against Richmond in the Peninsula Campaign.

     Peter Dalton is a graduate of the Social Science Department at the University of Southern Maine and lives in Northport. He has been employed by Hewlett Packard as an operational engineer for the last sixteen years. Peter has also written on the 4^th Maine and 16^th infantry regiments and he's had a life-long fascination with Stonewall Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign. His passion has been fueled by yearly visits to the Shenandoah Valley and extensive research conducted over the last twenty years.

     This meeting will be Thursday February 16, 2012 at 7 PM in the Morrell Room of the Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick.

Weather Cancellation Notification: If driving conditions are dangerous, the meeting will be cancelled. Watch Channels 6, 8, and 13 for a meeting cancellation, or call Dan Cunningham at 729-9520.