Lee captured Harper's Ferry with eleven thousand men, seventy-
three heavy guns and thirteen thousand small arms. After he beat
Hooker at Chancelorsville this valley was his route of invasion.
After the battle of Gettysburg he fell back and pitched his camp
here. In fact, it witnessed so many captures and defeats that it
was known as the "Valley of Humiliation." It had to be wrested
from the enemy before the Richmond Campaign could be carried
out. General J. F. Johnston, commander of the forces known as
the Army of the Shenandoah, was stationed at the outlet of the
valley. Jackson, too, began his campaign in 1862. Being checked
by Shields, he fell upon Fort Republic, defeated Fremont at
Cross Keys, captured the garrison at Front Royal, drove Banks
across the Potomac and alarmed Washington by breaking up the
junction of McDowell's and McClellan's forces which threatened
the capture of Richmond.

Our campaign in search of beauty was a brilliant success, and
from many points of vantage did we spy upon the vast expanse of
golden grain and fresh green meadows in which cattle were
grazing, or ruminating in the shade of friendly elms. Here gush
clear springs, whose courses may be traced by tall waving ferns
and creeping vines that weave their spell of green. Swift
tumbling brooks have worn down the soil and enriched the valley.
This valley was called the "Granary of the Confederacy" and a
granary it really was, "for it was rich not only in grain but an
abundance of fruit and live stock; and what more would the North
want for the support of its army? It was in the possession of
the Confederates; much wanted by the Federals, and in time came
to be a great campaign ground of both armies"--the Belgium of