In the Summer of 1864, Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early launched a campaign down the Shenandoah Valley with a corps of approximately 15,000 troops. The campaign was a last attempt to carry the war to the north and to relieve some pressure from General Robert E. Lee in the south. Early’s ultimate objective for the campaign was to march down the Valley, to swing to the east through Frederick, and to attack and capture Washington, D.C.

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