Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley region of western Virginia, from Winchester to Staunton, is bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian and Allegheny Plateaus to the west. It is located within the Ridge and Valley Region. It has been a point of entry into the United States by Confederate offensives in three wars. Thomas Jackson used the Shenandoah Valley during the War of Secession, successfully engaging three Union armies (and preventing them from reinforcing the Union offensive against Richmond. During the Great War, a Confederate charge very nearly reached the U.S. capital of Philadelphia.  In 1944, despite heavy bombing by U.S. forces, the Valley remained open, and became Clarence Potter's route into Philadelphia when he attempted to destroy the city with a superbomb.