The Blue Ridge and the Valley, therefore, were the keys to Lee's strategy. Once the Confederates crossed the Potomac the Great Valley beckoned, a fertile region that contained a vast quantity of supplies of all kinds. First, everything in the valley had to be cleared up to Chambersburg. Hence, Lee assigned this task to Ewell and his Second Corps. The beauty of General Lee's invasion plan lay in its deception, its success predicated on the notion that the AOP would not follow the Army of Northern Virginia swiftly into Pennsylvania thus allowing time for the depleted ANV to forage and...
The Blue Ridge and the Valley, therefore, were the keys to Lee's strategy. Once the Confederates crossed the Potomac the Great Valley beckoned, a fert...
