Booknotes: Stonewall Jackson’s Winter Operations

New Arrival:

• Stonewall Jackson’s Winter Operations: The Raids Against the C&O Canal and the Bath-Romney Campaign, December 1861 to February 1862 by Timothy R. Synder (Savas Beatie, 2026).

Timothy Snyder’s Stonewall Jackson’s Winter Operations is the second major study of Jackson's Romney Expedition. It comes more than three decades after Thomas Rankin's Stonewall Jackson's Romney Campaign, January 1-February 20, 1862. Unfortunately, it has probably been more than twenty years since I read it, and I don't own a personal copy to refresh my faded memory and draw comparisons. I am assuming there isn't much C&O Canal raiding content in Rankin's study (since those events occurred outside the time interval indicated by his book's title), but I do seem to recall it being one of the better H.E. Howard Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders Series titles overall, detailed but (like many others) suffering from inadequate map coverage.

If I have enough time, I like to read or skim through a new arrival's foreword/preface/introduction text before assembling these Booknotes entries. Doing that for this one, it immediately becomes clear that Snyder does not join hands with Jackson's strongest admirers! Much like Robert E. Lee's own earlier introduction to conducting offensive operations, things did not go particularly well for Jackson in the mountainous parts of their home state. From the description: "When viewed apart from the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, these earlier military activities reveal a starkly different portrait of the enigmatic general. Instead of lightning-quick maneuvers and tactical victories, Snyder depicts a fallible Jackson who encountered significant difficulties, made mistakes and miscalculations, and led a series of unsuccessful operations."

As indicated by his book's subtitle, Snyder, who has also authored a 2011 study of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal during the war, covers the series of December 1861 Confederate raids launched against that important regional transportation system. More from the description: "As commander of the Valley District, Jackson orchestrated raids against two dams of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, a vital coal carrier serving Washington, D.C. This book provides the first comprehensive account of these important but understudied events that helped shape the war along the Maryland-Virginia border. Although Jackson failed to breach either structure, his persistent efforts highlight the canal’s overlooked significance to the Union war effort."

During the ensuing winter expedition, Confederate forces were able to occupy both Bath and Romney, but their leaders fell into unproductive infighting that grew into disputes with Richmond. More: "During the bitterly cold Bath-Romney Campaign, Jackson led a small army into the Allegheny foothills, and captured Bath, Virginia. On picket duty at the town, several men from General William W. Loring’s command froze to death while officers from the Stonewall Brigade lodged their men in a resort hotel. This disparity fueled deep resentment within Loring’s command and eventually a near-mutiny. Although Jackson later captured Romney, Virginia, without a fight, occupying the town was not the general’s original objective. When the Confederate secretary of war ordered Jackson to withdraw Loring’s command to Winchester, Jackson threatened to resign, citing interference from Richmond. Snyder’s extensive research reveals that this order was strategically sound given Confederate intelligence and Union troop concentrations."

Coverage of the early-war period in the eastern theater is one of my favorite parts of Savas Beatie's prodigious output, so expect a full site review of this latest addition to that category in the near future.