’Clear the Valley’: The Shenandoah Valley and the Genesis of the Gettysburg Campaign

Countless writers have speculated on Robert E. Lee’s motivations for the Gettysburg campaign during the American Civil War. One significant factor has received less attention than others: the need to clear the Shenandoah Valley of occupying Union forces. This essay argues that the situation in the Shenandoah Valley was a key part of Lee’s conceptualization of the campaign and his analysis of its results. This perspective illuminates the issues of logistics and home front discontent that confronted Lee and made him begin planning his operation well before April 1863. It supports and broadens recent work highlighting the importance of logistics in the campaign.