Page:A Memoir of the Last Year of the War for Independence in the Confederate States of America.djvu/39

 CAMPAIGN IN MARYLAND

AND

THE VALLEY OF VIRGINIA.

INTRODUCTION

The Valley of Virginia, in its largest sense, embraces all that country lying between the Blue Ridge and Alleghany Mountains, which unite at its south-western end.

The Shenandoah Valley, which is a part of the Valley of Virginia, embraces the Counties of Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Page, Warren, Clarke, Frederick, Jefferson, and Berkeley. This valley is bounded on the north by the Potomac, on the south by the County of Rockbridge, on the east by the Blue Ridge, and on the west by the Great North Mountain and its ranges.

The Shenandoah River is composed of two branches, called, respectively, the "North Fork" and the "South Fork," which unite near Front Royal in Warren County. The North Fork rises in the Great North Mountain, and runs eastwardly to within a short distance of New Market in Shenandoah County, and thence north-east by Mount Jackson to Strasburg, where it turns east to Front Royal. The South Fork is formed by the union of North River, Middle River, and South River. North River and Middle River, running from the west, unite near Port Republic in Rockingham County. South River rises in the south-eastern part of Augusta, and runs by Waynesboro', along the western base of the Blue Ridge, to Port Republic, where it unites with the stream formed by the junction of the North and Middle rivers. From Port Republic, the