Army of the Valley The Army of the Valley ( officially the Army of the Valley District ) was the name given to the army of Lt . Gen . Jubal Early ' s independent command during the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns in the summer and autumn of 1864 . The Army of the Valley was the last Confederate unit to invade Northern territory , reaching the outskirts of Washington , D . C . . The Army became defunct after its decisive defeat at the Battle of Waynesboro , Virginia , on March 2 , 1865 . History . General Robert E . Lee , entrenched at Petersburg , wanted to siphon off some of the overwhelming number of Federal troops that he faced . He was also concerned with recent Union victories in the Shenandoah Valley ( a vital source of supplies and food for his army ) . He devised a daring plan to accomplish both ends . On June 12 , 1864 , Lee ordered Jubal Early to take independent command of the Army of Northern Virginia ' s Second Corps , renaming it as the Army of the Valley ( the name given to many of these same troops by Stonewall Jackson during his 1862 Valley Campaign ) . Early was to march north through the Shenandoah Valley , cross the Potomac River into Maryland , and possibly threaten either Baltimore or Washington . Early immediately made preparations for independent action . Departing Petersburg via train , the army arrived in the valley at the rail center of Lynchburg to reinforce John C . Breckinridge and to contest the Federals in the region . However , David Hunter withdrew his Union troops in the face of Early ' s larger force . Readily brushing aside the remaining small Federal garrisons in a series of minor engagements , Early ( with Breckinridge ' s men now a part of the Army of the Valley ) proceeded northward and then east from the valley across the South Mountain range . Near Frederick , Maryland , the force was delayed by a full day at the Battle of Monocacy by Lew Wallace . On July 11 , Early threatened Washington before withdrawing two days later . On July 24 , after returning to the Shenandoah , the Army of the Valley won its last major battle , Second Kernstown , defeating George Crook ' s VIII Corps . Early dispatched much of his cavalry under John McCausland to raid and subsequently burn much of Chambersburg , Pennsylvania ( in apparent retaliation for Hunter ' s burning of the Virginia Military Institute ) . By the end of July , fed up with Early ' s free rein of the valley , President Abraham Lincoln met with Ulysses S . Grant to discuss options . Maj . Gen . Philip Sheridan was assigned to command , replacing the defeated Hunter , who promptly resigned . In a series of sharp engagements in August through October , Sheridan repeatedly defeated the Army of the Valley and drove Early ' s men southward . The Army of the Valley was no longer a significant threat . Early ' s battered force stayed together throughout the winter of 1864 – 65 , but was a shadow of its former size and potency . Many men deserted and returned home . The remainder were low on supplies , ammunition , clothing , and food , yet maintained a military presence . However , on February 27 , 1865 , Sheridan departed Winchester with two cavalry divisions and moved into position to attack Early near Waynesboro . After a brief stand - off , a determined Federal attack rolled up Early ’ s right flank and scattered his small force . General Early and a few other officers and troops were able to avoid capture , but over 1 , 500 men were captured and sent to Fort Delaware to await the end of the war . The Army of the Valley ceased to exist and Lee dismissed Early from the service , fearing that he could not instill enough confidence in the new recruits required to keep the fighting going .