Romney Expedition The Romney Expedition was a military expedition of the Confederate States Army during the early part of the American Civil War . It is named for Romney , West Virginia , which at the time was still in the state of Virginia . The expedition was conducted in this locale from January 1 to January 24 , 1862 , as part of the preliminary actions of Stonewall Jackson ' s Valley Campaign . Confederate forces under Major General Thomas J . " Stonewall " Jackson cleared Union forces under Major General Nathaniel Banks and Brigadier General William S . Rosecrans from the lower Shenandoah Valley and surrounding Allegheny ranges , and then successfully severed the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal . Background . Major General Jackson , newly promoted on October 7 , 1861 , was given command of the newly formed Valley District of the Department of Northern Virginia on October 22 . He arrived to establish his command headquarters at Winchester , Virginia , on November 4 . Upon his arrival , he requested command of all forces in the Valley and along the Allegheny ridges south of Winchester , formerly under General Robert E . Lee . He was given his old Stonewall Brigade and Brigadier General William W . Loring ' s Division , which were fully not fully assembled until Christmas 1861 . In the meantime , Jackson assembled all local cavalry forces into a new regiment under the command of Colonel Turner Ashby , and then used Ashby ' s force to conduct raids destroying sections of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal . Jackson soon conceived a grand scheme to retake control of western Virginia ( later the state of West Virginia ) by conducting a large expedition along the Potomac River valley along the northern boundary of Virginia . His assembled forces of 11 , 000 men were a bit short of the 15 , 000 he desired to conduct the operation , but he proceeded on the expedition anyway . Opposing Jackson were Banks ' s V Corps in Frederick , Maryland , which was patrolling and guarding the Potomac River from Harpers Ferry to Williamsport , Maryland . Additionally , Rosecrans had 5 , 000 men under Brigadier General Benjamin F . Kelley posted at Romney . Rosecrans had his own plans to capture what he thought was the lightly defended town of Winchester and fortify and hold it as a base of operations to threaten Confederate positions at Manassas Junction . The expedition . Jackson departed Winchester on January 1 with a force of about 9 , 000 men , under very warm spring - like weather conditions , leaving 2 , 000 to guard Winchester and the surrounding area . During the first night of the expedition , a severe winter storm set in , bringing snow , sleet and ice . One Confederate officer recalled : The road was almost an uninterrupted sheet of ice , rendering it almost impossible for man or beast to travel , while by moonlight the beards of the men , matted with ice , glistened like crystals . Despite adverse conditions , Jackson pressed on and occupied Bath , which had been evacuated by Brigadier General Frederick W . Lander , who had just superseded Rosecrans . Lander ' s forces retreated to Hancock , Maryland , and prevented Jackson from crossing the river in the Battle of Hancock . Jackson conducted an artillery bombardment , destroyed a section of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , and proceeded on to Romney . While en route to Romney , Kelley made a reconnaissance - in - force towards Winchester , encountering leading Confederate militia from Jackson at Hanging Rock Pass . He easily defeated the Southerners and captured two artillery pieces . Despite this advantage , Kelley retreated from Romney on January 10 , and Jackson entered and occupied the town on January 14 . From here , Jackson planned his next step of advancing to Cumberland , Maryland , but the severe winter weather had so hampered the morale of many of his troops who were from warmer regions much further south , that he canceled his further expeditionary plans . Jackson left Loring ' s Division to occupy Romney and returned to Winchester on January 24 with his old Stonewall Brigade and Ashby ' s Regiment . Aftermath . Although his lofty goal of recapturing western Virginia was not achieved , Jackson did succeed in both thwarting a Union attack on Winchester and in clearing his new Valley District of all Federal forces . Jackson also effectively used Winchester as a " depot , headquarters and springboard " for various raids against the B & O Railroad . The Romney Insurrection . In late January , discontented officers in Loring ' s Division wrote a letter of petition to the Confederate Secretary of War in Richmond , Virginia , resulting in an order from the Secretary to Jackson to withdraw Loring from Romney on grounds that his position was exposed to possible isolation by Federal forces . Jackson complied with the order , but angry with direct interference from Richmond internal to his command , he filed charges for a court - martial against Loring and resigned his commission , asking in a letter to Governor John Letcher on January 31 to be transferred to the position of Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute ( VMI ) in Lexington , Virginia . Under pressure from his former commander General Joseph E . Johnston and from Governor Letcher , Jackson withdrew his resignation . The charges against Loring were dropped , however , and all non - Virginia forces , along with Loring , were reassigned out of the Valley District elsewhere , reducing Jackson ' s effective force to about 4 , 000 men . This reduction had a direct impact upon Jackson ' s ability to defend the lower Shenandoah Valley , and led to the need to evacuate Winchester on March 9 in the face of superior forces advancing to Winchester under Union Maj . Gen . Banks . Therefore , despite having prevented Rosecrans ' s goal of taking Winchester in January or February 1862 , the insurrection of Loring ' s Division and its subsequent reassignment led to the inevitable seizure of Winchester by General Banks in March . It was not until Jackson was able to be reinforced with more disciplined and seasoned troops from Major General Richard S . Ewell ' s Division that he would be able to retake the initiative in the Shenandoah Valley .