| The Valley District was created October 22, 1861 under Major General Thomas J. Jackson, with headquarters at Winchester, Virginia. Although it operated with the Army of Northern Virginia from the Peninsula Campaign until after the Battle of Sharpsburg (or Antietam), Jackson still considered it to be the Army of the Valley District. This was helped by the fact that army corps did not legally exist in the Confederate system until October of 1862.
On November 22, 1862, as Jackson was leading his command across Masanutton Mountain on the way to leave the Shenandoah Valley for the last time, he announded to his staff, “Young gentlemen, this is no longer the headquarters of the Army of the Valley, but of the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia.” |
 Major General Thomas J. Jackson |
Organization of the Army of the Valley District
October 1861 – June 1862
Valley District , October 1861
Valley District, November 1861
Valley District , December 1861
Valley District, January 1862
Valley District, February 1862
Valley District, March 1862
Valley District, April 1862
Valley District, May 1862
Valley District, June 1862
For the organization from July to October 1862 see Jackson’s Command, Army of Northern Virginia
Timeline of the Army of the Valley District
| October 22, 1861 | Major General Thomas J. Jackson was ordered to Winchester to take command of the miltia forces there |
| November 6 | Jackson’s Brigade arrived from Centerville |
| December | Raid on the C&O Canal |
| January | The Romney Campaign |
| March 23, 1862 | First Battle of Kernstown |
| May 8 | Battle of McDowell |
| May 23 | Battle of Front Royal |
| May 25 | First Battle of Winchester |
| June 8 | Battle of Cross Keys |
| June 9 | Battle of Port Republic |
| June 17 | Jackson began the march out of the Valley |
| June 18 – 25 | Moved to the Richmond area and operationally became part of the Army of Northern Virginia, although Jackson would still refer to his command as the Army of the Valley District. |
| November 22 | The District of the Valley officially became the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia |