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It was a joyful parade for the men in gray.
General Robert E. Lee's Army of
Norhtern Virginia, at peak strength and again victorious, marched
northward
through Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Fresh from a decisive victory over
federal
forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Lee's army was now taking the war
to the
North.
The residents of the Shenandoah Valley, who had been under constant threat
by
enemy forces for two years, welcomed Lee's army with jubilation. By the time
the
26th North Carolina infantry marched through Front Royal with the rest of
General
A.P. Hill's corps, the town citizens were in a state of celebration. Led
by their
heralded band, the troops of the 26th passed by as if on
review.
© American Publishing Group
