We Found the People Much Frightened: Brig. Gen. George H. “Maryland” Steuart’s Expedition to McConnellsburg

Gettysburg Magazine, no. 53 northwestern Virginia. He suff ered a severe wound to his ankle a few months later while serving with Jackson during the Valley Campaign. Th e injury kept Johnson out of action until just aft er Chancellorsville, when Lee selected him to head Jackson’s former division. His new command included four brigades, led by Brig. Gens. George H. “Maryland” Steuart, John M. Jones, James A. Walker, and Col. Jesse M. Williams.2 Th e 1863 summer off ensive commenced during the fi rst week in June. Aft er slipping away from the Fredericksburg area, Ewell’s troops spearheaded a bold thrust that swept the enemy out of Virginia’s lush Shenandoah Valley. Under Ewell’s direct command, the soldiers from Johnson’s and Early’s divisions gained a stunning victory over Maj. Gen. Robert Milroy’s forces around Winchester and Stephenson’s Depot on June 13 and 14. Th e division headed by Rodes enjoyed similar success driving the Federal troops out of nearby Berryville and Martinsburg. On June 15 Rodes’s men became the fi rst infantry from General Lee’s invading army to splash over the Potomac River into Maryland. Aft er resting at Williamsport for four days, Rodes moved his troops a few miles north to Hagerstown Th roughout that time, Ewell focused on the planning for the future course of the campaign. On June 19 he traveled to Leetown, Virginia, for a conference with Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, whose First Corps had moved into place along the major gaps through the Blue Ridge Mountains. By then, the men from Lt. Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill’s newly created Th ird