Roadside turnout with scenic viewpoint. Historical site information sign of Fort Edward Johnson. 'Confederate troops, the remnant of the army of the Northwest commanded by Brig. Gen. Edward 'Allegheny' Johnson, constructed this fortification about 1 Apr. 1862 to protect the Shenandoah Valley, the 'Breadbasket of the Confederacy.' Federal troops briefly occupied the fort after he withdrew to West View near Staunton later that month. With Maj. Gen. Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson's Army of the Shenandoah Johnson's command confronted Union forces under Brig. Gen. Robert H. Milroy and Brig. Gen. John C. Fremont at the Battle of McDowell on 8 May. Johnson's ankle was shattered during this first victory in Jackson's famous Valley campaign.' Western Virginia is mountainous, covered by the Allegheny and Blue Ridge mountains with the great Shenandoah Valley falling between the ranges. The central piedmont region, with its rolling hills, flattens out into the sandy coastal plain toward the Atlantic Ocean.