It had not destroyed the forces of Early, and it had been able to pursue only three miles.
It had lost five thousand men in killed and wounded, but the results, nevertheless, were great and the soldiers knew it.

The spell of Southern invincibility in the famous valley, where Jackson had won so often, was broken, and the star of Sheridan had flashed out with brilliancy, to last until the war's close.

They knew, too, that they now held all of the valley north of Winchester, and they were soon to know that they would continue to hold it.

They commanded also a great railway and a great canal, and the South was cut off from Maryland and Pennsylvania, neither of which it could ever invade again.
Although a far smaller battle than a dozen that had been fought, it was one of the greatest and most complete victories the North had yet won.
After a long and seemingly endless deadlock a terrible blow had been struck at the flank of Lee, and the news of the triumph filled the North with joy.

It was also given on this occasion to those who had fought in the battle itself to know what they had done.