He sent his horse cavalry directly north to make Banks think that he was going to attack Strasburg, but his plan was to defeat the small outpost at Front Royal and quickly attack Banks's line of communication at Harpers Ferry.
Han sendte Ashbys kavaleri direkte mod nord for at få Banks til at tro, at han ville angribe Strasburg, men hans plan gik ud på at besejre Kenly's lille forpost ved Front Royal og hurtigt angribe Banks' kommunikationslinie ved Harpers Ferry.