July 20, 1864 - Battle of Rutherford's Farm

July 20, 1864

Action of Rutherford's Farm; or the Battle of Carter's Farm; or Stephenson's Depot

near Winchester, Virginia, Frederick County


General William W. Averell
vs.
General Stephen D. Ramseur


* Union victory while chasing Jubal Early, before second Kernstown

* "Pvt. John Shanes, Company K, 14th West Virginia Infantry, received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the fighting near Carter's Farm, where he, 'charged upon a Confederate fieldpiece in advance of his comrades and by his individual exertions silenced the piece.'"

* There's just this sliver left on the edge of a shopping center, but I'm glad they kept this little pocket park at least to remember what happened here. 
 

Lovely. unplanned finds on the way to Romney, WV

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=12091

Also a thing. And the Civil War Trails markers are updated since construction.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=261495

"Run or Die"
Desperate Fighting Occurred Here 

On three separate occasions dramatic Civil War events took place here on Rutherford's Farm and the nearby Susan Carter farm, land now radically changed by development. The homesteads sat by the Valley Turnpike, modern Route 11, and their location placed them squarely in the path of warring armies.

During the Gettysburg Campaign, on June 14-15, 1863, hard-marching Confederate troops chased Union Gen. Robert H. Milroy's army on the turnpike behind you after the Second Battle of Winchester. The Confederates caught Milroy and defeated him at Stephenson's Depot, modern Stephenson, to the north.

On July 20, 1864, shot, shell and the yells of fighting soldiers filled the air here during the Battle of Rutherford's Farm, when Union Gen. William W. Averell's cavalry and infantry overwhelmed Gen. Stephen Ramseur's Confederates and sent them retreating to Winchester during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. The fight left 420 dead and wounded men on the land surrounding you.

A few month later, on September 19, 1864, during the Third Battle of Winchester, Gen. George Custer's cavalrymen thundered across Rutherford's Farm in pursuit of retreating Confederate infantry and cavalry that were heading south to regroup at Fisher's Hill during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. 

"The enemy...advanced from the wood and charged our line of skirmishers...A short but closely contested struggle ensued, which resulted in the repulse of the enemy. Many prisoners were taken, and quite a number on both side left on the field." - Gen. George Custer recalled the September 19, 1864, fight at Rutherford's Farm.

"This was the first time the Yankees saw my back, but it was run or die..." - A North Carolina soldier describes the July 20, 1864, Battle of Rutherford's Farm.

Confederate cartographer Jebediah Hotchkiss made this map of the July 20, 1864, Battle of Rutherford's Farm. Both is and the inset map are oriented with north to the right. You are looking slightly northwest, and Union Gen. Averell's attack swept from your right to your left across this area, once part of Rutherford's farm. - Courtesy Library of Congress

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=261489

Interrupted by War
The Rutherford and Carter Farmsteads

When John H. Rutherford purchased  275 acres at this location between 1843 and 1848, he undoubtedly hoped his farm would be associated with prosperous agriculture, and not with a bloody Civil War engagement. His handsome two-story brick home stood just to your right on the surviving foundation and was built in 1857. Prior to that, Rutherford and his wife, Camilla C. Baker, lived with widow Susan Pitman Carter. The Widow Carter's larger brock house and 173-acre farm stood just north of here.

Both families grew grains and potatoes and raised cattle, hogs, and sheep for wool. While those crops are not typically associated with slavery, the Widow Carter enslaved at least seven people. Rutherford employed one free Black man, James Lownsan. He did not enslave anyone, but helped manage the Carter farm for time before the war, illustrating the complexities of enslavement in the Shenandoah Valley.

The free and enslaved residents experienced waves of war washing over the properties. Two engagements were fought on the Rutherford and Carter land, and during the conflict thousands of soldiers marched by their homes on the Valley Turnpike. 

Both structures survived the war. Rutherford switched to sheep farming by the 1890s. He died in 1900, and his house stood until demolished about 1963.

"The wounded men had been collected together at three houses in the filed & most of ours, & some of the Yankees were at the Rutherfords...the Surgeons were waiting for chloroform to perform operations. There was a pile of arms & legs & feet...." - Mary Greenhow Lee, Winchester resident, describing the aftermath of the July 20, 1864 Battle of Rutherford's Farm

The Widow Susan Carter's mansion stood on the west side of the Valley Pike. The Battle of Rutherford's Farm is also sometimes called the Battle of Carter's Farm.

The residence of John H. Rutherford along the Valley Pike. In 1860, he and his wife, Camilla, and their children, Susan, William, John C., and Albert, who ranger in age from 10 to two, along with domestic workers Mary Spence and free Black James Lownsan, lived in the home.
 




******************************************************

There were (at least) six major battles in Winchester,VA. The visitors center at Third Winchester has signs for all six. Here's RF. 


https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=155113

The Battle of Rutherford's Farm

July 20, 1864

—Early's Maryland Campaign—

"Indications are that [the] enemy must attack me in the morning....The probabilities are that I shall attack him." —Union Gen. William W. Averell, after hearing from scouts that the Confederate army was moving towards Winchester

Ordered to stay on the defensive as he blocked Union Gen. William W. Averell's advance north of Winchester, Confederate Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur instead advanced aggressively north on the Martinsburg-Winchester Turnpike. Averell attacked first, preempting Ramseur's plans. The Union right overlapped the Confederate left, and the attack shattered the southerner's flank, sending the Confederates retreating toward Winchester in confusion.




Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rutherford%27s_Farm

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