March 23, 1862 - First Kernstown

March 23, 1862

First Battle of Kernstown

(just South of) Winchester, VA

US- Kimball(replacing Shields): Col. Erastus Tyler's brigade with the late arrival/rescue, Col. Murray, plus artillery

vs.

CSA- Jackson: General R.B. Garnett, Colonel S.V. Fulkerson, plus Colonel J.S. Burks

* Union Victory; Jackson's first--some say only--great loss (he blamed everyone else), but his fans insist it was a strategic victory

* I first visited the battlefield when it was mostly closed, but I saw the stuff by the church (in the first section below). In the Summer of 2025 I returned and took a full hike of the First Kernstown field, in addition to all the sites associated with Second Kernstown and Winchester. You really get a sense of how close the Confederates were to cannon fire from the hill.   

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=33024
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=159147

Battle of Kernstown

March 23, 1862

General James Shields with 7,000 Federals defeated Stonewall Jackson with 3,500 Confederates. Jackson's object was to create a diversion which would prevent troops being sent to McClellan for the attack on Richmond. He arrived south of Kernstown in early afternoon Sunday, March 23, and attempted to turn the Federal right flank. To counter this, Colonel N. Kimball who succeeded to command after Shields was wounded March 22nd, advanced Colonel E.B. Tyler's brigade. Savage fighting followed for possession of the stone wall separating Jackson's and Tyler's troops. Seeing that Tyler was hard-pressed, Kimball rushed reinforcements from his and Sullivan's brigades. The Federals turned the Confederate right, and General R.B. Garnett with his ammunition running short fell back without Jackson's orders, exposing Colonel S.V. Fulkerson and forcing his withdrawal. Colonel J.S. Burks reached the field in time to check the Federal attack and cover the Confederate retreat from the field. This was Jackson's only defeat."

*

Now, on the farm, we climb the hill, which we will again for Second Kernstown and Winchester. After marching back down we will look at the attacks from Virginians, in order. 

@9am

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=159173

The First Battle of Kernstown

An Unheralded Commander's Unique Victory

At 9:00 A.M. on March 23, 1862, Confederate artillery unlimbered near the Valley Turnpike and fired on this height, called Pritchard's Hill, to begin the First Battle of Kernstown. Union artillery rolled onto these knolls and responded by discharging 700 rounds of shot and shell over the next five hours. More than 300 Union soldiers crowded the height to protect the artillery while Colonel Nathan Kimball, the Union battlefield commander, set up headquarters on this same hill.

Kimball successfully repulsed Confederate infantry in its attempt to dislodge the artillery from this ground early in the afternoon, only to watch helplessly as General Jackson swiftly shifted his Confederate artillery from the Valley Turnpike to the crest of Sandy Ridge (the ridge line one mile to your right). By 3:30 P.M., Jackson's cannon suppressed the Union artillery position. Perched on this hill, Kimball countered aggressively by launching two infantry attacks in quick succession in an effort to force "Stonewall" Jackson from his commanding position.

By sunset, Kimball's assaults dislodged Jackson's troops from Sandy Ridge, capturing two cannon and 250 healthy soldiers by nightfall. The Confederates also suffered 450 killed and wounded within their ranks from the day-long battle. Colonel Kimball's men, killed and wounded numbered nearly 600 for the day. His victory earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general. Kimball, an Indiana physician before the war, became the only field commander in the Civil War to defeat both Robert E. Lee (Cheat Mountain in West Virginia) and "Stonewall" Jackson (Kernstown) in separate engagements.

Colonel Nathan Kimball

Colonel Nathan Kimball's solid leadership at Kernstown was repeated in later Civil War campaigns. Breveted Major General in 1865, Kimball retired from the army after participating in 22 victories against three losses.

Colonel William Murray

Colonel William Murray spent most of the Kernstown battle on this knoll with his 84th Pennsylvania infantry until ordered to charge the Confederate cannons on Sandy Ridge late in the afternoon. Murray was killed 40 yards from the Southern artillery, the highest ranking officer to die on March 23, 1862.

Not Sandy Ridge, yet, but that's the view from the hill of the Confederate position. Let's go down there and read those markers! 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=254320

Pettus Cousins in the Battle of First Kernstown

On May 2, 1861, after hearing that their home state of Virginia had seceded from the Union, John Hudson Pettus, his younger cousin John Overton Pettus, and four other cousins from the Eubank family enlisted in the Keysville Guards as privates for one year under the command of Captain Armistead W. Bailey. They were part of a group of 112 volunteers that joined the Confederate Army that day.

John Hudson Pettus was born on March 29, 1841, in Charlotte County, Virginia. He was assigned to Company K of the 23rd Virginia Regiment. He and his cousin John Overton Pettus engaged in the same military campaigns, including the Battle of First Kernstown. After his one-year enlistment expired, he was transferred to the 14th Virginia Cavalry under Colonel McCausland.

John Overton Pettus was born November 12, 1847 near Keysville, Charlotte County, Virginia and was 14 when he joined the Confederate Army. Assigned to the 23rd Virginia Regiment as part of Colonel Samuel V. Fulkerson's brigade, John and his five cousins participated in the assault on Pritchard's Hill.

Near this spot, John Overton Pettus and his cousin Phillip G. Eubank were killed in action by a Union artillery shell on March 23, 1862 during that assault.

His cousin James Francis Eubank was captured during the Confederate retreat at the conclusion of the First Battle of Kernstown.

A rogue marker on the commencement of battle and Robinson's Battery Actions (mostly covered by the other markers): someone else's problem 

 @2pm.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=159183

The First Battle of Kernstown

Fulkerson's Virginians Attack!

The low, marshy ground stretching from here to the distant road lay uncontested throughout the five-hour artillery duel that opened the First Battle of Kernstown. The scene changed dramatically at 2:00 p.m. when 900 Virginians marched toward this position from the leafless woods standing across the road. Col. Samuel Fulkerson led this Confederate attack. A lawyer from Abingdon, VA, Fulkerson received his orders directly from Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson, who ordered him to "turn a battery of the enemy" on Pritchard's Hill (the hill directly behind you). To protect his men from the sixteen cannon that opposed him, Fulkerson placed the 37th Virginia and the 23rd Virginia in a formation that spanned 80 yards across and 200 yards deep. With Fulkerson leading his men on a white horse, 600 Virginians paced with him, followed by the 33rd Virginia marching 150 yards behind them. As the head of the 37th Virginia passed by this position, the tail of the 33rd Virginia crossed the distant road into this field.

Union artillery fired upon the approaching Virginians, tearing gaping holes into the deep ranks of troops as they marched through the field. When Fulkerson shifted his men to the left, the horror intensified as the Confederate flanks became hopelessly exposed to the unrelenting cannon fire. Unable to reach his destination at the base of Pritchard's Hill, Fulkerson rushed his men westward across Middle Road (to your right) and up the wooded edge of Sandy Ridge. Perhaps as many as 80 Confederates were killed and wounded in the charge. One company, from Col. Fulkerson's hometown, lost 24 men in this daring but fruitless assault.

Colonel Samuel V. Fulkerson

Commending his men for fighting "with desperate courage," Colonel Fulkerson conspicuously led the assault across the fields in front of Pritchard's Hill. Fulkerson was considered "a great favorite" of "Stonewall" Jackson, and his death at Gaines' Mill, three months after Kernstown, moved Jackson to tears.

@2:15pm

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Battle of First Kernstown

Fulkerson/Garnett Assault

It is March 23, 1862 approximately 2:15 PM

You are standing about 800 yards from the Union batteries on Pritchard's Hill.

As Lt. Col. Daum continued to direct the Union batteries to concentrate their fire on the Confederate assault, the Union gunners on Pritchard's Hill began to find their range.

Continuing his aggressive leadership over the batteries on Pritchards Hill, Lt. Col. Daum had made a key decision to check the Confederates' advance before it made its way across this field. By directing Lt. Lucius Robinson's six-gun battery to move from its position in the rear of the Union artillery to high ground just west of Middle Road directly across from the Pritchard farm gate, this battery was in a position where their 12-pound howitzers and 6-pound smoothbore guns could create a cross fire on the approaching infantry columns. At this point in the Confederate assault, artillery shells from the Union artillery on Pritchard's Hill and Robinson's battery exploded in the air above Colonel Fulkerson's men, causing many to fall with upper body injuries from the exploding shrapnel.

An Ohio infantryman remarked, "As we looked down upon them, we could see our shells knock them right and left."

Privates Lindsey and Clordoma Clarke were brothers who participated in this assault as part of the 23rd Virginia Infantry. Lindsey suffered leg and arm wounds from exploding artillery shells. Clordoma also suffered wounds.

@2:30pm 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=259771

Battle of First Kernstown

Fulkerson/Garnett Assault

It is March 23, 1862 approximately 2:30 PM

You are standing about 600 yards from the Union batteries on Pritchard's Hill.

When the 37th Virginia, the lead regiment of Colonel Fulkerson's brigade, had marched to this point, the 33rd Virginia of General Garnett's brigade began to emerge from Barton's Woods. Garnett's mission was to support Colonel Fulkerson, but because General Jackson had sent these orders through an aide, Lt. George Junkin, General Garnett did not fully understand how he was to support Colonel Fulkerson, for he was never told what Fulkerson's orders were.

Because of this confusion, and by Garnett's own admission that he spent too much time observing the Union movements and directing the 33rd Virginia, he neglected to issue orders to his remaining three regiments (the 2nd, 4th, and 27th Virginia) to move in behind the 33rd as it advanced in support of Fulkerson's brigade.

At this point in the assault, the Union gunners on Pritchard's Hill, from their commanding position, continued their effective fire on the advancing Confederates.

Lt.Robinson's battery added solid shot and exploding shell fire to the already ferocious Union artillery fire coming from Pritchard's Hill, demonstrating the value of Lt. Col. Daum's decision to direct this move. In an attempt to reduce the artillery threat to his brigade, Colonel Fulkerson issued orders to turn obliquely to the left.

However, the following factors came into play that negated this effort:

• To the north of where you are now standing, the three branches of Hoge Run crossing the route of advance, all running strong due to the excessive rain and snow over the winter of 1861-2, made this ground marshy and difficult to traverse.

• This move, intended to move the brigade to the shelter of a wooded area to the west, presented a larger target to the Union gunners, and his men began to fall in greater numbers.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=259726

Battle of First Kernstown

Fulkerson/Garnett Assault

From this spot, turn and look south back along the assault route. In his official report, Colonel Fulkerson deduced that he had advanced about half of a mile from Barton's Woods before being forced to abandon the mission with a sharp westward turn.

Now turn and look north toward Pritchard's Hill. The point of Colonel Fulkerson's turn was about 100 yards further north from where you are standing. You can now appreciate how close Colonel Fulkerson-leading his brigade on his white horse-and the vanguard column of the 37th Virginia came to the Union guns (about 300 yards away) on Pritchard's Hill.

General Garnett, following about 200 yards behind the tail of Col. Fulkerson's column, and realizing the danger that Colonel Fulkerson was in, made the same decision to maneuver his one regiment, the 33rd Virginia, west into the woods, paralleling Col. Fulkerson's turn.

After successfully reaching the safety of the eastern slope of Sandy Ridge, General Garnett located and consulted with Col. Fulkerson, seriously considering redeploying back to Barton's Woods. In any case, their combined force of about 800 Virginians had only a temporary reprieve from the fighting as the infantry-on-infantry fight would start in earnest just a few hundred yards west from where they were standing.

As you look back south from this point toward Apple Valley Road and shift your gaze to the Middle Road to your right, realize that upwards of 80 steadfast Confederate soldiers were killed or wounded within this view shed. This truly is hallowed ground.

Looking back towards the church, and forward to the house and hill. 

*

Before driving to Sandy Ridge, here's a bit more from the Kernstown Battlefield: their impressive artillery museum, the Pritchard House, and more on the farm. 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=159182

The Pritchard House

A Family Caught in the Midst of War!

The large brick dwelling before you is the Pritchard House, built in 1854 by Stephen Pritchard, Jr. and his son, Samuel Pritchard. During the Civil War Samuel, his wife Helen, and their two small children occupied the house. Fighting swirled around the home during the First and Second Battles of Kernstown, as it did during smaller engagements on June 13, 1863, and August 17, 1864. Whenever combat raged across the farmstead, Samuel sheltered his family in the cellar.

When the fighting subsided, the home was used as a field hospital, and Helen Pritchard, a Unionist from New York, personally cared for many wounded Union soldiers in the house. "If it had not been for me," she recalled, "they would have died…" After Second Kernstown, Confederate soldiers carried the mortally wounded Col. James Mulligan of the Union Army into the house. A Confederate surgeon offered what little medical care he could, and a priest from the Louisiana Tiger Brigade gave Mulligan his last rites. Two days after the battle, Mulligan died peacefully as Helen Pritchard cradled his head in her arms.

With armies moving up and down the Shenandoah Valley throughout the war, the Pritchard family (like most other families) endured the loss of and damage to their property. After the First Battle of Kernstown, Union Col. Nathan Kimball impressed seven of Pritchard's horses to replace artillery horses killed in the battle. During the winter of 1864-65, Maj. Gen. Phillip Sheridan's Union Army occupied the Lower Shenandoah Valley, taking crops and harvesting a valuable stand of timber from Pritchard's property to build and supply the army's large winter encampment near Kernstown. After the war, the Federal Government refused to reimburse the Pritchards for their losses because Samuel Pritchard could not prove his loyalty to the United States during the war, although many former Union officers supported his effort.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=259829

Site of the Original Pritchard Barn

Few Traces Remain of this Historic Structure

The original Pritchard family's barn pictured below stood here throughout the Civil War until about 1969, when it was torn down.

The barn served as a shelter for the soldiers, as a hospital area and as a morgue. There is a story from a Union soldier's diary which related an occurrences in the midst of the battle of First Kernstown during which Union troops were taking shelter in the barn. A shot from a Confederate cannon just south of the village went through the barn's main door causing a quick exodus by the troops.

The original two-level farm barn stood on this embankment until being replaced by the white Amish-built barn you see 200 yards to the west. The foundation rocks are still visible near the base of the bank.

During the razing of the barn in the late 1960s the workers noted that the flooring boards were still soaked with the blood of casualties from the three battles fought here.

The original barn, shown in the image below, was 40-feet wide by 76-feet long for an area of 3,040 square feet per floor and ably served as storage for the farm's crops. Silos had not yet been introduced here.

* * *

Now, let's get in the car and drive to a different park where Sandy Ridge is preserved, and the wall they fought over is recreated. Believe it or not, this was my second time visiting Rose Hill park (and not the first Hill titled Rose I've visited), but the first time was so long ago I wasn't documenting the markers. So here they are.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=254241

Rose Hill

— 1862 Valley Campaign —

The First Battle of Kernstown, on March 23, 1862, was also the first major Civil War battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley. Throughout the morning, 16 Union cannons on Pritchard’s Hill held off Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s overmatched Confederate command. Relying on intelligence that was soon proved faulty, Jackson not only attacked a force that outnumbered his by 3,000 men, but also tried and failed to dislodge the Union guns by direct assault.

In mid-afternoon, the tide of battle swept over the William W. Glass farm (Rose Hill) when Jackson ordered Col. Samuel Fulkerson’s and Gen. Richard B. Garnett’s brigades here to Sandy Ridge in a movement against the Federal right flank. Union Col. Nathan Kimball, under orders from Brigadier General James Shields, stationed in Winchester, countered with reinforcements. The Confederate line stood firm for about two hours behind a stone wall east of the Glass house, and at times the two sides exchanged fire within 80 yards of each other. Garnett’s brigade retreated as it ran out of ammunition. Fulkerson’s had to follow, and the retreat nearly became a rout. By the time the Confederates retreated, one out of every seven had been killed or wounded.

Although Jackson suffered the only defeat of his career at Kernstown, the U.S. War Department ordered 25,000 additional men to the Shenandoah Valley instead of to other areas where they were sorely needed. Kernstown began the campaign that soon made Stonewall Jackson’s name famous throughout America.

At the time of the battle, Rose Hill, was the home of Colonel William Wood Glass (seated, second from left) and his family. The Glass family first came to the lower Shenandoah Valley from Northern Ireland in 1738, carving homes and farms from the wilderness. During the winter of 1861–1862, Col. Glass served under "Stonewall" Jackson in the 51st Regiment of Virginia Militia. -Courtesy Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

Confederate troops fired from behind this stone wall during the battle. here, Civil War veterans visit the wall about 1885. Courtesy Massachusetts Commandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and U.S. Army Military History Institute

With the day ending, ammunition exhausted, and no orders to the contrary, Brigadier General Richard Brook Garnett (left), Jackson’s second in command, withdrew his weary brigade from the position along the stone wall east of here. Jackson would later press charges against Garnett for this withdrawal, and the resulting disagreement would go down in history as one of the most famous of the war. Within sixteen months both men would be killed in battle.

Here's where we are, and where we were.

Then there's one more introduction to the battle and the delightfully interpreted trail to the stonewall. It's important to note that the markers and their placement here have been updated for accuracy: so they aren't actually located where that intro signs says they are(!) but they are all out there and located nearer where the things actually happened.  

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=185031

"In the excitement of battle I could aim at them only forty or fifty yards from me, as coolly as I ever did at a squirrel. But now it seems very much like murder. They would throw up their hands and fall every time we would get a fair shot at them, and we would laugh at their motions and make jest at their misfortune. I don't nor can't imagine now how we could do it. The fact is, in battle a man becomes a sinner and delights at the work of death. And if his best friend falls at his side he heeds it not, but presses on eager to engage in the wholesale murder." -John G. Marsh, 29th Ohio Regiment, to his father, April 10, 1862, in C. Cavins Smithy, ed., "The Duties of Home and War: The Civil War Letters of John G. Marsh, 19th Ohio Volunteers (A Selection),” Upper Ohio Valley Historical Review (1979), VIII(2):10.

On March 23, 1862, the opening conflict of the Valley Campaign of the Civil War began on the adjoining Glass and Pritchard farms. You are visiting the Glass Farm called Rose Hill. The neighboring Pritchard Farm is 1 1/2 miles southeast of where you are standing. The clash began early in the morning on the Pritchard Farm and concluded on the Glass Farm with the loss of sunlight at the end of the day.

The Commanders

For the South

General Thomas J. "Stonewall” Jackson commanded the Confederate troops during the First Battle of Kernstown, the opening battle of his Shenandoah Valley Campaign, and his only tactical defeat.

Brigadier General Richard B. Garnett was Jackson’s second in command. In desperation, Garnett ordered his soldiers to withdraw from the battle without Stonewall Jackson’s permission.

For the North

Colonel Nathan Kimball commanded the Union troops during the First Battle of Kernstown with an infantry division twice the size of the Southern forces.

Colonel Erastus B. Tyler commanded the Union infantry in Winchester and was dispatched to the battle by Colonel Nathan Kimball to capture enemy artillery.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=185091

War In The Backyard

 

When the First Battle of Kernstown took place, William Wood Glass was living on this farm. Just two months earlier, he had been discharged for health reasons after serving in the 51st Regiment, Virginia Militia under "Stonewall" Jackson. The opening of the 1860s were years of loss for Glass. His older sister had died in 1860. In the summer of 1861, while William was on active duty with his regiment, his wife died. His father passed away a few months later, leaving William to manage the farm. Then late in the afternoon of March 23, 1862, a battle was waged around a stone fence on his property.

@5pm

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=3498

...After unsuccessfully trying to dislodge Northern troops under Colonel Kimball from high ground on the neighboring Pritchard Farm, Southern General "Stonewall" Jackson placed artillery on even higher ground - the east side of Sandy Ridge (the far side of the high ground in front of you).

Northern forces sent to dislodge these guns ran into Southern forces sent to defend them.

@ late afternoon

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The Advance of Tyler’s Brigade

Northern Colonel Nathan Kimball saw the position of his troops on nearby Pritchard's Hill (1.5 miles left and in front of you) becoming indefensible. Southern artillery recently placed on the higher elevation of Sandy Ridge (just in front of you) seriously threatened them.

In an effort to capture these guns, Kimball dispatched Colonel Erastus B. Tyler (Ohio) with a brigade of infantry from Winchester. He hoped Tyler's troops would conduct a surprise attack on the Southern left and rear. Tyler's 2300 infantry and 400 cavalry marched south from Cedar Creek Grade (directly behind you) in a narrow column formation. The formation, designed to move a large body of troops through rough and wooded terrain efficiently, was well suited to traversing the ground south of Cedar Creek Grade. It proved dangerous when these Northern troops came out of the woods and into open ground in front of the Southern infantry, massed behind the stone wall that ran along the crest of Sandy Ridge. The Northern column was an easy target. As Northern casualties mounted, Tyler's attempt to dislodge Southern defenders stalled.

Tyler's failure to seize enemy artillery on Sandy Ridge prompted his commander, Kimball, to send in additional Northern troops against Southern infantry and artillery on Sandy Ridge. These units marched directly west from Pritchard's Hill, instead of following the route Tyler's men had taken. The steadily increasing pressure of this second wave of Northern infantry began to turn the tide. The retreat of Southern infantry on the high ground finally enabled Tyler's brigade to seize the stone wall and advance southward.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=185113

The Defense of the Stone Wall

The stone wall here was originally between waist and shoulder-high. It was a farm fence, made of stones picked up from the farm fields full of lime stone outcroppings common to the Shenandoah Valley. The wall ran east-west to the top of a long hill on your right called Sandy Ridge.

In the late afternoon of March 23, 1862, the first Southern regiment to arrive at this stone wall encountered advancing Northern troops. The sound of musketry brought other Southern units to the scene. Before long, several brigades gathered behind the length of the stone wall.

These included most of the "Stonewall" brigade, formed and trained by Confederate General "Stonewall" Jackson. These regiments were currently under the command of Brigadier General Richard B. Garnett. There were eventually about 1,700 men at the wall, standing several rows deep.

For about an hour the Southern defenders held the Northern forces at bay. The noise of this static fight increased in volume and caused Jackson to comment a few days after the battle, "I do not recollect having ever heard such a roar of musketry."

@6pm (long day, we started @9am)

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=254331

The Order for Retreat

Northern commander Colonel Nathan Kimball 1.5 miles away (over the hill on your right) on Prichard's Hill faced the threat of defeat. He decided to seize the initiative and order a second assault against the Southern artillery atop Sandy Ridge. At approximately 5:00 p.m., the first of these troops arrived, causing some of the Southern artillery to withdraw and threatening the Southern right flank behind the stone wall.

The troops behind the stone wall were now under Southern Brigadier General Richard B. Garnett's command. "Stonewall" Jackson was not near the front lines.

By 6:00 p.m., things were looking desperate to Garnett. His men were gathering ammunition from fallen comrades. He encouraged them to "aim low and pick your men." Now fighting in two directions, casualties mounting, ammunition nearly exhausted, darkness imminent, and no orders to the contrary from Jackson, Garnett made the decision to withdraw his troops from the stone wall just minutes before sunset.

Jackson was furious.

Within ten days Jackson ordered Garnett arrested and relieved of command for "neglect of duty on March 23 at Kernstown." In August, a court-martial convened but was interrupted by the war and never finished. Garnett died riding a horse in Pickett's Charge.

@night

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Northern Victory, Southern Defeat

As Southern units retreated and resistance fell apart, Northern victory was assured.

Jackson found himself surrounded by a disorderly retreat of his soldiers. In the growing dark, a few fresh Southern units made gallant attempts to cover the Southern retreat from Northern pursuit. One group formed a defensive square until they were completely surrounded and had to surrender. In the fields where you now stand, Northern horsemen gathered up approximately 250 wounded and retreating Southern troops, among them Jackson's brother-in-law and Sgt. Major Randolph Barton of the 33rd Virginia.

That night Jackson camped the disorganized remnants of his army just south of Newtown (now Stephens City) along the Valley turnpike. His men had, within two days, marched forty miles and fought a battle against superior numbers. Jackson's own performance had been less than exemplary. He had risked his army by pitching it headlong into a larger Northern force without an adequate picture of enemy strength. He failed to rely on his subordinates and communicate his battle plan to them. Finally, Jackson chose to fight this battle from the rear, feeding his units into the fight rather than being at the front and controlling the action. He would not make the same mistake again.

Kate Sperry, a young woman from Winchester, visited several days after the battle. In her diary she described what she saw.

"…we walked over a portion of it — where the fight was the thickest… the trees were scarred all over and branches shot off by the balls — the ground discolored by the blood of our men and Yanks also. I got a bullet that one of the Yanks fired at our men when our men were behind the stone wall — or fence rather … Mr. M. assisted to bury our men — 79 in a tiny trench — side by side and a rail fence around them … it was truly sad to see them — a haversack belonging to some of our men was lying on the ground by the fence, a piece of grey blanket and an old coat, part of a red flannel shirt … . I brought away a piece of that stone fence — am going to preserve it."

-Kate Sperry diary excerpt

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

There were (at least) six major battles in Winchester,VA. The visitors center at Third Winchester has signs for all six. Here's K1. 

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The First Battle of Kernstown

March 23, 1862

—Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign—

"Believing that [the enemy] had other forces near at hand, I did not propose to walk into the net." —Union Col. Nathan Kimball,

Explaining why he declined to attack the smaller Confederate force during the early stages of the battle

Believing most Union troops had left Winchester, Confederate Gen. “Stonewall" Jackson marched north to attack the remaining Federals — only to find he was facing a full division. The Federals, commanded by Col. Nathan Kimball, stopped Jackson at Kernstown and then counterattacked, forcing him to retreat. Jackson's defeat became a strategic victory when his aggression prompted the Federals to send more troops to the Valley.