June 13-15, 1863 - Second Winchester / Lee crosses the Potomac & bivouacs with Longstreet
June 13-15, 1863
The Second Battle of Winchester
Winchester, VA (Shenandoah Valley
Maj Gen. Robert M Milroy & Col. Andrew T. Reynolds: Gen. Washington Elliot's brigade; Col. Joseph Warren Keifer of the 110th Ohio led the reconnaissance, which consisted of his own regiment plus the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry and two guns from Battery D, 1st West Virginia Artillery.
vs.
Lt. Gen Richard S. Ewell > Gen. Jubal Early: Gen. Harry Hays' Louisiana Brigade
* Ewell's corps defeat Milroy, "clearing the northern Shenandoah Valley in Virginia of Federal forces"; the Rebs are free to invade the North
* Various sites: Downtown, outside town, and in some forts!
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=2658 |
June 13-15, 1863 took place during Gen. Lee’s advance to Gettysburg between Confederates under Gen. Ewell and Federals under Gen. Milroy. The Federals occupied positions on the hills north and west of Winchester now called Milroys and Star Forts from which they retreated and a large part of their army made prisoners by the Confederates.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=1786 and also https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=1785 |
Gen. Robert E. Lee bivouacked near here on 18-19 June 1863, as he began his invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania. Part of his Army of Northern Virginia marched north toward Winchester, while Lt. Gen. James Longstreet’s corps camped here with Lee. On 13 June, a Union force under Col. Andrew T. McReynolds had evacuated Berryville and marched to Winchester to join Maj. Gen. Richard S. Milroy’s division there. Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s corps attacked and defeated Milroy in the Second Battle of Winchester on 13-15 June, thereby clearing the northern Shenandoah Valley in Virginia of Federal forces.
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[More Winchester to follow when I return for the Valley Campaign....]
Aaaaand I'm back, Summer 2025, technically for first Kernstown. Pritchard's Hill features in both Kernstown and Second Winchester, so here it is.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=170040 |
Second Battle of Winchester
June 13, 1863
When Confederate Gen. Richard Ewell's Second Corps spearheaded the Army of Northern Virginia's second invasion of the North in June 1863, his first task was to destroy Gen. Robert Milroy's command of approximately 8,000 troops who guarded over the lower Shenandoah Valley. Gen. Ewell's lead elements first encountered Gen. Milroy's troops on June 12 in Middletown, eight miles south of this position. The following day Milroy took precautions to protect the southern approaches to Winchester by sending Gen. Washington Elliot's brigade to guard the Valley Pike. Milroy also ordered Elliot to move a portion of his command from its position on the southern outskirts of Winchester further south to Kernstown, acting as a reconnaissance in force.
Col. Joseph Warren Keifer of the 110th Ohio led the reconnaissance, which consisted of his own regiment plus the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry and two guns from Battery D, 1st West Virginia Artillery. Col. Keifer advanced his detachment south and easily pushed aside a small Confederate force, a unit of the 2nd Maryland Infantry Battalion. As Keifer continued to advance along the Valley Pike and the firing intensified, Gen. Elliot sent reinforcements who, as they got, closer to Kernstown, viewed Gen. Ewell's massive advancing columns. Instead of withdrawing, Elliot decided to block the Confederate advance by taking advantage of two key pieces of high ground, Pritchard's Hill and Sandy Ridge, just west of the Valley Pike near Kernstown.
The two guns from Battery D, 1st West Virginia, supported by two Ohio infantry regiments, took a position here on Pritchard's Hill. Gen. Elliot then sent the 12th West Virginia Infantry further to the west (your right) to a position atop Sandy Ridge to protect his western flank.
To crack this position, Gen. Ewell turned to Gen. Jubal Early's division. Early, in turn, sent Gen. Harry Hays' Louisiana Brigade to advance against the western flank of Pritchard's Hill to silence the guns. Gen. John Gordon's brigade advanced further to the west and drove the defenders from Sandy Ridge. Despite some well-aimed shots from the artillery on Pritchard's Hill, numerical strength outweighed the geographical superiority and the Union defenders withdrew from this hill and re-formed closer to Winchester.
For two more days Ewell's and Milroy's commands battled in the forts and fields north and northwest of Winchester. By the morning of June 15, 1863, Milroy's force had been crushed and the path into Pennsylvania for the Army of Northern Virginia had been cleared.
Gen. Jubal Early's success here as a division commander on June 13, 1863, would be topped by his astonishing victory almost a year later at the Second Battle of Kernstown.
Gen. Robert Milroy, although remembered most for his defeat at the Second Battle of Winchester, was also the first Union general to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation in the Shenandoah Valley.
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During a subsequent visit to Winchester, I found the Star Fort. Super-cool because it is tucked into the middle of a completely suburban neighborhood. It's also incredibly intact, but rather than being told to keep off it, I actually could go into it (there were markers inside), in addition to all around. Good times on a nice day. Five markers here, with two of them now newly added to the database.
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| Looking into the fort from the street |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=258469 |
Constructing Star Fort
"With axe, pick, and shovel"
—Milroy's Occupation of Winchester (January-June 1863)—
The first works on this site were constructed in 1861, when Confederate troops in the 4th Alabama built a series of gun emplacements called "Fort Alabama."
When Union Gen. Robert H. Milroy arrived in Winchester on January 1, 1863, he put his men to work strengthening the town's existing fortifications. His soldiers rotated various tasks, spending one day per week working on Winchester's defenses, three days on guard duty, and three days dedicated to camp chores. On any given day during the first half of 1863, approximately 1,000 Union soldiers labored on the earthworks. They strengthened Fort Jackson, Fort Garibaldi (renamed Fort Milroy), and West Fort, and constructed a new, stronger fortification on this site - Star Fort - "Working on the fort and rifle pits, with axe, pick, and shovel."
Star Fort's elevated position afforded long views as far away as Harper's Ferry that were strategically important for protecting the town, the Valley Pike, and the nearby railroad lines. Milroy believed that the terrain here was suitable for a star fort, a design that enabled defenders to fire into an attacking enemy's flanks.
The soldiers who constructed these works used the excavated soil from the ditch at the base of the fort and the rifle pits that encircled it to build the parapet. When finished, the fort could hold up to 1,500 men and 8 cannon.
When constructing the forts, Milroy, a fervent abolitionist, instructed his men to use limestone and brick from the nearby home of former U.S. Senator James Mason, author of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=285743 |
The Civilian's War
"Impossible that we could come of that chaos alive."
— 1 Story / 1 Thousand Voices —
While Union artillery from Star Fort dueled with Confederate gunners in West Fort on June 14, 1863, Winchester's civilians fretted for their safety. Some wondered if Union Gen. Robert H. Milroy would destroy Winchester by either burning or bombing it. The threat seemed credible. The Federal gunners who manned the fortifications, including this one, had previously used the town for target practice, firing wooden and live rounds with no regard for civilian safety. Mary Greenhow Lee, whose house shook "from the concussion" of the Union artillery fire from Star Fort, wondered if Milroy would make good on this threat "to burn us up." Although concerned for their safety, Lee and other civilians could not resist climbing onto rooftops to view the exchange of fire between Star Fort and West Fort. "It was a magnificent sight," Lee remembered. Another resident, Cornelia McDonald, recalled, "the booming of the cannon, the screaming of shells...and the balls of light go shooting over our heads, followed by that fretful explosion." As her children gathered around her, she felt it was "impossible that we could come out of that chaos alive." Fortunately for the civilians, the town survived the battle. By the next morning the Federals had fled, and southern troops marched into town to a rapturous welcome from Winchester's largely pro-Confederate residents. "The people were perfectly wild with delight and excitement," Laura Lee wrote. But Union supporters such as Julia Chase were downcast. "We are now in Dixie," she wrote. "Oh what a sad, sad day this has been to us."
[photo caption] Cornelia Peake McDonald (seated center right) and seven of her children in an 1870 photo taken in Lexington, Virginia, where she lived for 10 years after leaving Winchester. - Courtesy of the Handley Regional Library, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=275391 |
A Place of Refuge
"Lost everything but the clothes on their backs"
—The Long Road To Freedom—
During his occupation of Winchester from January to June 1863, Union Gen. Robert H. Milroy worked fervently to enforce Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on January 1, 1863. Thousands of slaves in the region were freed — but not all left the Valley. Some chose to stay and work for themselves or for the Federals, many as spies and informants.
When the Confederate attacked Winchester during the Second Battle of Winchester (June 13-15, 1863), the African Americans who remained here in the city feared for their freedom and safety. Many fled to the Union fortifications, including Star Fort, seeking refuge and protection. Huddled here, they must have been terrified as cannon fire crashed around and into the fort during the thunderous artillery duel on the night of June 14.
When Milroy decided to evacuate Winchester and attempt to break through to Harper's Ferry in the early morning hours of June 15, the African Americans here joined the troops fleeing north. But the way was blocked. The Confederates cut off Milroy's route near Stephenson's Depot, 3 miles behind you, and effectively destroyed Milroy's force, capturing thousands of Union soldiers and hundreds of African Americans. As one civilian wrote, "Many [blacks] were captured" — including those freed by the Emancipation Proclamation and those who had been born free — and were either returned to their owners, impressed into Confederate service, or jailed. "They had took a good many negroes and we got a good many of them back," recalled Confederate Pvt. Henry H. Dedrick.
Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early ordered the release of Robert Discon, a free black who had been captured during the evacuation and jailed. But once freed, Discon was kidnapped by William H. Corbin, a local carpenter, taken to Richmond, and sold into slavery.
"They have lost everything but the clothes on their backs, & in the effort to get to the fort for protection, I wonder they had not been killed"
- Ann Cary Randolph Jones after the Second Battle of Winchester
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=285749 |
The Retreat
"We had been ordered to move out of the fort quietly"
— 1 Story / 1 Thousand Voices —
Inscription. Click to hear the inscription. The Second Battle of Winchester (June 13-15, 1863) The Retreat "We had been ordered to move out of the fort quietly" At day's end on June 14, 1863, the Federals still held Star Fort and Fort Milroy, but they were low on food and artillery ammunition, and scouts reported that the Confederates were moving heavy guns to higher ground, where they would be able to pound the forts when the sun rose. "The position of the Yankees was utterly hopeless now," a Confederate artilleryman recalled, "for in the morning we could have torn them to pieces with our artillery." Realizing his position "could not be successfully defended...against such an army as surrounded me," Union Gen. Robert H. Milroy decided to attempt to cut his way through to Harper's Ferry, 25 miles away. The Federal soldiers were ordered to spike and abandon their artillery, destroy any remaining ammunition, leave their wagons, and retreat northward on the Martinsburg Pike. Union Pvt. Frederick Wild was sound asleep here in Star Fort, near where you stand, when he was awakened and informed "that we had been ordered to move out of the fort quietly." At 1:00 a.m., the Union troops positioned here began heading toward the pike, 0.7 miles in front of you. With thousands of soldiers and non-combatants attempting to retreat, the road became crowded. "The jam of horses and mules [was] so great," recalled Pvt. Wild, "that I was compelled to take my feet out of the stirrups and kneel or squat on the saddle for a time for fear my leg might be broke." Unfortunately for the Federals, Confederate commander Gen. Richard Ewell suspected that Milroy would try to break out, and ordered Gen. Allegheny Johnson's division to cut them off. At sunrise on June 15, Johnson's division intercepted the Federals at Stephenson's Depot and capture half of them- including Pvt. Wild.
[photo captions] Pvt. Richard Bassford, Baltimore Light Artillery, was captured during the retreat. - Courtesy Jonathan A. Noyalas Collection Frederick W. Wild, c. 1912 From Memoirs and History of Captain Frederick W. Alexander's Baltimore Light Brigade
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=258484 |
Duel of the Forts
"We had to work our guns on our knees"
—The Second Battle of Winchester (June 13-15, 1863)—
After initial fighting south of Winchester on June 13, 1863, Union commander Gen. Robert H. Milroy concentrated his forces in the triangle formed by Fort Milroy, West Fort, and Star Fort. On the evening of June 14, Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early's infantry captured West Fort, about a mile to your front. When Early's artillery followed, the Baltimore Light Artillery here in Star Fort opened fire, knocking one southern cannon on its side and hitting a caisson that "blew up with a terrific crash."
When the remaining Confederate guns reached West Fort, they engaged in an artillery duel with the Union cannon here and in Fort Milroy. "The guns in Star Fort greeted them with shell after shell planted among them with astonishing precision," recalled a Union soldier.
The Confederate gunners replied in kind. "There was not an instant when there were not five or six shells bursting over our heads or crashing against [the] parapet," Union Pvt. Frederick Wild described the experience here in Star Fort. "We had to work our guns on our knees," a Union officer wrote, "the shell[s] killing our horses and wounding our men."
One of the Union artillerymen had his leg torn off by a shell, and Pvt. Wild recalled a horse that "had a piece torn out of his throat as wide as your hand...Every time he exhaled, a spurt of blood came out with the air. He appeared to know that he was going to die...He was trembling as if cold."
Around 10:00 p.m., the last of the firing died out. "An ominous silence reigned," recalled a Union cavalryman, "while the heads and hearts of our boys were busied with thoughts of the morrow."
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Here's a bad pic of a second Winchester sign because I was touring 3rd Winchester at the time, but here it is nonetheless. The Feds retreated North to this point - and I found the marker. It's like a whole other battle out here. (Important because that sign has since been torn down to make way for a new housing development. Also, I would really discourage driving down the pictured long, gravel road unless you're really interested in the roots of Methodism, which has a marker and site down there.)
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=41659 Stephenson Depot "The Thermopylae of my campaign.” In the spring of 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia began a march that culminated at the Battle of Gettysburg. Lee chose the Shenandoah Valley for his invasion route. Ninety-six hundred Federals under Gen. Robert H. Milroy stood in his way at Winchester. Lee sent Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s 2nd Corps to clear the way. On June 14, 1863, the Confederates attacked the Federals at Winchester. Realizing it was in danger of being surrounded, Milroy’s command evacuated the city during the night. Anticipating the move, Ewell directed Gen. Edward Johnson’s division to block the Union escape route to Harper’s Ferry. In the pre-dawn darkness, Johnson, with only Gen. George H. Steuart’s brigade and two cannon from the 1st Maryland Battery, moving west on the road to your right, struck the Federals. The Confederate infantry took positions along the railroad tracks and Lt. Col. Snowden Andrews placed the two guns in the road at the bridge (right front). The Federals repeatedly tried to take the bridge and clear the way. The Confederate line was in danger of collapsing when reinforcements arrived. Additional Southern artillery was placed on the high ground (behind you). When the Federals were repulsed for the last time, Lt. C.S. Contee, commander of the two guns at the bridge, told Andrews, “Col., I have a Sgt. and two men, and the enemy is retreating.” Thirteen of the sixteen artillerists had been killed or wounded. Lee called the stand at the bridge “the Thermopylae of my campaign.” The 13th Pennsylvania Cavalry also suffered heavy casualties. While they changed position to charge the Confederate artillery on the hill, the Southern gunners found their range and sent exploding shells into the horsemen. Of the 655 men in the unit, 334 became casualties. Milroy escaped capture, but nearly half his troops were not so lucky. Lee marched across the Potomac River, taking the 23 newly captured cannon and supplies. The Culp family of Gettysburg was one of the many divided by the Civil War. Wesley Culp, who moved to Virginia prior to the war, cast his lot with the South while his brother William enlisted in the Union army. Both were participants in the clash at Stephenson Depot. William survived the war. Wesley was killed at Gettysburg near a hill named for his ancestors." * Kind of exciting: no markers yet, but the land is preserved. There was definitely fighting in these fields in June of '63.   *  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=168405 1st Maryland Battery (CSA) Memorial "I regard this as the Thermopylae of my campaign"-Gen. R.E. Lee Stephen's Depot June 15, 1863 Andrews Artillery Battalion/1st Maryland Battery Richard Snowden Andrews, Lieut. Col. Erected 1920 by Commissioned by Lt. Col. Andrews' Children.    Action at Stephenson’s Depot |
Near this place on June 15, 1863, Confederate troops of General Edward “Allegheny” Johnson’s Division attacked and routed General Robert Milroy’s Union Army during its retreat from Winchester. The short, pre-dawn battle resulted in the capture of Milroy’s wagon train and more than 2300 Union prisoners. From here, the Confederate Army advanced into Pennsylvania where it suffered defeat two weeks later at Gettysburg.
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Thus clearing the way for...
June 15, 1863
Lee's second invasion of the North
Williamsport, MD (Again)
Confederate General Robert E. Lee > 2,000 of Gen. Albert G. Jenkins's infantrymen first, then 50,000 more under Gens. James Longstreet and A.P. Hill.
They'd be back less than a month later
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=1117
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| We will see this sign again... and again! https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=3910 |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=1117 |
On June 15, 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s second invasion of the North began here as 2,000 of Gen. Albert G. Jenkins’s infantrymen splashed across the Potomac River. For the next eleven days, almost 50,000 soldiers under Gens. James Longstreet and A.P. Hill entered Maryland here at Williamsport. Hungry Confederates temporarily occupied the town, and many residents welcomed them with tables in the streets loaded with milk, bread, and meat.
Less than a month later, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, reeling from the defeat at Gettysburg, returned. The first of the wounded arrived on July 5, the day after the battle ended, but were trapped here by the rain-swollen river. Williamsport became a “great hospital for the thousands of wounded,” according to Confederate Gen. John B. Imboden, who ordered every family in town to cook for the casualties.
Ferryboats soon began transporting the army across the river as Union signal corpsmen watched, and by July 14, most of the soldiers had left Maryland behind. Even after the water subsided, however, the current remained swift. The tallest men formed two lines shore to shore with their guns interlocked to mark a strong and stable line. Despite their efforts, ammunition was soaked and Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s corps lost 8,000 pairs of shoes to the rushing waters.
“May the Lord prosper this expedition and bring an early peace out of it. I feel that we are taking a very important step, but see no reason why we should not be successful. We have a large army that is in splendid condition and spirit and the best Generals in the South. … Hope and pray for the best. This is a momentous time.” —Gen. W. Dorsey Pender, mortally wounded at Gettysburg, to his wife.
“And so we turned our backs on Maryland. … What a change in one month! Could not refrain from some bitter tears as I stood on the Virginia shore and looked back to our beloved State. … Last night the band played ‘Sweet Home’ – what a mockery to us [Marylanders]!” —Lt. McHenry Howard, Confederate Staff Officer.
The Second Battle of Winchester
June 13-15, 1863
—Lee's 1863 Gettysburg Campaign—
"Hurrah for the Louisiana boys! There's Early; I hope the old fellow won't be hurt!"
—Confederate Gen. Richard E. Ewell
Watching Jubal Early and the Louisiana Tigers make the pivotal attack on West Flank.
At Second Winchester, Union Gen. Robert H. Milroy unwisely chose to stand and fight when approached by a superior Confederate force under Gen. Richard E. Ewell. Ewell sent Gen. Jubal A. Early on a flanking movement that captured a key Federal fort, then cut off Milroy when he attempted to retreat — largely destroying the Federal force. The battle cleared the way for Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North that led to Gettysburg.
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