first battle of kernstown

Kimball organized no effective pursuit. It had snowed a few days before … First Battle of Kernstown - March 23, 1862. The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia, the opening battle of Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. 338–39. The Union order of battle is shown separately. 1st Michigan Cavalry (battalion): Lt. Col. 1st Squadron Pennsylvania Cavalry: Capt. Richard Garnett stayed in the U.S. Army until the outbreak of the war, resigning his commission on May 17, 1861, then returning to Virginia to fight for his state and the Confederacy. Ignorant of Jackson's tactical blueprint, his brigade out of ammunition and outflanked, Garnett took the only sane course of action. The First Battle of Kernstown". Cozzens, p. 167; Clark, p. 67; Robertson, p. 340. General Thomas J. That struggle, on the first Sunday in spring, marked the first military … Salmon, p. 33; Clark, p. 66; Eicher, p. 210; Cozzens, pp. A represents the first position of Kimball's and Sullivan's brigades on the morning of March 23d. Following the earlier Battle of Hoke's Run, the First Battle of Kernstown may be considered the second among Jackson's rare defeats. Employing audacity and rapid, unpredictable movements on interior lines, Jackson's 17,000 men marched 646 miles (1,040 km) in 48 days and won several minor battles as they successfully engaged three Union armies (52,000 men), preventing them from reinforcing the Union … While a tactical defeat for the Confederates, and Jackson’s only loss, the battle nevertheless was an … 349–50. On March 21, Jackson received word that Banks was splitting his force, with two divisions (under Brig. But Col. Erastus B. Tyler's brigade countered this movement, and, when Kimball's brigade moved to his assistance, the Confederates were driven from the field. 1863. Gary Ecelbarger's book reveals a far different reality. [10], Jackson refused to accept any responsibility for the defeat and subsequently arrested the commander of his old Stonewall Brigade, Brig. The devoutly religious Jackson preferred to avoid battles on the Sabbath, but throughout his Civil War career he did not hesitate when military advantage could be gained. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. Throughout the morning, sixteen Union cannon crowned the knolls of Pritchard’s Hill (the high ground immediately north of here) … WE ARE IN FOR IT - THE FIRST BATTLE OF KERNSTOWN Kernstown, first battle of, 23 March 1862 Instead of attacking a small rearguard, Jackson’s 4,200 men found themselves up against a complete division, 9,000 strong. The remaining division, under Brig. “Stonewall” Jackson, commander of Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, faced a dilemma in early March 1862. “Say nothing about it,” Jackson told Pendleton. [Martin, p. 42], Furious that Garnett had withdrawn his almost ammunitionless brigade from the line late in the day without consulting him, Jackson had Garnett arrested and, Dissastisfied with Burks' performance, Jackson used Burks' request for sick leave to relieve him of command entirely before the next major engagement. Despite not being on the battlefield, Shields always maintained in later years that he was the only general ever to defeat "Stonewall" Jackson. A brief summary of the the Battle of Second Kernstown. 140–52; Tanner, p. 103. Indeed, Kernstown is considered the only recorded loss of Jackson’s career. Kernstown, First Civil War battle summary. Without this protective movement, the Federal army under Banks might strike at Johnston through passes in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Jackson's aide, Sandie Pendleton, obtained a clear view from the ridge of the Union forces arrayed against them and he estimated that there were 10,000. Gen. James Shields, was stationed at Strasburg to guard the lower (northeastern) Valley, and intelligence indicated that it was withdrawing toward Winchester. When Pendleton returned to report his findings, the news was grim – he told Jackson he believed they were facing as many as 10,000 enemy troops. Jackson’s aggressive movements caused great alarm to Gen. Shields. The village of Kernstown was located a few miles south of Winchester, Va. Jackson's Confederates attacked with the intention of drawing Union forces away from the Army of the Potomac's position on the Virginia Peninsula. Eventually, despite taking heavy casualties, Tyler finally got his five regiments into one long line of battle, and together with the reinforcements sent by Kimball, the disparity in numbers began to tell. The Confederate guns unlimbered, and around 9 a.m., open fired – the first shots of the Battle of Kernstown. The park has walking trails, a small museum and a visitor's center inside the farmhouse. Cozzens, pp. Garnett led that brigade ably during the September 1862 Maryland Campaign. John Horner, West Augusta Battery, Virginia Artillery: Capt. Ashby’s attempts to outflank the Union forces were unsuccessful, and he had to pull back in the face of heavy artillery fire. There was no effective Union pursuit. Jackson believed that he was attacking a small Federal rearguard that was withdrawing. He called out to a soldier "Where are you going, man?" "Stonewall" Jackson's spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson 's Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862 was generally a success. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. McClellan claimed that the loss of these forces prevented him from taking Richmond during his campaign. Clark, pp. Cozzens, p. 215, Eicher, p. 211; Salmon, p. 35, Kennedy, p. 78, and Clark, p. 71, cite 590 total Union casualties. Kimball brought more troops into the action, and placed ten rifled artillery pieces on Pritchard’s Hill, a dominant position just west of the Valley Pike. … It was also his first independent battle – and his only tactical defeat. The First Battle of Kernstown, fought by 10,000 Americans on March 23, 1862, was the first battle waged in the Shenandoah Valley. After several hours of battle, the Confederates started to run low on ammunition, and although no orders arrived from Jackson to do so, Garnett ordered a retreat from Sandy Ridge. The Battle of Kernstown on March 23, 1862, set the stage for Thomas J. The Stonewall Brigade's withdrawal, which came after it received the bulk of the Union fire and suffered the majority of Confederate casualties, uncovered the right of Fulkerson's Brigade, forcing it to also withdraw and starting a panic. Richard Brooke Garnett- Born on November 21, 1817, in Essex County, Virginia. In late July, 1864, as Maj. Gen. Jubal Early withdrew south after the battle at Cool Spring, the Union command believed he was returning to Robert E. Lee’s army outside of Petersburg. The First Battle of Kernstown-The Beginning of “Stonewall” Jackson’s Valley Campaign--The First Battle of Kernstown, fought by 10,000 Americans on March 23, 1862, was the first battle waged in the Shenandoah Valley. The attack was a failure, and Jackson was forced to retreat in defeat. The soldier replied that he was out of ammunition. If this were successful, his men could move down the spine of the ridge and get into the Union rear, blocking their escape route to Winchester. Rose Hill was the scene of the battle’s later phase and final conflict. Ashby’s information was wrong, however; still present in Winchester was General James Shields’s division of nearly 8,000 Union soldiers. 155–57; Robertson, pp. Gen. Louis Blenker be detached from McClellan's Army of the Potomac and sent to reinforce Frémont. First Battle of Winchester (May 25)- Jackson's Army soundly defeats Union forces in Winchester. “Stonewall” Jackson ‘s successful Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862 during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Jackson moved north from Woodstock and arrived before the Union position at Kernstown around 11 a.m., Sunday, March 23. Jackson accused Garnett of disobeying orders - although Jackson had provided no guidance or issued any orders - had Garnett arrested for “neglect of duty,” and on April 1st, relieved Garnett of command of the brigade. Jackson, not known for his sense of humor, replied, "I think I am satisfied, sir. However, it was a strategic victory. First Battle of Kernstown. THE FIRST BATTLE OF KERNSTOWN. Gen. Richard B. Garnett, for retreating from the battlefield before permission was received. Jackson was furious with Garnett for doing this, and later would bring Garnett up for charges (see below on Garnett), but it was the right decision, and as evening fell, the Confederates withdrew south on the Valley Pike. In the spring of 1862, Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson maneuvered his 3,800-man division in the lower Shenandoah Valley, tying up a larger Union force sent there to contain him. But because of bad scouting and intelligence he was actually attacking advancing Union forces almost three times his strength. 215, 227–30; Salmon, p. 35; Tanner, p. 131. The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia, the opening battle of Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. I believe that so far as our troops were concerned, necessity and mercy both called for the battle. Although ill with a high fever, and suffering from a leg injury - the result of being thrown from his horse - Garnett insisted on leading his men forward while mounted. The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia, the opening battle of Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. V Corps, March 23, 1862 “ I do not recollect of ever having . "Then go back and give them the bayonet!" The following Confederate States Army units and commanders fought in the First Battle of Kernstown of the American Civil War. In the morning, be prepared to walk across the south field of the Pritchard farm over which Jackson's troops marched as they faced 16 blazing Union cannon atop Pritchard's Hill. The First Battle of Kernstown. Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks (not present), Valley District, Department of Northern Virginia Salmon, p. 33, cites 8,500 Union, 3,000 Confederate; Eicher, p. 209, cites 9,000 Union, 4,200 Confederate; Cozzens, p. 215, cites 6,352 Union engaged, 3,500 Confederate; Robertson, p. 340, cites Confederate strength of 2,700 infantry, 290 cavalry, and 24 guns; Clark, p. 65, cites 9,000 Union, and Confederate forces of 3,600 infantry, 600 cavalry, and 27 guns; NPS and CWSAC Report update cite 8,500 Union, 3,800 Confederate. The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia during the American Civil War. Ironically, following “Stonewall” Jackson’s death on May 10, 1863, Garnett served as one of the pallbearers at the funeral (other pallbearers included James Longstreet and Richard Ewell). His cavalry, under Col. Turner Ashby, skirmished with the Federals on March 22, during which engagement Shields was wounded with a broken arm from an artillery shell fragment. heard such a roar of musketry ” -Stonewall Jackson after the First Battle of Kernstown It was cold that Sunday, the 23 rd day of March 1862. [4], Jackson's orders from Johnston were to prevent Banks's force from leaving the Valley, which it appeared they were now doing. This battle, fought March 22-23, 1862, represented Stonewall Jackson's only battlefield defeat, an achievement which the men of General James Shields' division proudly reminded folks about after the war. The proceedings were suspended, however, with the advent of military operations. Ordered by his superior, General Joseph E. Johnston, to prevent Union forces in the Valley from moving east, and reinforcing General George B. McClellan’s offensive against Richmond, Jackson could count on barely 4,000 under his command at Winchester, hardly enough to counter the some 20,000 troops under Union General Nathaniel Banks. Bugler Henry G. Burr of Co. C of the 1st Ohio Volunteer Cavalry penned the following account a week after the First Battle of Kernstown, Virginia. Second Battle of Kernstown (July 24)-Union Army badly defeated by Gen. Jubal Early. The First Battle of Kernstown was Jackson’s only tactical defeat in the Valley. First Battle of Kernstown Winchester March 23, 1862 Outcome: Union Victory The First Battle of Kernstown was Jackson’s only tactical defeat in the Valley. Thus Jackson’s defeat at Kernstown actually accomplished what General Johnston wanted. The Battle of Kernstown, the first of two in the area, resulted in 118 Union soldiers killed, 450 wounded, and 22 missing or captured and 80 Confederate dead, 375 wounded, and 263 missing or captured. [6] He later wrote to his wife: I felt it my duty to [attack], in consideration of the ruinous effects that might result from postponing the battle until the morning. However, the soldier ignored him and kept running. 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. For some reason Garnett’s body was never identified after the battle, but it’s believed that in 1872, when the Confederate dead were recovered from the battlefield, that Garnett’s body was taken back to Richmond and re-interred in Hollywood Cemetery. Jackson said. Brigadier General James Shields (wounded), SECOND BRIGADE, Colonel Jeremiah C. Sullivan, ARTILLERY, Lieutenant Colonel Philip Daum, GARNETT'S BRIGADE, Brigadier General Richard B. Garnett, FULKERSON'S BRIGADE, Col. Samuel V. Fulkerson. The strategic realignment of Union forces caused by Jackson's battle at Kernstown—the only battle he lost in his military career—turned out to be a strategic victory for the Confederacy. 67–70; Robertson, pp. Cozzens, pp. Garnett hoped to have his day in court, but had to wait until August 1862, when his court martial began. The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia, the opening battle of Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Kernstown, First . As a result, Lincoln ordered substantial reinforcements, troops originally meant to support McClellan’s campaign against Richmond, sent back to the Valley. 1864. Henry A. Cole, Capt. First Battle of Kernstown; Began: March 23, 1862 Ended: Same Day Location: Frederick County and City of Winchester, Virginia Theater: Eastern Theater Campaign: Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign Outcome: Union victory (tactical) Confederate victory (strategic) Combatants. Jackson turned his men around and, in one of the more grueling forced marches of the war, moved northeast 25 miles on March 22 and another 15 to Kernstown on the morning of March 23. He reported this to Jackson, who replied, "Say nothing about it. John Sedgwick and Alpheus S. Williams) returning to the immediate vicinity of Washington, D.C., freeing up other Union troops to participate in Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign against Richmond. Mr. Ecelbarger has been conducting annual anniversary tours since 2002 and has never failed to keep his audience spellbound. Promoted to brigadier general in November of that year, Garnett was given command of the “Stonewall Brigade,” in the Valley District, where General “Stonewall” Jackson was in overall command. Lee). Kimball had taken charge of Shields’s division after Shields had been wounded during the previous day’s action. In command of the Federal troops facing Ashby was Colonel Nathan Kimball. Seldom during the Civil War was a general officer as gallant and as capable as Garnett treated so unjustly.... By any objective standard, Garnett had done the best at Kernstown that could reasonably have been expected under the circumstances as they existed. John Keys, Independent companies, Maryland cavalry: Capt. Sunday, March 23, 1862, broke cold and raw in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia; recently fallen snow still lay in patches on the ground. As those Confederates reached Sandy Ridge, they took position behind a stonewall that stretched across the width of the ridge. General Thomas J. The Lincoln administration, always sensitive about the safety of the Federal capital, and hearing that Jackson’s command was much larger than it was, worried that the Confederate general might intend invading Maryland. By March 12, 1862, Banks occupied Winchester just after Jackson had withdrawn from the town, marching at a leisurely pace 42 miles up the Valley Pike to Mount Jackson. A Second Battle of Kernstown occurred in the Valley Campaigns of 1864. James Waters, Hampden Virginia Artilley: Capt. While Kimball and Ashby sparred, Jackson was leading the rest of his command north from Strasburg, nearly twenty miles to the south. William Firey, and Capt. 208–10; Salmon, pp. He has also published biographies of Civil War generals “Black Jack” Logan and Frederick W. Lander, as well as military histories of the Shenandoah Valley campaign. Dict. At Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, during “Pickett’s Charge,” Garnett’s Virginians were in the front line of Pickett’s division. hist. Kimball countered the maneuver by moving his brigade under Col. Erastus B. Tyler to the west, but Fulkerson's men reached a stone wall facing a clearing on the ridge before the Union men could. XII., Part I., pp.362-365. Cozzens, pp. Jackson's division had been withdrawing "up" the Valley (to the higher elevations at the southwest end of the Valley) to cover the flank of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army, withdrawing from the Centreville–Manassas area to protect Richmond. [3], Despite the Union victory, President Abraham Lincoln was disturbed by Jackson's audacity and his potential threat to Washington. The casualty rate suffered by the Confederates of nearly 20% shows the severity of the fire they received from the enemy. "Stonewall" Jackson 's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. Robertson, p. 346; Cozzens, p. 215, cites 737 (139 killed, 312 wounded, 253 captured, and 33 missing); Eicher, p. 211, cites 718 (80 killed, 375 wounded, and 263 missing); Clark, p. 71, Kennedy, p. 78, and Salmon, p. 35, cite 718 total Confederate casualties. Plan of the Battle of Kernstown, Va. March 23rd 1862. With Jackson’s retreat and the northern Valley apparently secure, Banks was ordered to send one of his divisions east to join with McClellan. 168–209; Clark, 70; Eicher, 210–11; Salmon, 34–35; Freeman, vol. Attempting to tie down the Union forces in the Valley, under the overall command of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, Jackson received incorrect intelligence that a small detachment under Col. Nathan Kimball was vulnerable, but it was in fact a full infantry division more than twice the size of Jackson's force. During the Battle of Kernstown, Garnett directed the Confederate defense of Sandy Ridge, and as his men began to run low on ammunition – and facing a much larger enemy force – he ordered a retreat from that position. Gen. Charles S. Winder. Although the battle was a Confederate tactical defeat, it represented a strategic victory for the South by preventing the Union from transferring forces from the Shenandoah Valley to reinforce the Peninsula Campaign against the Confederate capital, Richmond. 28–30, 33; Cozzens, pp. The Civil War Trust (a division of the American Battlefield Trust) and its partners have acquired and preserved 388 acres (1.57 km2) of the First Kernstown battlefield. He sent Banks back to the Valley along with Alpheus Williams's division. The Confederates were temporarily able to counter this attack with their inferior numbers by firing fierce volleys from behind the stone wall. Clark, p. 71; Eicher, p. 211; Cozzens, pp. [5], V Corps, Army of the Potomac Arms is a profession that, if its principles are adhered to for success, requires an officer to do what he fears may be wrong ... if success is to be obtained. Instead of advancing his brigade in one line of battle, with his regiments lined up side by side, Tyler had them advance one behind the other. [Martin, p. 71]. This Confederate force began to arrive around 2 p.m., and as his men rested following an exhausting march, Jackson reconnoitered the Union position. 340–42. With his other two brigades, Jackson sought to envelop the Union right by way of Sandy Ridge. Confederate loyalists in Winchester mistakenly informed Turner Ashby that Shields had left only four regiments and a few guns (about 3,000 men) and that these remaining troops had orders to march for Harpers Ferry in the morning. 221–22; Robertson, pp. Thus, when Banks advanced south towards Winchester, on March 11, 1862 Jackson led his outnumbered command south to Mount Jackson. He was replaced by Brig. For Jackson it had been a costly day – nearly 740 killed, wounded and captured, over 22 % of his force of some 3,700 engaged. WE ARE IN FOR IT - THE FIRST BATTLE OF KERNSTOWN [Ecelbarger, Gary L.] on Amazon.com. General Robert E. Lee, realizing the need for capable officers, ordered Jackson to release Garnett from arrest, and in September 1862, assigned Garnett to take command of George E. Pickett’s brigade, Pickett still recovering from a wound suffered at Gaines Mill. (A historical marker located in Winchester in Winchester, Virginia.) "[8], Around 4 p.m, Tyler attacked Fulkerson and Garnett by using an unorthodox approach with his brigade in "close column of divisions"—a brigade front of two companies with 48 companies lined up behind them in 24 lines, in all about 75 yards wide, and 400 yards long, a formation difficult to control and lacking offensive power at the front. "[9], Union casualties were 590 (118 killed, 450 wounded, 22 captured or missing),[2] Confederate 718 (80 killed, 375 wounded, 263 captured or missing). Within yards of the Union position at the “Angle,” Garnett was shot down. Gens. of Am. Seeing the Confederate advance to Sandy Ridge, Kimball soon countered his opponent’s move by ordering Colonel Erastus Tyler’s brigade to attack the Confederates there. Jackson marched aggressively north with his 3,000-man division, reduced from its peak as stragglers fell out of the column, unaware that he was soon to be attacking almost 9,000 men. The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862 near Winchester Virginia. This meant that only the leading regiment could fire on the Confederates behind the stonewall, and that the Federals would have to form their battle line while under fire. 313–14; Walsh, p. 89; Cozzens, p. 207; Robertson, p. 345. (Kernstown, Battle at) found : Civil War Talk, Resource Library, battle summaries Web page, March 21, 2002 (Battle of Kernstown, First) found : Alpheus Williams Website, March 14, 2002 (First Battle of Winchester (Kernstown) on March 23, 1862) Ashby, who normally had a reputation as a reliable cavalry scout, inexplicably did not verify the civilian reports and passed them on to Jackson. Caption reads: Based upon the maps in the "Official Records," Vol. [13] The Kernstown Battlefield Association owns and operates the Kernstown battlefields on the 1854 Pritchard-Grim Farm three miles southwest of Winchester, Va. Banks made preparations to leave the Valley personally on March 23. Panic set in among the Confederates, and as Burks's brigade arrived, it was caught in the fleeing mob and forced to retreat. 65–66; Eicher, pp. He eventually ordered that the corps of Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell, which was moving south against Richmond in support of McClellan, remain in the vicinity of the capital. On March 22nd, Colonel Turner Ashby, commander of the 7th Virginia Cavalry, skirmished with Federal outposts south of Winchester, and reported back to Jackson that most of Banks’s force was leaving the Valley and that only a small number of Federal troops remained in Winchester. “We are in for it.” Indeed they were. Lawrence S. Marye, Pleasant's Virginia Battery (not engaged): Lt. James Pleasants, This page was last edited on 13 December 2020, at 19:10. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War.

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