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Battle of Kernstown I

 

 
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Battle of Kernstown I
 
 
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The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County
Frederick County, Virginia

Frederick County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, "Commonwealth " — of Virginia. It is included in the Winchester, Virginia, Virginia-West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area....
 and Winchester, Virginia
Winchester, Virginia

Winchester is an independent city located in the extreme northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 23,585 according to the United States Census 2000....
, the opening battle of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
Stonewall Jackson

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E....
's campaign
Valley Campaign

The Valley Campaign was Confederate States Army Major General Stonewall Jackson brilliant spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War....
 through the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bound to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River and to the south by the James River ....
 during the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. Although the battle was a Confederate defeat, and in fact Jackson's only defeat in the war, it represented a strategic victory for the South and started Jackson on the road to being one of the most celebrated Confederate generals.

son's division had been retreating down the Valley (to the northeast) to cover the flank of Gen.






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The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County
Frederick County, Virginia

Frederick County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, "Commonwealth " — of Virginia. It is included in the Winchester, Virginia, Virginia-West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area....
 and Winchester, Virginia
Winchester, Virginia

Winchester is an independent city located in the extreme northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 23,585 according to the United States Census 2000....
, the opening battle of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
Stonewall Jackson

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E....
's campaign
Valley Campaign

The Valley Campaign was Confederate States Army Major General Stonewall Jackson brilliant spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War....
 through the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bound to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River and to the south by the James River ....
 during the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. Although the battle was a Confederate defeat, and in fact Jackson's only defeat in the war, it represented a strategic victory for the South and started Jackson on the road to being one of the most celebrated Confederate generals.

Background

Jackson's division had been retreating down the Valley (to the northeast) to cover the flank of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph E. Johnston

Joseph Eggleston Johnston was a career United States Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
's forces, falling back from Centreville
Centreville, Virginia

Centreville is an unincorporated community in Fairfax County, Virginia, Virginia, United States. Recognized by the United States Census Bureau as a Census Designated Place , the community population was 48,661 as of the 2000 census and is approximately 20 miles from Washington, DC....
. On March 21, 1862, Jackson received word that the Union
Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
 force pursuing them was splitting, with one half pulling back to guard the upper Shenandoah Valley. To take advantage of this, Jackson turned his men around and marched 25 miles on March 22 and another 15 on the morning of March 23.

Battle

Relying on faulty intelligence from his cavalry commander, Colonel
Colonel

Colonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures....
 Turner Ashby
Turner Ashby

Turner Ashby, Junior was a Confederate States Army cavalry Brigadier General in the American Civil War. He achieved prominence as Stonewall Jackson's cavalry commander in the Shenandoah Valley and might have been one of the most famous cavalry commanders of the war had he not been killed in battle in 1862....
, that reported the Union forces at Winchester numbered only four regiments (about 3,000 men), Jackson marched aggressively north with his 3,400-man division. The Union forces, however, constituted a full infantry division, almost 9,000 men. They were commanded by Col. Nathan Kimball
Nathan Kimball

Nathan Kimball was a physician, politician, postmaster, and military officer, serving as a general in the Union army during the American Civil War....
, replacing Brig. Gen.
Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, is a 1 star rank general officer, with the U.S....
 James Shields
James Shields

James Shields was an United States politician and United States Army officer who was born in Altmore, County Tyrone, Ireland. Shields, a United States Democratic Party, is the only person in History of the United States to serve as a United States Senate for three different U.S....
, who had been wounded the previous day. Jackson moved north from Woodstock and arrived before the Union position at Kernstown at 1:00 p.m., March 23. He found that Ashby had been forced back and immediately reinforced him with one brigade. With the other two brigades Jackson sought to envelop the Union right by way of Sandy Ridge. But Colonel Erastus B. Tyler's brigade countered this movement, and, when Kimball's brigade moved to his assistance, the Confederates were driven from the field. There was no effective Union pursuit.

Aftermath

Despite this Union victory, President
President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
 Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
 was disturbed by Jackson's threat to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
, and redirected substantial reinforcements to the Valley—two divisions (35,000 men) of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks's army—at the expense of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a Major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army....
's Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
. McClellan claimed that the additional troops would have enabled him to take Richmond
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
 during his Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign

The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
.

After the battle, Jackson arrested the commander of his old Stonewall Brigade
Stonewall Brigade

The Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, was one of the most famous combat units in United States history. It was trained and first led by General Thomas J....
, Brig. Gen. Richard B. Garnett
Richard B. Garnett

Richard Brooke Garnett was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate States of America General officer in the American Civil War. He was killed during Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg....
, for retreating from the battlefield before permission was received from Jackson. 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. Garnett suffered from the humiliation of his court-martial for over a year, until he was finally killed in Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee against Major general George G. Meade's Union Army positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War....
 at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
.

A Second Battle of Kernstown
Battle of Kernstown II

The Second Battle of Kernstown was fought on July 24, 1864, at Kernstown, Virginia outside Winchester, Virginia, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War....
 would occur in the Valley Campaigns of 1864
Valley Campaigns of 1864

The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864....
.

Order of battle

  • Confederate order of battle
    Kernstown I Confederate order of battle

    The following Confederate States Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Kernstown I of the American Civil War. The Kernstown I Union order of battle is shown separately....
  • Union order of battle
    Kernstown I Union order of battle

    The following Union Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Kernstown I of the American Civil War. The Kernstown I Confederate order of battle is shown separately....


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