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 ...

First Battle of Kernstown

Was fought here Sunday, March 23, 1862 Confederates under Gen. T.J. “Stonewall” Jackson attacked Federals under Gen. James Shields. The fighting was chiefly west of the road and continued from early afternoon until nightfall. When Jackson retired with—his first and ...

The Second Battle of Kernstown

Two Future U.S. Presidents Fought at Kernstown

Colonel James A. Mulligan’s Union command of 1,800 men encamped on these heights on the night of July 23-24, 1864. When Confederate cavalry drove Union cavalry back toward Kernstown on the morning of the ...

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 ...

The First Battle of Kernstown

Fulkerson’s Virginians Attack!

The low, marshy ground stretching from here to the distant road lay uncontested through 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 ...

The Second Battle of Kernstown

Mulligan’s Final Stand

Late in the afternoon on July 24, 1864, 1,800 Union soldiers led by Colonel James A. Mulligan fell back to this lane. Major General John B. Gordon’s Confederate force attacked from the ground beyond Opequon Church. Mulligan held ...

The First Battle of Kernstown

Fulkerson’s Virginians Attack!

The low, marshy ground stretching from here to the distant road lay uncontested through 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 ...