How To See the Battlefield
On March 23, 1862, the opening conflict of the famous Valley Campaign began on the adjoining Glass and Pritchard farms. You are visiting the Glass Farm called Rose Hill. The neighboring Pritchard Farm is 1½ miles to the southeast (right) of where you are standing. The conflict 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.
Acting on faulty intelligence that his small army outnumbered the Northern forces at Winchester, Southern commander Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson moved to strike his opponents and prevent Northern reinforcements from leaving the Valley to aid McClellan's army on the Peninsula. In fact, the Northern forces outnumbered his two-to-one.
To learn more about the 1st Battle of Kernstown, follow the walking trail to your left. Interpretive signs such as this one will help explain the battle. The trail is 0.7 miles there and back again. You will view Sandy Ridge (#3), the point of Tyler's advance (#4), the ruins of the Stone Wall (#5 and #6), and the field of retreat (#7) before returning to this spot.
Please be prepared for trail hazards, including uneven walking surfaces, hills, rock outcroppings and wildlife.
Althoug the 1st Battle of Kernstown was a Northern victory, the South gained much. As a result, President Lincoln, fearing for the safety of Washington, D.C., diverted 35,000 troops from the campaign against Richmond to defend approaches to the Northern capital from the Valley. This redeployment set the stage for "Stonewall" Jackson's enormously successful Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
Trail and interpretive signs are funded in part by Save America's Treasures administered by the National Parks Service
Marker can be reached from Jones Road (County Route 621), on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
