American Civil War: Early Wins at Kernstown!

July 24, 1864 - Confederate troops win the Second Battle of Kernstown. Following the withdrawal of Confederate forces from Berryville, VA, Union Brig. Gen. George Crook (right) began to believe that Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early was retreating from the Shenandoah Valley. This misconception led to the Union VI Corps and XIX Corps being shifted back to the siege lines at Petersburg, leaving Crook's small Army of the Kanawha as the only major Union force in the area. Realizing that Crook had been weakened, Early returned to the offensive and encountered Union skirmishers south of Kernstown. Still thinking that Early's infantry had departed the Valley, Crook dispatched two divisions and a brigade to meet the attack. Assuming a defensive position on Pritchard's Hill and Sandy Ridge, the Union troops soon met heavy resistance from the Confederates. Though his subordinates believed they were facing a superior force, Crook ordered an attack still thinking that he had numbers. Moving forward, the Union troops gained ground until Confederate counterattacks exploited a gap in their lines and hit them in the flanks. With their line crumbling, the Union forces fled the field. The defeat at Kernstown led to the return of the VI and XIX Corps to the Valley and the appointment of Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan to command the new Army of the Shenandoah.

Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress