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Description:
As commander of the Valley District, Confederate Gen. Jackson was
tasked with keeping the Federal Army in the Shenandoah Valley from
moving east to join Federal Gen. McClellan during the Peninsula
Campaign. In a rare intelligence miscue, Col. Turner Ashby reported
to Jackson that most of the Federal troops at Winchester had left
the area. Relying on this faulty intelligence Jackson rushed his
small force north to attack the few Federals at Winchester commanded
by Col. Nathan Kimball. Jackson quickly learned that he was facing
an entire Federal division of 8,500 men. The Federals stopped Jackson
at Kernstown and then counterattacked turning Jackson’s left
flank and forcing him to retreat.
Significance:
The First Battle of Kernstown was Jackson’s only tactical
defeat in the Valley. Indeed, this is the only recorded loss of
his career. However, it was a strategic victory. President Abraham
Lincoln was disturbed by Jackson’s threat to Washington and
redirected substantial reinforcements to the Valley, depriving McClellan’s
army of these troops. McClellan claimed that the additional troops
would have enabled him to take Richmond during the Peninsula Campaign
and perhaps even end the war that much earlier.
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