Cross Keys

On June 8, 1862, Confederate and Union forces clashed at Cross Keys in Rockingham County, Virginia, an engagement that formed part of Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's push through the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War. This fight, paired with the action at Port Republic the next day, delivered the decisive triumphs of Jackson's Valley Campaign. The twin victories compelled the opposing armies to withdraw and gave Jackson the opportunity to send reinforcements to Gen. Robert E. Lee ahead of the Seven Days Battles near Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Situated where the North and South Rivers meet to form the South Fork Shenandoah, the small settlement of Port Republic became the focal point of Jackson's movements on June 6 and 7, 1862. His force, roughly 16,000 strong, settled in north of the village. Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's division camped along Mill Creek near Goods Mill, while Brig. Gen. Charles S. Winder's men held the north bank of North River close to the bridge there. Guarding the roads at Union Church fell to the 15th Alabama Infantry, kept apart from the rest for that purpose. Madison Hall, in Port Republic itself, served as Jackson's headquarters, and the supply trains were stationed nearby.

From two directions, Union forces were closing in. Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont led roughly 15,000 troops southward along the Valley Pike, arriving near Harrisonburg by June 6. Meanwhile Brig. Gen. James Shields brought about 10,000 men down from Front Royal through the Luray, or Page, Valley, though the poor condition of the Luray Road left his column badly stretched out. Control of Port Republic mattered enormously, since it held the only surviving bridge across the North River along with the South River fords, the very crossings Frémont and Shields would need to join forces. Jackson's plan was to hold Frémont back at Mill Creek while confronting Shields along the eastern bank of the South Fork Shenandoah. From atop Massanutten, a Confederate signal post kept watch on the Federal movements.

Combat first flared on the morning of June 8, when Frémont's troops ran into Confederate pickets near Cross Keys Tavern. After an exchange of a few shots, the Union horsemen retreated toward their approaching main force. Nightfall then halted any further action that day.

Battle

Shields dispatched Colonel Samuel S. Carroll and a Union cavalry regiment, backed by an artillery battery and an infantry brigade, ahead of the main force to seize the North River Bridge at Port Republic. Just after daybreak on June 8, Carroll pushed through the Confederate picket line, crossed the South River by ford, and pressed into the town itself. Jackson, together with his staff, fled down the main street from his headquarters and over the bridge, barely escaping capture; three staff officers were not so fortunate, Colonel Stapleton Crutchfield, Lieutenant Edward Willis, and Dr. Hunter McGuire all fell into Union hands. Carroll positioned one cannon to cover the bridge and moved up a second. On the Confederate side, Jackson took charge of the defense personally, instructing Captain William T. Poague to unlimber his battery on the northern bank. Captain James McD. Carrington hauled a gun up from near Madison Hall so it could sweep Main Street with fire. Colonel Samuel V. Fulkerson then led the 37th Virginia Infantry in a charge across the span, advancing straight into grapeshot fired from the cannon on the far side, and succeeded in clearing the Union horsemen from the streets. Before his infantry could arrive in time to help, Carroll fell back in disarray and abandoned both of his guns. From the bluffs east of town on the north side of the South Fork, three Confederate batteries opened up on the retreating Union troops. Carroll withdrew several miles up the Luray Road. To guard against another surprise attack, Jackson posted Brigadier General William B. Taliaferro's brigade inside Port Republic itself and kept the Stonewall Brigade with the artillery near Bogota.

At the same time, Frémont resumed his push from around Harrisonburg, with Colonel Gustave P. Cluseret's brigade out front. Cluseret drove off Confederate skirmishers and brought his right flank into position along the Keezletown Road close to Union Church. The rest of Frémont's brigades filed into line in turn: Brigadier General Robert C. Schenck took position to Cluseret's right, Brigadier General Robert H. Milroy formed on his left, and Brigadier General Julius H. Stahel anchored the far left with his own left flank resting near Congers Creek. Brigadier General Henry Bohlen and Colonel John A. Koltes held their brigades in reserve near the middle of the formation, while a cavalry regiment rode south to protect the right flank and artillery batteries moved up to the front.

On the opposing side, Ewell arrayed his infantry division behind Mill Creek. Brigadier General Isaac R. Trimble's brigade held the right, straddling the Port Republic Road, while Brigadier General Arnold Elzey's troops occupied the center atop high bluffs. Ewell massed four batteries of artillery at the center of his line. When Union forces began forming along the Keezletown Road, Trimble pushed his brigade forward a quarter mile to Victory Hill, placing Courtenay's (Latimer's) battery on a hill to his left with the 21st North Carolina Infantry Regiment in support. The 15th Alabama, which had been exchanging fire near Union Church, returned to rejoin the brigade, and Trimble kept his regiments concealed just behind the hill's crest.

Frémont then resolved to push his line forward in an effort to envelop what he believed was the Confederate position behind Mill Creek, a plan that called for a complicated wheeling movement to the right. Stahel's brigade, stationed farthest to the left, had to cover the most ground and therefore moved out first, with Milroy advancing behind and to his right. Union artillery came forward alongside the infantry south of the Keezletown Road and traded fire with Confederate guns. Stahel, apparently unaware that Trimble's men lay in wait ahead, marched his line down into the valley, across the stream, and up the slope of Victory Hill. Without warning, Trimble's soldiers rose and fired a single devastating volley into the approaching brigade. Armed mostly with smoothbore muskets loaded with buck and ball, the Confederates inflicted cat

Aftermath

The toll on the Union side came to 557 dead and wounded plus another 100 taken prisoner, whereas the Confederates suffered under 300 losses in total. As evening fell, Trimble advanced his line to a spot roughly a quarter mile from where the Union troops were positioned, expecting that darkness would bring an assault. According to Confederate sources, the opposing soldiers settled into camp for the night, kindled fires, and brewed coffee. After dark, Schenck dispatched a company to test the Confederate lines, yet a short exchange of fire sent them retreating, and nothing further came of it. Before morning arrived, Ewell instructed Trimble to pull back rather than carry out the planned strike.