Battle of Cross Keys

Immigrant Soldiers

— 1862 Valley Campaign —

Battle of Cross Keys Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Robert H. Moore, II, January 30, 2009

1. Battle of Cross Keys Marker

Inscription. Many immigrants fought for the North and the South during the Civil War. Their numbers were especially high in Gen. Louis Blenker’s division of Gen. John C. Fremont’s Union army at Cross Keys on June 8, 1862.

Two Germans (Gen. Henry Bohlen and Col. John Koltes) and one Hungarian (Gen. Julius Stahel) commanded Blenker’s three brigades on this part of the field. Blenker and his lieutenants had been officers in European revolutions during the 1840s.

German, Swiss, Irish, English, Italians, Russians, Algerians, Sepoys, Turks, Frenchmen, Poles, Croats, Hungarians, and Chinese fought with Blenker’s “melting pot” division. One of Fremont’s staff officers, a Romanian, Capt. R. Nicolai Dunka, was killed delivering a message to the front here.

Most immigrants fought for their adopted country and lived here after the war. Others sought military experience so they could return to their native countries to fight in or command revolutionary armies.

Erected 2003 by Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation & Virginia Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil.

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In addition, it is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is June 1926.

Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 38° 21.204′ N, 78° 49.026′ W. Marker was in Cross Keys, Virginia, in Rockingham County. It could be reached from Goods Mill Road (Route 708), on the right when traveling south. This is one of three markers found at this site (Goods Mill Interpretive Area/Owen D. Graves Memorial Cross Keys Battlefield Wayside). Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Harrisonburg VA 22801, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

It was also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it was in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within

Markers At This Location image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bradley Owen, October 18, 2023

2. Markers At This Location

(Left to right): Trimble's Ravine, Graves Monument Boulder, Immigrant Soldiers and Trail Map.

walking distance of this location: The Battle Dies Out (here, next to this marker); Walker's Flank Attack (within shouting distance of this marker); The Attack on Buell's Battery (within shouting distance of this marker); The 8th New York Advances (approx. 0.4 miles away); Marching to Disaster (approx. 0.4 miles away); Death in the Clover (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Attack's Aftermath (approx. half a mile away); The Confederate Barrage (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cross Keys.

Other markers no longer nearby. Battle of Cross Keys (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named Battle of Cross Keys (was about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

More about this marker. On the left is a portrait of Gen. Julius Stahel, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism on another Shenandoah Valley battlefield two years after the Battle of Cross Keys. In the center right is a photograph of members of the 39th New York. The 39th New York Infantry
Photographed by Robert H. Moore, II, January 30, 2009

3. Battle of Cross Keys Marker
(Garibaldi Guards) had members from all over the world. They fought near here during the Battle of Cross Keys.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This marker has been replaced by another at this location.

Grave of Capt. Nicolae Dunka, Staunton National Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Robert H. Moore, II, January 26, 2009

4. Grave of Capt. Nicolae Dunka, Staunton National Cemetery

Capt. Dunka's body was removed after the war from a nearby grave to the National Cemetery at Staunton, Virginia.

Marker showing map of trail to the different markers at the interpretive site image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Robert H. Moore, II, January 30, 2009

5. Marker showing map of trail to the different markers at the interpretive site

Owen D. Graves Monument Boulder image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Robert H. Moore, II, January 30, 2009

6. Owen D. Graves Monument Boulder

This is found at the site of the first marker on this trail.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on February 17, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia. This page has been viewed 3,311 times since then and 32 times this year. Last updated on August 12, 2020, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. Photos: 1. submitted on February 17, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia. 2. submitted on October 18, 2023, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on February 17, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.