Near Fishers Hill in Shenandoah County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

The Fight for the "Bull Pens"

"That little band of Spartans"

— The Battle of Fisher's Hill (September 22, 1864) —

The Fight for the "Bull Pens" Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bradley Owen, October 12, 2024

1. The Fight for the "Bull Pens" Marker

Inscription.

The Fight for the "Bull Pens". "That little band of Spartans". , At midday on September 22, Union Gen. Philip Sheridan ordered his troops to "demonstrate against the Confederate left centre" to lead the Confederates "to expect a formidable assault there" - and to distract attention from Gen. George Crook's impending flank march. Gen. James Ricketts's infantry division and Gen. William Averell's cavalry division were ordered to move "conspicuously" to the Union right and seize the heights across from you., Confederate skirmishers from Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur's division had taken position on the ridge to your front and constructed "bull pens" - makeshift structures of fence rails covered with earth. As Ricketts moved into position, companies of the 110th and 122nd Ohio, part of Col. Joseph Keifer's brigade, attacked the bull pens., The Confederates resisted stubbornly. "The enemy fought hard to hold possession of this ridge," Keifer remembered. Confederate Pvt. John H. Lane, watching from the high ground behind you, said the defenders in the bull pens "manfully held their ground," while Lane and his fellow soldiers cheered them on with a wild yell that "must have made that little band of Spartans feel good.", But eventually the Federals forced the defenders to give way. "I continued by repeated charges to push the enemy along this ridge..." Keifer wrote, "until he was forced to abandon it, cross the Run, and take refuge within his works." Pvt. Lane recalled that, "Many of them never lived to reach the line.", Keifer's skirmishers then advanced over the hill to your front while his main line formed behind the ridge, where they were protected from Confederate artillery. The movement and aggressiveness of Ricketts and Averell unnerved the southern defenders, some of whom "expected an immediate attack and distracted Confederate attention... just as George Crook was about to embark on his pivotal flank march., (Captions):, Union skirmishers advancing at Fisher's Hill , Courtesy Library of Congress, Col. Joseph W. Keifer , Courtesy Library of Congress, Gen. James B. Ricketts , Courtesy Library of Congress

At midday on September 22, Union Gen. Philip Sheridan ordered his troops to "demonstrate against the Confederate left centre" to lead the Confederates "to expect a formidable assault there" - and to distract attention from Gen. George Crook's impending flank march. Gen. James Ricketts's infantry division and Gen. William Averell's cavalry division were ordered to move "conspicuously" to the Union right and seize the heights across from you.

Confederate skirmishers from Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur's division had taken position on the ridge to your front and constructed "bull pens" - makeshift structures of fence rails covered with earth. As Ricketts moved into position, companies of the 110th and 122nd Ohio, part of Col. Joseph Keifer's brigade, attacked the bull pens.

The Confederates resisted stubbornly. "The enemy fought hard to hold possession of this ridge," Keifer remembered. Confederate Pvt. John H. Lane, watching from the high ground behind you, said the defenders in the bull pens "manfully held their ground," while Lane and his fellow soldiers cheered them on with a wild yell that "must have made that little band of Spartans feel good."

But eventually the Federals forced the defenders to give way. "I continued by repeated charges to push the enemy along this ridge..." Keifer wrote, "until he

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was forced to abandon it, cross the Run, and take refuge within his works." Pvt. Lane recalled that, "Many of them never lived to reach the line."

Keifer's skirmishers then advanced over the hill to your front while his main line formed behind the ridge, where they were protected from Confederate artillery. The movement and aggressiveness of Ricketts and Averell unnerved the southern defenders, some of whom "expected an immediate attack and distracted Confederate attention... just as George Crook was about to embark on his pivotal flank march.

(Captions):

Union skirmishers advancing at Fisher's Hill
Courtesy Library of Congress

Col. Joseph W. Keifer
Courtesy Library of Congress

Gen. James B. Ricketts
Courtesy Library of Congress

Erected 2024 by Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant day of the year for for this entry is September 22.

Location. 38° 59.318′ N, 78° 25.066′ W. Marker is near Fishers Hill, Virginia, in Shenandoah County. It can be reached from Battlefield Road (Virginia Route 601) 0.3 miles east of Tumbling Run Lane, on the right when traveling east. Marker is located on the one-mile Fisher's Hill Battlefield hiking

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, May 6, 2026

2. The Fight for the "Bull Pens" Marker

trail. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1847 Battlefield Road, Strasburg VA 22657, United States of America. Touch for directions.

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

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds 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 walking distance of this marker: Eve of Battle (about 300 feet away); Crook's Flanking Movement (about 500 feet away); Pegram's Division Collapses (about 500 feet away); Confederate Gibraltar (about 700 feet away); The Coming Storm (about 800 feet away); a different marker also named Fisher’s Hill (about 800 feet away); Confederate Left Disintegrates (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Fisher’s Hill (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fishers Hill.

Other markers no longer nearby. Fisher’s Hill (was here, next to this marker but has been permanently removed); Battle of Fisher’s Hill (was about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line but has been permanently removed); a different marker also named Fisher’s Hill (was about 400 feet away but has been permanently removed); a different marker also named Fisher’s Hill (was about 500 feet away but has been permanently removed); a different marker also named Fisher's Hill (was about 700 feet away but has been permanently

Photographed by Bradley Owen, October 12, 2024

3. The Fight for the "Bull Pens" Marker

removed); a different marker also named Fisher's Hill (was about 800 feet away but has been permanently removed).

Regarding The Fight for the "Bull Pens". Marker includes a map: Fisher's Hill: Bull Pens, September 22, 1864.

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

Credits. This page was last revised on May 11, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 7, 2024, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. This page has been viewed 269 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 7, 2024, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. 2. submitted on May 6, 2026, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 3. submitted on November 7, 2024, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia.