The Armies Brace for Battle

The Armies Brace for Battle. "A Position of Uncommon Strength". , Early Morning , On the morning of June 8, 1862, a long line of Union troops filed past on the road to your left, turned right at this intersection to deploy into lines of battle. Facing them, on the high ground of Mill Creek Ridge, a mile and a half in front of you, sat Confederate Gen. Richard Ewell's division, part of Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's army., In early June 1862, towards the end of his Valley Campaign, Jackson was pursued south through the Shenandoah Valley by two Union forces, one under Gen. John C. Fremont on the west side of Massanutten Mountain, the other under Gen. James Shields on the east. Reaching Harrisonburg, Jackson turned towards Port Republic and its vital river crossings, leaving Ewell's division to block Fremont at Cross Keys., Fremont's troops had started down the road from Harrisonburg around 7:00 a.m. on June 8, harassed by Confederate cavalry "disputing every step" as they came. When they reached Keezletown Road in front of you, the Federals turned right, their advance elements pushing towards Union Church. When the leading troops ran into Confederate skirmishers around 8:30 a.m., the "crack of rifles" signaled the first shots of the battle. After driving away the skirmishers, Fremont's army formed its initial line across the open ground to your front., The Confederate position they faced was formidable. Ewell, given time to align his force "at leisure" thanks to the skirmishing, posted his men on the high ground above Mill Creek, with his artillery in the center. It was, as Fremont later wrote, "a position of uncommon strength.", Troop Strength: , Confederates: 5,800 , Union: 11,500, (caption) Fremont's army in pursuit of Jackson. Library of Congress.