North River Bridge

North River Bridge. "Fire from column and charge bayonets!". On the morning of June 8, 1862, 150 Union cavalrymen rode into Port Republic, surprising Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and the small number of southern soldiers in the village. The bulk of Jackson's available troops, half of his army, were across the river on the bluffs to your front. And the only route across the waterway was the North River Bridge, a covered bridge that sat to your right., Jackson was at Madison Hall, at the opposite end of town, when the Federals crashed into the village. Leaping onto a horse, Jackson galloped down Main Street, racing past this spot, and clattered across the covered bridge just ahead of the Union cavalry. As shells crashed into the bridge, "making the splinters fly," Jackson cleared the span and rode up to the overlooking bluff., Although they had missed capturing Jackson, the Federals had control of the key bridge. Carroll placed a cannon to your right, near the bridge, and sent the bulk of his cavalry west towards Madison Hall and Jackson's supply wagons. In a critical decision, Carroll did not burn the bridge, which would have cut Jackson off from those important supplies., Perched on the opposite height, Jackson initially believed the Union cannon here was one of his own, and waved for the gunners to cross, shouting "Bring that gun over here!" The Federals, unsure whether the figure was friend or foe, hesitated to fire. By the time Carroll ordered the artillery to "Give them hell!", Jackson realized his mistake and rode out of range., Reaching his main body of troops, Jackson rallied them to retake the town, telling the 37th Virginia to "Fire from column and charge bayonets!" The Virginians fired from the hip and poured through the covered bridge, capturing the cannon and driving the Federals out of the village., The next day, during the Battle of Port Republic, Jackson ordered the bridge burned to keep Union forces from uniting against him., (captions) , Confederate Gen. William Taliaferro commanded the Confederate infantry on the high ground north of the bridge. Library of Congress, Stonewall Jackson. Library of Congress