Highland County, May 8, 1862
By Robert G. Tanner
On May 8 a small Confederate army under CS Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson fought a battle in the mountains of western Virginia near the village of McDowell, thirty-two miles west of Staunton. A year later, on May 10, 1863, when he died of wounds received at Chancellorsville, Stonewall Jackson was a legend to his countrymen. His “foot cavalry” had become one of the finest fighting forces in the history of war. The year that spanned those two May days was one of triumph, a success that began with the battle of McDowell.
Yet at the beginning of May 1862 there seemed scant hope for the Confederacy. The war had not gone well for its troops for many months. They had been defeated at Pea Ridge and Shiloh. A huge Union army was advancing on Richmond, and Federal armies were on the attack across the South. The great port of New Orleans had recently fallen to the Union navy. US Major General Nathaniel P. Banks controlled much of the Shenandoah Valley. Another Union army, under US Major General John C. Frémont (the famous “Pathfinder of the West” in the 1840s and Republican presidential candidate in 1856), was closing in on Jackson from the Alleghenies, west of the Shenandoah. By early May Jackson knew that Frémont’s 3,500-man advance guard under US Brigadier General Robert H. Milroy was in the area of McDowell. On May 8 Milroy was reinforced by US Brigadier General Robert C. Schenck’s brigade of 2,500 men.
Jackson had rebuilt his army since the battle of Kernstown and began moving his 9,000 soldiers into the Alleghenies. These were tough marches, the first of many that the foot cavalry would endure. They hustled through the windy passes and gorges west of Staunton, and by the morning of May 8 they were within sight of McDowell. There were 6,000 Federals around the village. Although heavily outnumbered, the Union forces took the offensive, led by US Colonel Nathaniel McLean’s Ohio regiments.
The battle that erupted was influenced by features of the terrain that can still be seen today, because the battlefield is largely undisturbed. The jagged high ground surrounding McDowell was so rough that it was almost impossible to bring cannons to the summits. Cannons situated on the lower ground were unable to reach the heights. McDowell was destined to be an infantryman’s fight.
The battle occurred on a ridge running generally north and south along the eastern side of the Bull Pasture River, five hundred feet below. The flat area in the center of that ridge, Sitlington’s Hill, is topped by an open field perhaps a mile in length surrounded by precipitous and densely forested slopes. Jackson moved quickly by way of a ravine that left the main turnpike about a mile and a half east of McDowell and seized Sitlington’s Hill. From its top he surveyed the terrain to find a way to outflank the Union forces on the far side of the river. He was joined by his second-in-command, CS Brigadier General Edward “Allegheny” Johnson.
Before Confederate plans could unfold, however, Milroy launched his assault. Fighting their way up through tangled forest, the Union columns became ragged and somewhat disordered; nonetheless, they attacked with courage, taking advantage of depressions in the ground to find cover. With the sun to their backs, they were hidden by the ground and the shadows of the surrounding trees. The Confederates at the top of the hill were silhouetted against the brighter sky, making them easy targets. They suffered alarming casualties, including Johnson, who was severely wounded.
The Union firing was so intense that Jackson ordered reinforcements—CS Brigadier General William B. Taliaferro’s men—to the Confederate right. Moving down the ridge into the woods along the right side of the hill, Taliaferro’s troops stopped the Union thrust up the slope.
The fighting was increasingly intense, and heavy casualties were inflicted on Confederate troops in the center of Sitlington’s Hill. That post was held by the 12th Georgia, which had entered the fray with 540 men. By the end of the day, 40 had been killed and 140 wounded, losses three times greater than those of any other regiment engaged. Nonetheless, the regimental commander was unable to make his men move back even a short distance to a better-protected position. Refusing such a retreat, one Georgia private blurted out: “We did not come all this way to Virginia to run before Yankees.”
In the end no Federal attack gained the crest, given the number of Confederates and their firepower. By nightfall Milroy withdrew his troops across the Bull Pasture River and retreated to Monterey. He could have the satisfaction of knowing that his casualties, 256 men, were about half those of the Confederates, 500 men. An army attacking uphill against heavy odds could not expect to maintain a battle for this length of time, much less inflict greater casualties. The ratio of losses reflected shrewd use of the terrain by Union forces.
The next day, May 9, Jackson’s foot cavalry entered McDowell and found that the enemy had withdrawn. The battle had been so rough that even Jackson did not launch an immediate pursuit. He spent the day resting and refitting his forces, and then paused briefly to write a famous message. Ever laconic, he gave his superiors in Richmond a one-sentence report: “God blessed our arms with victory at McDowell yesterday.” Jackson began his pursuit of Milroy and Schenck the following day, continuing his great Valley campaign.
Estimated Casualties: 256 US, 500 CS
