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| This is the area where Colonel
Kenly made his gallant stand. Kenly’s defense here
amounted to 700 infantrymen, along with thirty-eight
artillerists. He knew not that he was outnumbered by
twenty to one.
The action started with Atwell’s Artillery
opening up on the Confederates around 2:15 p.m.
Kenly stubbornly remained entrenched upon the
heights.
At 4:15p.m. a messenger notified him that a
Confederate cavalry force was rapidly advancing from
the west between the two river branches. At that
moment Kenly’s greatest fear was realized--he had
been flanked. |
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Events at
Richardson's Hill
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Photo of Richardson's Hill
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| Directly in
front of you is the "commanding height" that General
Jackson describes in his report as a cherty ridge, some
one hundred and fifty feet above the river that extends to
the northeast of the turnpike. It lies between the South
Fork of the Shenandoah River and Happy Creek.
It was at this position that Kenly would make his
stand. Kenly realized that his vital assignment was to
protect the left flank of Bank's Army at Strasburg. "I
prepared to hold the position as long as possible,"
explained Kenly, "for I was certain that if I did not
check Jackson's advance…Banks was lost." Kenly formulated
orders to resist the Confederates across the attackers'
broad front. |
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Click here to view
The Richardson's Hill Sign
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| He quickly posted his
guns, a section of Knapp's Battery E, Pennsylvania
Light Artillery, with two ten-pounder Parrotts,
commanded by Lieutenant Charles Atwell. Atwell was
supported by several companies of infantrymen on
another part of the Richardson's property. |
Col. John R. Kenly
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At this point in the fight Kenly was
joined by two companies of the Fifth New York Cavalry,
which had just arrived from Strasburg. Here he made a
spirited resistance for a time. His artillery was well
served, and his infantry kept up a steady fire. The Sixth
Louisiana was sent to the Confederate left to flank the
Federal battery, while Wheat and Johnson pressed forward
in front.
Meantime, Colonel Flournoy, with his
Confederate cavalry, was moving down between the rivers,
and threatening the Federal rear. Kenly seeing himself
about to be surrounded, ordered the withdrawal. |
RICHARDSON’S HILL
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| "The Dark Day of
1864" "Mosby will hang ten of you for everyone of us",
these were the final words from William Thomas Overby to
his executioners, as the rope tightened around his neck,
then two whips cracked, sending the horse out from under
him. And then silence. This was the final scene of a
tragic drama that took place less than two hours before,
in which six of Mosby's Men had the tragic lead roles, in
Front Royal on September 23, 1864.
Colonel John S. Mosby, who was wounded at the time,
ordered Captain Sam Chapman to take a detachment into the
Valley and operate against Union General Philip Sheridan's
line of communications, as Sheridan advanced southward.
At daybreak on September 23rd, Chapman and several
Rangers rode, probing for the enemy. They followed the
Gooney Manor Road and a few miles south of town the
Rangers saw an ambulance train, with a small escort,
enroute towards Front Royal.
Chapman hurried back to his men and organizes his
ambush. As the attack begins, Chapman realizes that he
fighting against two divisions of Union Cavalry. He
immediately orders a retreat. During the retreat six of
Mosby's men were captured and executed without trial. Four
were shot and the last two were hung from a walnut tree
here on Richardson's Hill refusing to surrender the
location of Mosby's headquarters. |
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Next Stop 8 The Bridges
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[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Departure- Visitor Center ] [ Stop 1 Asbury Chapel ] [ Stop 2 Belle Boyd ] [ Stop 3 Prospect Hill ] [ Stop 4 Court House ] [ Stop 5 Bel Air ] [ Stop 6 Rose Hill ] [ Stop 7 Richardson's Hill ] [ Stop 8 Bridges ] [ Stop 9 Guard Hill ] [ Stop 10 Fairview ] [ Buckton Station ] [ "Stonewall" Jackson ] [ John S. Mosby ] [ Hotchkiss Statements ] [ Capture of the Flag ] [ Riverside ]
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