Bitka pri Hoke's Rune [1861]

Battle of Hoke's Rune
This battle was only a minor skirmish, yet it played a role in the later Confederate victory at Bull Run. Unionist commander General Robert Patterson commanded roughly 3,500 men of a largely volunteer force. He was tasked with holding Confederate troops at bay in the Shenandoah Valley. The goal was to not allow local Confederate forces to support the gathering Confederate troops at Manassas.


The advance brigade of Confederate forces at Martinsburg was commanded by Colonel Thomas Jackson, who would soon earn the famous nickname "Stonewall." On the morning of July 2, 1861, Jackson received reliable reports from his reconnaissance cavalry patrol that Unionist troops had crossed the Potomac and were heading south. Jackson was not about to be drawn into a long fight. He sent the 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment ( about 400 men) supported by one cannon to meet the Unionist forces to delay them. The Confederate regiment was stationed near the Valley Turnpike where they expected to meet.


The battle occurred north of the present intersection of Mill Road Hammond and the road to William Rush Porterfield's farm. An outnumbered Confederate force attacked the advancing Unionists. So great was their fighting fervor that it roused the commission of a far superior force. For about a quarter of an hour the 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment defied the odds. Meanwhile, the advancing Unionist regiments substantially outnumbered the Confederate infantry and also drew four guns. At this point, the Virginians began to gradually retreat about a mile to the south, slowly disengaging from the fight. The Confederate regiment lost only a few dozen men, equaling the success of Colonel J.E.Ba Stuart, who managed to surprise one inexperienced Unionist unit and capture about 50 men. By dominating the battlefield, the Unionist army won this unimportant skirmish. The real winner in the longer term was more likely the Confederacy. Here are the reasons:


1. the active movement of Jackson's troops and their combat performance caused inexperienced Unionist commanders to believe that the Confederate force in the Shenandoah Valley was about 10 times larger than it actually was.


2. The belief that he was dealing with an outnumbered force led Unionist General Patterson to passively defend the northern territory instead of actively pressing into the Shenandoah Valley.


3. Unionist passivity allowed a substantial portion of the Army of the Shenandoah to move to Manassas and help Beauregard to his first major victory at Bull Run.




Source.
http://www.battleoffallingwaters.com/newbattle.htm

Niekoľko fotografií súvisiacich s bitkou pri Hoke's Rune.


Zdroje:
1. www.sonofthesouth.net


2. www.sonofthesouth.net