The Battle of Hoke's Run, also known as the Battle of Falling Waters or Battle of Hainesville, took place on July 2, 1861, in Berkeley County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

(now

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

) as part of the

Manassas campaign The Manassas campaign was a series of military engagements in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Background Military and political situation The Confederate forces in northern Virginia were organized into two field armies. Br ...

of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Notable as an early engagement of Confederate Colonel Thomas J. Jackson and his Brigade of Virginia Volunteers, nineteen days before their famous nickname would originate, this brief skirmish was hailed by both sides as a stern lesson to the other. Acting precisely upon the orders of a superior officer about how to operate in the face of superior numbers, Jackson's forces resisted General Robert Patterson's Union forces briefly and then slowly retreated over several miles.

Battle

On July 2,

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Robert Patterson's division crossed the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

near Williamsport,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and marched on the main road to Martinsburg. Near Hoke's Run, the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

brigades of Cols. John J. Abercrombie and

George H. Thomas George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816March 28, 1870) was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas served in the Mexican–American War and later chose ...

encountered regiments of Col. Thomas J. Jackson's

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

brigade, driving them back slowly. Jackson accomplished his orders to delay the Federal advance, withdrawing before Patterson's larger force.

Confederate Order of Battle

The following Confederate Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Hoke's Run. The Union order of battle is shown separately.

Military rank

* BG =

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

* Col =

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

* Ltc =

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

* Cpt =

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Army of the Shenandoah

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia secede ...

Casualties

Estimates of casualties sustained during the battle vary. The National Park Service quotes Union as 23 and Confederate as 91 (without differentiating types of casualties). Kennedy cites 75 Union deaths and 25 Confederate deaths. In his Official Report, Major-General Robert Patterson states the number of Confederate deaths as "over sixty" but does not describe Union casualties. One Confederate battle flag was captured by the First Wisconsin, but the surrendering Confederate regiment is not identified.
After the time for propagandizing the casualty figures ended, the following Union regiments precisely reported the sacrifices of their comrades-in-arms: :*First Wisconsin Infantry: 1 killed, 5 wounded, 1 captured. :*Eleventh Pennsylvania Infantry: 1 killed, 10 wounded, none captured. :*Fifteenth Pennsylvania Infantry: 1 wounded, 35 captured (six of whom died in Confederate prisons within nine months). In addition to the above, "The Official Records of the Union and Confederates Armies, 1861-1865" and "History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5" state the following casualties: :*2nd US cavalry: 2 captured :*14th Pennsylvania: 12 Captured (the 1st Virginia Cavalry took 47 prisoners from the company A, 14th and company I, 15th Pennsylvania) :*McMullen's Rangers: 1 killed and 1 wounded (from the Sunbury American) Total casualties for Union force: 3 killed, 17 wounded, and 50 captured For the Confederacy: :*1st Virginia Cavalry: 2 killed and 1 wounded :*2nd Virginia Infantry: no record/report (casualties unknown) :*5th Virginia Infantry 9 killed and 11 wounded Total casualties for Confederate force (incomplete): 11 killed, 12 wounded

Aftermath

On July 3, Patterson occupied Martinsburg, but made no further aggressive moves until July 15, when he marched to Bunker Hill. Instead of moving on

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, however, Patterson turned east to Charles Town and then withdrew to

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...

. Patterson's retrograde movement took pressure off Confederate forces in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

and allowed

Brig. Gen. Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

's Army of the Shenandoah to march to support Brig. Gen.

P.G.T. Beauregard Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 - February 20, 1893) was a Confederate general officer of Louisiana Creole descent who started the American Civil War by leading the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is commonly ...

Manassas Junction Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...

. Following the stunning Union defeat at the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas

on July 21, the Union commander at Hoke's Run, Robert Patterson, was assigned popular blame without participating while the Confederate commander at Hoke's Run was assigned glory for his actions during the first major battle of the war.

Notes

References

CWSAC Report Update and Resurvey: Individual Battlefield Profiles
* Gimbel, Gary. "The End of Innocence: The Battle of Falling Waters", in ''Blue & Gray'', Volume XXII, issue 4 (Fall 2005). ISSN 0741-2207.

External links

Battle of Falling Waters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoke's Run, Battle Of 1861 in the American Civil War 1861 in Virginia Manassas campaign Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Union victories of the American Civil War Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the American Civil War Battles of the American Civil War in West Virginia July 1861 events