Page:Journal history of the Twenty-ninth Ohio veteran volunteers, 1861-1865.djvu/45

 CHAPTER III.

The Battle of Winchester or Kernstown—Stonewall Jackson Whipped.

At Kernstown, some four miles south of Winchester, Jackson's command, numbering fully fifteen thousand men, was massed, and on March 22d attacked the Union outposts. The citizens of Winchester, who, by the way, were about as thoroughly imbued with treason as at any point within the writer's knowledge in the whole of the chivalrous (?) South, were in high glee at the prospect of being rid of those odious Lincoln hirelings, and some were so sanguine of success to the Southern arms that they prepared elegant repasts for the victors. However that may be, the rebel horde did not enter Winchester at this time, except, perhaps, a few dead ones carried there for burial.

Soon after the firing began the First and Second brigades of General Shields' division were moved to the front, and a lively skirmish ensued resulting in the repulse of the enemy. General Shields was wounded quite severely during this brief engagement, and at night, when active hostilities ceased, he retired to Winchester. The dawn of Sunday, March 23d, was heralded by the rapid boom of artillery and the lively rattle of musketry, as the advance of the two armies resumed the skirmishing of the previous afternoon. This was continued during nearly the entire forenoon. About noon the long roll beat throughout our camp; quickly the men fell into line, and in columns of fours, under command of brave Colonel Buckley, marched rapidly, a portion of the dis