Turner Ashby

Stop Here! Ashby Monument

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / 1 Comment

If you’re a cavalry fan, then today’s stop is one site you won’t want to miss in the Shenandoah Valley. Or if you’re learning about Civil War history in the Valley, it’s also a significant spot.

Ever heard of Turner Ashby? He commanded Confederate cavalry for Stonewall Jackson  and created quite a name and reputation for himself. However, he didn’t live to see the end of the war, dying in battle in 1862 near Harrisonburg, Virginia. Today, a large granite marker memorializes his fall. Let’s stop and take a look… Continue reading →

1864: “Took Place June 6th 1862”

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / Leave a comment

Camp near Orange C.H. Va
10th Feb’y 1864

Capt. John Esten Cooke
Dear Sir,

The skirmish in which Gen. Ashby was killed took place June 6th 1862. My Division, acting as rear-guard, had encamped on the evening of the 5th, two and a half miles from Harrisonburg on the road to Port Republic, and Ashby’s Cav. as I understood, had stopped just below the town. Next morning Gen. Geo. H. Steuart’s Brigade was my rear-guard, & the road being bad, had hardly left camp by noon. Gen. Ash by became engaged with the enemy’s Cav. during the morning & about 3 or 4 P.M. had a very successful affair, with a superior force, capturing Sir Percy Eyndham, Col. 1st New Jersey Cav. & thirty or forty & driving their Cav. from the field.

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Ashby’s Tom Telegraph

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / 5 Comments

 

Turner Ashby served most his Civil War battles and skirmishes as a colonel, but he was promoted to brigadier general about two weeks before his death. Ashby is a controversial figure among some historians. However, I think it’s relatively easy to agree that his horses helped create his image and his legends. Numerous accounts mention Ashby’s horses and one of his favorites was a big white stallion called Tom Telegraph. Continue reading →