The First Battle of Kernstown- Battlefield Tour Part 4- Rose Hill

Excerpted from the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley’s website (link)- Rose Hill Park is located at 1871 Jones Road, Winchester, VA. The Rose Hill landscape derives historic significance as the site of the Civil War’s March 23, 1862, First Battle of Kernstown. Opened on August 18, 2016, and operated in partnership with the Frederick County Parks and Recreation Department the park features a 1.25-mile walking trail with Civil War interpretive signage, restrooms, a new entrance, and a parking lot. A 60-person picnic shelter is available for private rentals. Rose Hill Park is open to visitors at no charge from 8 a.m. until dusk, 364 days a year (closed Christmas Day). A portion of the Rose Hill property operates as a working farm; that acreage is closed to the public as is the property’s historic house, which is a private residence.

**1871 Jones Road, Winchester** **administered by the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (link)**

On the satellite map below the white dots represent where the seven interpretive signs are located. I have labeled the dots 1-7. I walked the gravel loop path in numerical order which makes the most sense in terms of the timeline of the battle.

The first two signs (Stop #1) are near the parking lot at the beginning of the walking trail- 39.1532500, -78.2198056

A trail leads into the park from the parking lot, shown below. At the tree line a loop trail begins. I continued straight forward toward the stop named The Defense of the Stone Wall (Stop #2).

Stop #2- The Defense of the Stone Wall

**This reconstructed part of the wall proceeds east**

**Looking to the western part of the reconstructed wall**

The far eastern end of the wall shown in the next three pictures is original.

**The wall extends east into an area overgrown with vegetation as it rises westward**

The angle of the wall fought over by Fulkerson’s Confederate Brigade and Thoburn’s men. The perpendicular face of the wall is shown on end. It runs northward to the right of the group of people on the left side of the image.

The next three images are taken from the viewpoint of the Confederates behind the wall looking at the 1st VA (US) under Colonel Joseph Thoburn charging at them. They are taken looking sequentially from the left to the right.

**The angle of the wall would be at the upper left of the image**

**Looking straight ahead from the Confederate position**

Stop #3- The Advance of Tyler’s Brigade

The modern-day forest has a lot of secondary overgrowth that was likely not there during the war. The trail path lies in a ravine. The men emerged from the forest and would have then proceeded up the hill.