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 (now West Virginia) as part of the Manassas campaign of the American Civil War. 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 Confederate forces resisted General Robert Patterson's Union forces briefly and then slowly retreated over several miles.
Opposing forces Union order of battle The Department of Pennsylvania represented the Union Army at the Battle of Hoke's Run during the outset of the American Civil War. Although the entire force crossed the Potomac River into Virginia, the First and Sixth Brigades were primarily engaged.
Military rank MG = Major General BG = Brigadier General Col = Colonel Ltc = Lieutenant Colonel Maj = Major Cpt = Captain
Other abbreviations w = wounded mw = mortally wounded k = killed c = captured
Department of Pennsylvania
MG Robert Patterson
Division Brigade Regiments and OthersFirst Division
BG George Cadwallader 1st Brigade
Col George H. Thomas 6th Pennsylvania: Col James Nagle 21st Pennsylvania: Col John F. Ballier 23rd Pennsylvania: Col Charles P. Dare Philadelphia City Troop (cavalry) (1 Company): Cpt Thomas James 2nd U.S. Cavalry (3 Companies) Heavy Artillery, 1 Battery: Cpt Abner Doubleday 3rd Brigade BG Alpheus S. Williams 7th Pennsylvania: Col William H. Irwin 8th Pennsylvania: Col A.H. Emley 10th Pennsylvania: Col Sullivan A. Meredith 20th Pennsylvania: Col William H. Gray 4th Brigade Col Dixon S. Miles (until June 17) Col. J. C. Longenecker 9th Pennsylvania: Col Henry C. Longnecker 13th Pennsylvania: Col Thomas A. Rowley 16th Pennsylvania: Col Thomas A. Ziegle 2nd & 3rd U.S. (detachments): Maj Oliver L. ShepherdSecond Division
MG William H. Keim 2nd Brigade BG G. C. Wynkoop 1st Pennsylvania: Col Samuel Yohe 2nd Pennsylvania: Col Frederick S. Stumbaugh 3rd Pennsylvania: Col Francis P. Minier 5th Brigade BG J. S. Negley 14th Pennsylvania: Col John W. Johnston 15th Pennsylvania: Col Richard A. Oakford 24th Pennsylvania: Col Joshua T. Owen 6th Brigade Col. J. J. Abercrombie 4th Connecticut: Col Levi Woodhouse 11th Pennsylvania: Col Phaon Jarrett Philadelphia Independent Rangers: Cpt McMullen 1st Wisconsin: Col John C. StarkweatherThird Division
MG Charles W. Sandford 7th Brigade Col Charles P. Stone 1st New Hampshire: Col Mason Tappan 9th New York State Militia: Col John W. Styles 17th Pennsylvania: Col Francis E. Patterson 25th Pennsylvania (Companies D, F, G, I & K): Col Henry L. Cake District of Columbia (detachment): Cpt John R. Smead U. S. Cavalry: Cpt William T. Magruder 4th United States Artillery Battery F: Lt Alexander Piper 8th Brigade Col C. Schwarzwaelder Col Daniel Butterfield 5th New York State Militia: Col C. Schwarzwaelder 12th New York State Militia: Col Daniel Butterfield 19th New York: Col John S. Clarke 28th New York: Col Dudley DonnellyUnattached 11th Indiana: Col Lew Wallace 1st U. S. Artillery, Battery E 1st U. S. Artillery, Battery H
Confederate order of battle The following Confederate Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Hoke's Run.
Military rank BG = Brigadier General Col = Colonel Ltc = Lieutenant Colonel Cpt = Captain
Army of the Shenandoah BG Joseph E. Johnston
Brigade Regiments and Others First Brigade
Col Thomas J. Jackson 2nd Virginia Infantry: Col James W. Allen 4th Virginia Infantry: Col James F. Preston 5th Virginia Infantry: Col Kenton Harper 27th Virginia Infantry: Col William W. Gordon 1st Rockbridge Artillery: Cpt William N. Pendleton Cavalry 1st Virginia Cavalry: Ltc J.E.B. Stuart
Battle
On July 2, Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson's division crossed the Potomac River near Williamsport, Maryland and marched on the main road to Martinsburg. Near Hoke's Run, the Union brigades of Cols. John J. Abercrombie and George H. Thomas encountered regiments of Col. Thomas J. Jackson's Confederate brigade, driving them back slowly. Jackson accomplished his orders to delay the Federal advance, withdrawing before Patterson's larger force.
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, however, Patterson turned east to Charles Town and then withdrew to Harpers Ferry.
Patterson's retrograde movement took pressure off Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley and allowed Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Army of the Shenandoah to march to support Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard at Manassas Junction. Following the stunning Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run 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.
References
Citations
Sources
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