The Battle of Front Royal: Belle Boyd
N 38° 54.156 W 078° 12.207
17S E 742510 N 4309686
Quick Description: As the Confederate army advanced on Front Royal, Belle Boyd, a Confederate spy, informed them that the Union force in Front Royal was very small.
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 4/28/2012 8:26:18 PM
Waymark Code: WMEAR4
In 1862, Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson was sent to take command of the forces in Shenandoah Valley since it was an important source of supplies and a possible route for invading the north, including Washington, D.C. In February 1862, Gen. George McClellan took control of the Union army and planned an assault on Richmond, Virginia from the coast (Peninsula Campaign). Jackson was ordered the hold down the Federal troops in the Valley to prevent them from reinforcing McClellan. Even with a small army of poorly-trained troops and defeat at Kernstown in March, Jackson succeeded with brilliant strategies and maneuvers to maintain control of the Valley and prevent McClellan from receiving any help. Indeed, it would be Jackson who would reinforce Gen. Robert E. Lee in successfully defending Richmond against McClellan.
On May 23, Jackson defeated the 1st Maryland Regiment USA under Union Col. John Kenly sent to Front Royal to guard the bridge and railroad over the North and South Fork of the Shenandoah River and protect Gen. Nathaniel Banks' position in nearby Strasburg. With Jackson was the 1st Maryland CSA which dubbed the Battle of Front Royal as the Battle of Brother Against Brother.
The Battle of Front Royal Driving Tour is a site on the Civil War Discovery Trail that starts at the Front Royal Visitors Center and follows the battle through modern-day Front Royal.
The second stop on the tour is Belle Boyd. Belle Boyd was a young woman who had moved to Front Royal from West Virginia after being acquitted of killing a Union soldier who had tried to raise the national flag above her house. Belle saw Gen. Jackson stopped here organizing his troops into battle formations as they readied to advance on town about a mile away and came tearing down the hill to tell him that there weren't many Federals in Front Royal and to attack right away and they would get them all. The 6th VA Cav or Wise Troop rode forward and captured a Union picket line with no shots fired. The Federal troops at the courthouse had no clue the Confederates were advancing on them as Jackson's troops continued their march down Gooney Manor Rd. (Browntown Rd. today).