Duval's Attack

By mid-afternoon, Union troops massed near Red Bud Run as the battle had reached a stalemate and Union General Philip H. Sheridan ordered General George Crook's Army of West Virginia into the fight. As Crook's Mountaineers moved forward through scenes of severe casualties, many wounded men urged them on. Crook left Colonel Joseph Thoburn's division south of Red Bud Run and personally led Colonel Isaac Duval's division to the north side, where they crossed the Huntsberry Farm, drove off the last Confederates there, and reached this area about 3 pm. As Thoburn joined the attack south of the stream, Duval's men raised a mighty battle yell and struck the Confederate left. Confederate General John B. Gordon quickly shifted troops to meet them and opened fire with fierce resistance, but Crook's attack broke the Confederate left and marked the beginning of the end for Confederate fortunes at the Third Battle of Winchester.

Virginia · United States