"Run or Die"

On three separate occasions, dramatic Civil War events unfolded on Rutherford's Farm and the nearby Susan Carter farm beside the Valley Turnpike, now modern Route 11, because their location placed them directly in the path of opposing armies. During the Gettysburg Campaign, on June 14-15, 1863, hard-marching Confederate troops chased Union Gen. Robert H. Milroy's army along the turnpike after the Second Battle of Winchester, then caught and defeated Milroy at Stephenson's Depot, now Stephenson, to the north. On July 20, 1864, during the Battle of Rutherford's Farm in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, Union Gen. William W. Averell's cavalry and infantry overwhelmed Gen. Stephen Ramseur's Confederates and sent them retreating to Winchester, leaving 420 dead and wounded on the surrounding land. A few months later, on September 19, 1864, during the Third Battle of Winchester, Gen. George Custer's cavalrymen thundered across Rutherford's Farm in pursuit of retreating Confederate infantry and cavalry heading south to regroup at Fisher's Hill.

Virginia · United States