During the Civil War in the spring of 1862, with large Union forces threatening Richmond from the southeast and north, Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson launched an offensive in the Shenandoah Valley to draw Federal troops away from the Confederate capital. After a setback at First Kernstown on March 23, he moved south to Conrad's Store, feinted east in early May, then turned west to defeat Federal troops at McDowell on May 8. Rejoining the main Valley, he united with Gen. Richard Ewell, won at Front Royal on May 23 and First Winchester on May 25, then moved north toward Harper's Ferry before escaping two Union armies that tried to trap him. Racing south with Federal forces on both sides of Massanutten Mountain, Jackson turned southeast at Harrisonburg, where his army defeated the Federals at Cross Keys on June 8 and at Port Republic on June 9. At Cross Keys, Union Gen. John C. Frémont, pursuing Jackson, met Ewell's division, which had orders to block his movement toward Port Republic. After a two-hour artillery duel, Gen. Julius Stahel's Federal brigade advanced from the left but was driven back by a surprise volley from Gen. Isaac Trimble's Confederate brigade. The 8th New York Infantry, 548 strong, suffered 258 casualties in less than ten minutes. Although Gen. Robert Milroy made promising progress on the Federal right, Frémont failed to exploit his numerical superiority, ordered probes instead of a full attack, and then withdrew to Keezletown Road under cover of his batteries as darkness ended the fighting. The Confederates held the field, the Union forces withdrew north, and Jackson, having tied up 60,000 Union troops and completed his mission, moved east to join Gen. Robert E. Lee in front of Richmond, giving new hope and enthusiasm to the Confederate cause.