The biggest Civil War cavalry battle that you’ve never heard of happened just up the road in Madison County. And if you’d like to find out more about the Battle of Jack’s Shop, Wednesday is your day.
Serious history buffs may remember that on Sept. 22, 1863, Confederate cavalry led by Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart charged against two Union forces and lived to tell about it. But the rest of us might be asking, “What in the world is Jack’s Shop?”
So, here’s your chance to get the whole story of one of the largest cavalry engagements of the entire war, a marathon that kept thousands of combatants engaged from first light to last. At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, head to Bethel United Methodist Church in Rochelle to hear a brief lecture by Harold Woodward Jr. in the church’s pavilion.
You’ll find out more about Jack’s Shop, which took its name from a nearby blacksmithing business, and about how Stuart’s forces took on the cavalry of Union Brig. Gen. John Buford.
Things got more complicated when Union Brig. Gen. H.H. Judson Kilpatrick showed up to support Buford and attacked the rear of Stuart’s group. Stuart’s cavalry and horse artillery fired and charged in both directions, eventually breaking through Kilpatrick’s lines to get away.
Woodward, a Civil War historian, has written several books about Madison County, and he has plenty of details and local context to share.
Right after Woodward’s lecture, there will be a tour of several sites where the bloody battle took place. The Madison Historical Society and Madison Conservation Friends are sponsoring the event.
There will be light refreshments, and everything is free. For details, call (540) 948-3306.
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