Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

Our History

Rose Hill

 

Located on a walking trail just under one mile in length, seven interpretive signs tell the story of the First Battle of Kernstown. (Upper Picture)

The 1950s view of Rose Hill shows the Federal-style addition that adjoins the original log structure. The oldest portion of the Rose Hill house dates back to 1790. (Lower Picture)

 

Pictured in text

General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson commanded the southern troops in the First Battle of Kernstown.

 
 

Quickfact

General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson commanded the Southern troops at the First Battle of Kernstown. His absence from the battle's front lines was a crucial error. He also failed to understand the extent of his opposing forces, and he did not communicate his battle plans to subordinates. The general never repeated his mistakes; this battle was his only tactical defeat of the war.

Jackson Portrait

Just as the Glen Burnie House is the ancestral home of the Wood family, Rose Hill is the ancestral home of the Glass family. The two families became linked in 1832 with the marriage of Catherine Wood and Thomas S. Glass.

Located several miles from the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley's main Winchester campus, Rose Hill is an excellent example of a vernacular Federal-style house built by Irish immigrants. It also derives historic significance as the site of the Civil War's March 23, 1862 First Battle of Kernstown.

 

The site is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is an official project of Save America's Treasures, a private partnership between the White House Millennium Council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The site features a Civil War Trails marker that tells the story of the First Battle of Kernstown. Located outside the property, the Civil War Trails marker is accessible at anytime, the battlefield is now closed until 2014 for a preservation project and is not open to the public.

 

Nearby, the Pritchard-Grim Farm, owned by the Kernstown Battlefield Association, is open for tours. Early stages of the First Battle of Kernstown were fought on the Pritchard-Grim Farm. Rose Hill was the scene of the battle’s later phase and final conflict. For information about visiting the KBA property visit this site.

 

Please refer back to this website for information about the preservation effort and details about the reopening of the Rose Hill property.