Also Known As
- Battle of Bowers Hill
Date and Location
- May 25, 1862
- Frederick County, near the town of Winchester, in western Virginia
Campaign
Principal Union Commanders
- Major General Nathaniel Banks
- Colonel George Henry Gordon
- Brigadier General John P. Hatch
- Colonel Dudley Donnelly
Principal Confederate Commanders
- Makor General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
- Major General Richard Ewell
Union Forces Engaged
- Department of the Shenandoah
Confederate Forces Engaged
- Department of the Valley
Number of Union Soldiers Engaged
- Roughly 6,500
Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged
- Roughly 16,000
Estimated Union Casualties
- 2,019 (62 killed, 243 wounded, and 1,714 missing or captured)
Estimated Confederate Casualties
- 400 (68 killed, 329 wounded, and 3 missing)
Result
- Confederate victory
Significance
- The First Battle of Winchester was the fourth engagement of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862.
- The First Battle of Winchester was the third Confederate victory of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862.
- The Confederate victory at the First Battle of Winchester prompted President Lincoln to devise a complicated plan to stop Stonewall Jackson, which eventually led to future Union defeats in the Shenandoah Valley and diverted more troops away from the Peninsula Campaign against Richmond.
Timeline of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862
These are the main battles and events of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862 in order.
- March 23, 1862 — First Battle of Kernstown
- May 8, 1862 — Battle of McDowell
- May 15–17, 1862 — Battle of Princeton Court House
- May 23, 1862 — Battle of Front Royal
- May 25, 1862 — First Battle of Winchester
- June 8, 1862 — Battle of Cross Keys
- June 9, 1862 — Battle of Port Republic