Located in Frederick County, with a portion in the City of Winchester, the Kernstown Battlefield Historic District encompasses two parcels, the Pritchard-Grim Farm and the Sandy Ridge Tract. The historic district is significant for three Civil War battles notable for their impact on the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns of 1862 and 1864 and the Gettysburg Campaign of 1863. The Battle of First Kernstown (1862), despite it being the only tactical defeat of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson as an independent commander, prompted the movement of more Union troops from around Richmond to the Shenandoah Valley due to concerns for the safety of Washington, D.C. The Battle of Second Winchester (1863), a Confederate victory, opened a clear path for invasion through Maryland and Pennsylvania and eventually the Battle of Gettysburg. The final Battle of Kernstown (1863), another victory for the South, created an opportunity for the Confederates to destroy the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Martinsburg and created a path to invade Maryland and Pennsylvania a second time. The Kernstown Battlefield Historic District is also notable for the three-story Greek Revival Pritchard House, constructed in ca. 1854, the ca. 1790 Pritchard Cabin and a tenant house constructed in the late 1850s. All three of these buildings on the Pritchard-Grim Farm were used as field hospitals during each of the battles.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia