Turner Ashby was born
on October 23, 1828, at “Rose Bank” in Fauquier County,
Virginia. Young Turner had a solid military pedigree as the son
of Colonel Turner Ashby, who fought in the war of 1812, and the
grandson of Revolutionary War Captain Jack Ashby. Ashby purchased
a farm near his boyhood home, and named the place Wolfe’s
Crag. He was an accomplished horseman, and often competed in
local competitions, and usually won first-place honors in these
tournaments.
In 1857, he raised a company of volunteers to police the workers building the railroad through the gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Manassas. Two years later, Ashby and his volunteers quickly responded when John Brown and his men raided the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
When the War Between the States erupted, Ashby received a captain’s commission, and he and his volunteer cavalry company returned to Harpers Ferry to help seize the arsenal there. His command was known as the Ashby Rangers, which became part of the Seventh Virginia Calvary. In 1861, he became a lieutenant colonel in command of 10 companies. Ashby employed the first battery of horse artillery used during the war. In 1862, he gained the rank of Colonel. On May 23, 1862, he was promoted to Brigadier General in command of the Ashby Brigade, which later was known as the Laurel Brigade.
On June 6, 1862, Ashby and his men fought a rear guard action on Chestnut Ridge near Harrisonburg, Virginia. They attempted to buy time for General Richard Ewell’s soldiers to prepare defensive positions on the eve of the Battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic. During a cavalry charge, the audacious Ashby leaped from his wounded horse and continued to lead his men forward on foot. After only a few steps, a musket ball struck him in the chest and he fell to the ground – dead. The General was only thirty-three-years-old.
After the skirmish, soldier’s carried the General’s body to the Frank Kemper House in Port Republic. There General Stonewall Jackson and other mourners came to pay their last respects to the “Knight of the Confederacy.” His body was moved to Winchester, Virginia, in October, 1866. He was buried beside his younger brother, Richard Ashby, who died after being wounded near Harpers Ferry in the early stages of the war. Their bodies now rest with over 3,000 other Confederate heroes in Stonewall Confederate Cemetery, part of Winchester’s historic Mount Hebron Cemetery.
In 1857, he raised a company of volunteers to police the workers building the railroad through the gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Manassas. Two years later, Ashby and his volunteers quickly responded when John Brown and his men raided the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
When the War Between the States erupted, Ashby received a captain’s commission, and he and his volunteer cavalry company returned to Harpers Ferry to help seize the arsenal there. His command was known as the Ashby Rangers, which became part of the Seventh Virginia Calvary. In 1861, he became a lieutenant colonel in command of 10 companies. Ashby employed the first battery of horse artillery used during the war. In 1862, he gained the rank of Colonel. On May 23, 1862, he was promoted to Brigadier General in command of the Ashby Brigade, which later was known as the Laurel Brigade.
On June 6, 1862, Ashby and his men fought a rear guard action on Chestnut Ridge near Harrisonburg, Virginia. They attempted to buy time for General Richard Ewell’s soldiers to prepare defensive positions on the eve of the Battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic. During a cavalry charge, the audacious Ashby leaped from his wounded horse and continued to lead his men forward on foot. After only a few steps, a musket ball struck him in the chest and he fell to the ground – dead. The General was only thirty-three-years-old.
After the skirmish, soldier’s carried the General’s body to the Frank Kemper House in Port Republic. There General Stonewall Jackson and other mourners came to pay their last respects to the “Knight of the Confederacy.” His body was moved to Winchester, Virginia, in October, 1866. He was buried beside his younger brother, Richard Ashby, who died after being wounded near Harpers Ferry in the early stages of the war. Their bodies now rest with over 3,000 other Confederate heroes in Stonewall Confederate Cemetery, part of Winchester’s historic Mount Hebron Cemetery.