Battle of Cool Spring The Battle of Cool Spring , also known as Castleman ' s Ferry , Island Ford , Parker ' s Ford , and Snicker ' s Ferry , was a battle in the American Civil War fought July 17 – 18 , 1864 , in Clarke County , Virginia , as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 . The battle was a Confederate victory . Background . After the Battle of Fort Stevens on July 11 , a Union column , consisting of the VI Corps and elements of the XIX Corps under Maj . Gen . Horatio G . Wright , pursued Lt . Gen . Jubal Early ' s Army of the Valley as it withdrew from the environs of Washington , D . C . , through Loudoun County , Virginia . On July 15 , Wright ' s force was joined by elements of Brig . Gen . George Crook ' s command , which had accompanied Maj . Gen . David Hunter during his retreat through West Virginia following the Battle of Lynchburg on June 18 . After two brief engagements in Loudoun County at Heaton ' s Crossroads ( present day Purcellville ) and Woodgrove on July 16 , Early ' s main force crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains at Snickers Gap and established themselves around Berryville . To cover his rear , Early left substantial rearguard forces at main river crossings of the Shenandoah River . On July 17 , the Union cavalry passed through Snickers Gap and unsuccessfully attempted to force passage of the river at Castleman ' s Ferry ( Snicker ' s Ford ) . The following day , Gens . Crook and Wright arrived at Snickers Gap and determined to attack what they mistakenly thought was a light picket line of Confederates along the river , left to cover Early ' s retreat up the Valley . Instead of allowing his cavalry to cross the river and reconnoiter the Confederate positions to confirm this assumption , it was dispatched to Ashby ' s Gap to attack Early ' s supply train which was traveling to the south of Early ' s main army . Wright then developed a plan where a small Federal force would cross the river downstream from the main crossing at Castleman ' s Ferry and flank the Confederate position . Gen . Crook assigned Col . Joseph Thoburn to this task . Battle . At 3 p . m . , Thoburn crossed the Shenandoah below Castleman ' s Ferry , at Judge Richard Parker ' s Ford , quickly driving off a small force of Confederate pickets . The pickets quickly alerted their commanders , Maj . Gens . John B . Gordon and John C . Breckinridge , of the Federal advance . Gordon responded by moving a division to the vicinity of the ford , using a small ridge that lay between him and the Federals to screen his movements . Breckinridge ordered Brig . Gen . Gabriel C . Wharton and Maj . Gen . Robert E . Rodes to the ford ; they deployed along Gordon ' s left flank , with Wharton forming the center . Wharton ' s sharpshooters quickly drove back Thoburn ' s skirmishers who occupied a valley between the ridge on which the Confederates were lined and the high ground along the riverbank where the first of two federal lines was formed in front of a stone fence . A reserve line was located on the low sunken bank of the river behind the stone fence , well protected and concealed from the Confederates . Around 6 p . m . , Rodes attacked the main Federal position on the high ground along its right flank . The Federal line turned to meet the attack and exposed its left flank to enfilading fire from Gordon and Wharton . The line collapsed and untrained , unmounted cavalrymen from Col . Samuel B . M . Young ' s Provisional Brigade began the retreat over the stone wall and across the Shenandoah . About the time of the Federal retreat , Brig . Gen . James B . Ricketts arrived on the eastern bank of the river . Originally intended to reinforce Thoburn , Gen . Wright demurred with Thoburn ' s line in full retreat . As Rodes ' s men pressed the attack they came to the stone wall , whereupon the Federal reserve line opened up on the unsuspecting Confederates , driving them back towards the ridge . Throughout the remainder of the evening , Rodes sent small brigade - level attacks at the Federal position on the river bank but was unsuccessful in driving them across the river , because Thoburn was able to reinforce his right due to the lack of pressure on his left by Gordon and Wharton . After sunset , Thoburn retired the rest of his force across the river . Aftermath . The battle was a Confederate victory . Wright had sent a small force against a well reinforced Confederate position without the aid of cavalry because he mistakenly assumed it was only the pickets of Early ' s rearguard . Thoburn ' s force paid dearly for the mistake . Still , Thoburn ' s judicious use of terrain and lack of coordination on the Confederate side allowed Thoburn to stave off a full routing of his troops and thus was able to minimize his casualties . The following day both armies remained in the same positions as the night before and engaged in little fighting . Gen . Hunter , however , took the initiative and sent a force out from Harpers Ferry to pressure Early ' s position from the north , causing the Confederates to withdrawal from Berryville the following day and setting in motion the Valley Campaigns of 1864 . The Cool Spring Battlefield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 .