Battle of Rutherford ' s Farm The Battle of Rutherford ' s Farm , also known as Carter ' s Farm and Stephenson ' s Depot , was a small engagement between Confederate forces under Maj . Gen . Stephen D . Ramseur and Union forces under Brig . Gen . William W . Averell on July 20 , 1864 , in Frederick County , Virginia , during the American Civil War , as part of Confederate Lt . Gen . Jubal Early ' s Valley Campaign , resulting in a Union victory . Background . Following two unsuccessful Union attacks on his flanks at Kabletown and Berry ' s Ferry , General Early ordered a withdrawal from the Confederate position at Berryville towards a more secure position at Strasburg on July 19 . The movement required the evacuation of the military hospitals and storage depots from the Confederate base of operations at Winchester . To cover the evacuation , Early ordered Ramseur ' s division to Winchester , with orders to stay within the city ' s defensive works and not to precipitate any unnecessary engagements with the enemy . Three days prior , Union Maj . Gen . David Hunter had received an erroneous report of Confederate cavalry in Winchester preparing for a raid on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad . To meet this threat , Hunter dispatched Averell ' s division from Martinsburg . Averell got underway on July 19 and crept slowly up the valley , wary of being overrun by Early ' s army , making it as far as Bunker Hill by nightfall , where he made camp . Battle . Ramseur ' s division arrived at Winchester the morning of July 20 , whereupon he dispatched his cavalry under John C . Vaughn and William L . Jackson to Carter ' s Farm north of town to scout the enemy ' s position . Confederate skirmishers found the Union encampment at Bunker Hill about 7 a . m . and reported their presence to Ramseur . At 9 a . m Averell ' s force broke camp and set down the Valley Turnpike , fighting the Confederate skirmishers the entire way . By 11 a . m the Federals arrived at Stephenson ' s Depot where they encountered Vaughn ' s and Jackson ' s dismounted cavalry supported by artillery on a small ridge . The artillery opened fire halting the Union advance and prompting Averell to bring up his artillery , leading to a protracted duel . About 2 p . m , Vaughn sent a courier to Ramseur apprising him of the developments and recommending that the infantry be brought up to ambush the Union force . Despite Early ' s orders to stay within the defenses of Winchester , Ramseur saw the chance for a great victory and agreed with Vaughn , dispatching his infantry to the developing battle . Within the hour the infantry arrived and was concealed in a woods atop the ridge . As the Confederate infantry was arriving , the Union assault got underway . As the Union charge approached the woods , the concealed Confederate infantry unleashed a volley of musket fire that checked the Union advance and threatened to turn its left . Unfortunately for the Confederates , the woods in which they hid formed an acute angle with the Turnpike , leaving their left protruding towards the Union advance . Union cavalry covering the Union right soon smashed into the exposed Confederate left flank , turning it . The Confederate center and right continued to deliver devastating fire against the Union center and left , but slowly regiment by regiment of the Confederate left began to turn in full retreat towards Winchester until finally the whole Confederate line collapsed in retreat . Despite Ramseur ' s effort , the line could not be reassembled before it reached the defenses of Winchester . Still unsure of the whereabouts of the rest of Early ' s army , Averell declined to pursue the retreating Confederates , thus ending the battle . Aftermath . The battle resulted in a resounding Union victory , but strategically resulted in little else except some much needed boosting of Union morale after a string of defeats by Early ' s veteran troops . The evacuation of Winchester continued undisturbed , and Ramseur , despite his insubordination resulting in unnecessary losses , received nothing more than stern talk from Early . Pvt . John Shanes , Company K , 14th West Virginia Infantry , received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the fighting near Carter ' s Farm , where he " charged upon a Confederate fieldpiece in advance of his comrades and by his individual exertions silenced the piece . " The site of the battlefield has recently seen heavy development . Located on the north end of Winchester , Virginia the battlefield now hosts a shopping center and office complex .