Battle of Good's Farm

The Battle of Good's Farm was a short skirmish between the Confederates and the Union in Jackson's Valley Campaign in the American Civil War. After a short fight, Confederate cavalryman Turner Ashby was killed.

As Stonewall Jackson's army withdrew from the pressure of Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont's superior forces, moving from Harrisonburg toward Port Republic, Colonel Turner Ashby commanded the rear guard. On June 6, 1862, near Harrisonburg, the 1st New Jersey Cavalry attacked Ashby's position at Good's Farm. Although Ashby defeated the cavalry attack, a subsequent infantry engagement resulted in his horse being shot and Ashby charging ahead on foot. Within a few steps, he was shot through the heart, killing him instantly. (The origin of the fatal shot has been lost to history. Soldiers of the 13th Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry, the "Bucktails", claimed credit, but some accounts blame friendly fire.) His last words were "Forward my brave men!" He had been promoted to brigadier general just ten days before his death.