Registration Open for Author-Led First Battle of Kernstown Tour on 3/21/26

On Saturday, March 21, 2026, the Kernstown Battlefield Association (KBA) will host an all-day First Battle of Kernstown walking and driving tour. The tour will be led by Gary Ecelbarger, the renowned author of “We Are In For It! The First Battle of Kernstown, March 23, 1862.”

The morning portion of this event will consist of a walking tour of the Kernstown Battlefield “main campus” property covering early battle action as viewed from the Union artillery positions on Pritchard’s Hill and from the Confederate infantry route of march across our southern fields. After a break for lunch (on your own), the tour group will reassemble at the KBA Visitor Center and then travel by car caravan to Rose Hill Park for continued discussions of the later stages of the battle. The tour will conclude with a visit to our Sandy Ridge property where the final and decisive Union infantry assaults took place.

Attendees should meet at the Kernstown Battlefield Visitor Center no later than 8:45AM as the tour will start promptly at 9:00AM. The tour is scheduled to end by 4:00PM.

Please dress appropriately for the weather and be prepared to walk across fields and on park trails. Accommodations for mobility-challenged tour participants are available with the exception of Rose Hill Park portion of the tour which requires about a mile of walking on improved (hard gravel) trails. Finally, we ask that you register in advance for this tour on our website at https://www.kernstownbattle.org/events/first-kernstown-battle-tour-032126.

If you have any questions related to this event, please contact the KBA event coordinator Chuck Maurer, via email at vamaurers@gmail.com or call 804-892-1042.