You know, the history of our young nation can be found throughout these parts of the country.
As a young boy, I learned to swim in a nearby pond not far from where I grew up in Dargan. It was a few miles from my grandmother’s house and was located just off of Harpers Ferry Road.
I never thought much about the old house that sat next to the pond. But it was in this house that a major Civil War activist lived who affected this country’s history mightily.
It was the rented home of John Brown, an abolitionist who thought the only way to abolish slavery was an armed insurrection. On Oct. 16, 1859, John Brown and 21 other men attempted to seize the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
U.S. Marines under the command of Robert E. Lee foiled Brown’s attack. He was captured and other members of Brown’s party were either killed or taken into custody.
That Civil War history that followed Brown’s assault on Harpers Ferry would include another important skirmish at Falling Waters in 1861.
Last week, I had lunch with my good friend Dean Stickel from West Virginia, and we further discussed some local history not well known to many.
Dean is the great-grandson of a fellow by the name of A. R. Porterfield who lived near Falling Waters, Virginia, back in the 1860s. He owned a 250-acre farm there.
This farm, and surrounding area, was the site of another Civil War battle not often discussed in a history class of high school students.
“Hoke’s Run” was a battle that had serious implications on the early part of Civil war history and is situated off the back steps of one’s local porch in Falling Waters.
After lunch Dean took me to a place in the nearby woods of his grandfather’s farm and discussed his Porterfield ancestors and local history preserved there today.
Perhaps not as famous as the battlefield of Antietam, Gettysburg or the nearby attack on the armory of Harpers Ferry but Hoke’s Run was nonetheless an important part of history too.
For it was during the battle of Hoke’s Run that would eventually lead to the early success of the Confederate army at the battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, which emboldened them in the conflict between the states.
This early victory would propel the South’s energy and desire in defending the institution of slavery ‘and its expansion in to the Western territories, and the power of the federal government.’
I found the tale of the Hokes Run battle most interesting.
The main players in this skirmish were Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson commanding the army of the North and Thomas Jackson, a colonel, in charge of the Southern forces. Soon Jackson would become known as “Stonewall,” and Patterson’s tenure as general would end after three months with his failed decisions.
Gen. Patterson would cross the Potomac River from Maryland to Martinsburg (then part of Virginia). Jackson’s mission was ordered to slow down the movement of Patterson and his troops., and he did so with a fighting retreat.
During the battle at Hoke’s run, Patterson’s troops were slowed by Jackson’s strategy, and he was able to retreat and head for a bigger assignment in the First battle of Bull Run.
In the Hoke’s Run skirmish; Union casualties numbered around 23-75 killed, wounded or captured while Confederate losses number from 25 to 91 killed or wounded.
Jackson and his brigade of Virginians were able to retreat with his mission complete and proceeded to the First Battle of Bull Run in Manassas on July 21, 1861, where the Confederate army would notch the first victory of the war between the states.
It was in this battle where Confederate Gen. Barnard E. Bee rallied his men by saying, “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall.”
The Hoke’s Run battle in nearby West Virginia fought near and on the property of A. R. Porterfield, Dean’s great-grandfather, is a sight to walk and see.
Hoke’s Run Battlefield Park officially opened in Falling Waters on July 2, 2026, marking the battle’s 165th anniversary.
A community park is also situated adjacent to the battlefield. Displayed metal placards throughout the woods’ trail explains the events of the battle.
Should you want to visit this park, you should drive to 1156 Saint Andrews Drive, Falling Waters, West Virginia, and take a stroll through the woods and learn of the Hoke’s Run battle.
Civil War enthusiasts would embrace this history.
I did.
