Following his victory at First Winchester in May 1862, Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson withdrew up the Shenandoah Valley to avoid converging Union forces under Maj. Gen. John C. Fremont and Brig. Gen. James Shields. Jackson turned east at Harrisonburg and left Maj. Gen. Richard Ewell's division at the hamlet of Cross Keys. On June 8, Ewell defeated Fremont in a day long engagement and further solidified Confederate control of the Valley.