Earlier this month, I finally had the opportunity to visit Hoke’s Run Battlefield Park in Berkeley County, West Virginia. The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and other local historic preservation groups developed this 10-acre park near the site of the July 2, 1861 Battle of Hoke’s Run, also known as Falling Waters, and erected interpretive signs along the trail loop.
Hoke’s Run was the largest skirmish of Union Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson’s brief campaign to keep Confederate Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in the Shenandoah Valley and prevent him from reinforcing Confederate forces at Manassas. It was a tactical victory for the North, but both sides could claim a measure of success. Patterson’s army drove the Confederates back and occupied Martinsburg, while Col. Thomas J. Jackson’s disciplined withdrawal delayed the Federals long enough for Johnston to prepare his army to oppose them.
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields, the Berkeley County Commission, Berkeley County Board of Education, Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Board, and Falling Waters Battlefield Association all collaborated to make the new park a reality. It was dedicated on July 2, 2026, the 165th anniversary of the battle. Hoke’s Run marked the first time either “Stonewall” Jackson or George Thomas led troops in battle during the Civil War.
The park is located at 1156 Saint Andrews Drive, not far from Stumpy’s Hollow, where J.E.B. Stuart captured nearly all of Company I, 15th Pennsylvania Infantry. Although no fighting occurred on the park grounds themselves, interpretive signs along the trails tell the story of the battle and its place in the larger campaign. They are nicely illustrated with the first detailed maps of this battle I’ve ever seen.
What can you expect when you go? The park has a nice playground for the kids, an outdoor pavilion with picnic tables, and restrooms. The gently sloping gravel trail shouldn’t pose a challenge at any fitness level. It forms one large loop, with a cross-trail through the middle that provides a convenient shortcut. I highly recommend paying it a visit.
Spirit of '61 