General Turner Ashby was Stonewall Jackson's Calvary Commander. In an attempt to halt the advancing forces of Fremont, the Va. 58th under Colonel Letcher and General Turner Ashby and the 1st Maryland under Colonel Bradley Johnson engaged the Pennsylvania Bucktails (a Pennyslvania infantry battalion) on June 6, 1862.. On June 6, 2024 General Turner Ashby was killed by an enemy round in a rear guard skirmish at Chestnut Ridge, ten miles north of Port Republic. The site of his death now bears a memorial marker.

Following the skirmish, the body of General Turner Ashby was taken to the Frank Kemper House (home of the Port Republic Museum) where General Jackson joined other mourners who came to pay respects to the local hero.