The Battle of McDowell was one which was faught with deception. Stonewall Jackson keep some of his troops in Highland County, while marching the rest of the troops south of the Shenandoah Valley so that Union spies would report southward troop movement to their commanders. However, after the march, Stonewall Jackson had his troops take a train to Staunton and marked them to Highland County.
At Sitlington’s Hill, within the town of McDowell, a locality named after former Virginia Governor James McDowell whom served on the first board for the Virginia Military Insititute, Union and Confederate forces clashed.
During the battle, the Felix Hull House was used as the headquarters for Union Brigadier General Robert Huston Milroy and his superior Brigadier General Robert Cumming Schenck. When the Confederates won the battle, Major General Stonewall Jackson occupied the Felix Hull House.
Currently, the Felix Hull House is a privately owned residence. The staff at the Highland County Museum, a museum at a house identical to the Felix Hull House, mentioned that while the home is in need of renovation, the owners have decided to not renovate in the near future.
Hamilton Historical Records 