Gen. William E. "Grumble" Jones, acting-commander of the Confederate Department of Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee for assistance, instructing him to open communications with Imboden.

Imboden had concentrated his forces at Mount Crawford on the south bank of the North River, blocking Hunter's direct path to Staunton upon the Valley Turnpike.

Imboden, a Valley native from Augusta County, established his headquarters at the Grattan House, where his force grew when the reinforcements began to arrive from Southwest Virginia.

[4] On the morning of June 4, Hunter sent a diversionary force toward Mount Crawford while his main army headed east to Port Republic where he camped for the night.

According to Imboden, Jones agreed to march his infantry and dismounted cavalry to Mowry's Hill in Eastern Augusta where they would confront Hunter on June 5.

[6] After spending a rainy night encamped on the southern outskirts of Port Republic, Hunter's army marched southward on the Staunton Road toward Mount Meridian through the morning mist.

Imboden barely escaped capture and only the timely charge from the balance of his brigade, which included local reserves, saved the 18th Virginia from disaster.

Vaughn's left flank rested six hundred yards to the rear of Jones's right wing, creating a gap in the center of his line.

The left flank of this palisade rested on a steep and impracticable bluff sixty feet high and washed at its base by the Shenandoah [Middle River].At noon, Hunter's infantry under the command of Brig.

On the east side of the road, Colonel Joseph Thoburn's brigade advanced through a wooded ravine toward Imboden's position under heavy artillery fire.

The Federals spotted the gap on the right flank of Jones's left wing, and Hunter ordered Thoburn's brigade to attack the vulnerable Confederate position.

Jones attempted to retrieve the situation bringing up the Valley Reserves, who slowed Thoburn's advance but were unable to throw it back.

A section of Captain John McClanahan's Virginia horse artillery stood its ground near the village of Piedmont, slowing the Union drive southward and barely evading capture.

When the New Yorkers chased up the road after the fleeing Southerners, this Confederate rear guard opened fire devastating the Union cavalry and dampening their enthusiasm for any further pursuit.

Vaughn learned that he was now the senior officer as a result of Jones's death, but he was unfamiliar with the Shenandoah Valley and simply adopted Imboden's recommendations.