Battle of Cedar Creek - Middletown, Virginia
Posted by: Rivers End
N 39° 01.212 W 078° 17.753
17S E 734105 N 4322497
Battle of Cedar Creek - Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation, Middletown, Virginia
Waymark Code: WM2ZF3
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 01/15/2008
Views: 126
Battle for Cedar Creek within the Valley Campaign. The original battle occurring October 19, 1864, Confederate General Jubal A. Early clashed with engaged Union troops led by General’s Horatio G. Wright and then Philip H. Sheridan. Early withdrawn (Up the Valley) southwest into the Shenandoah Valley under pressure from Phil Sheridan’s army who were engaged and trying to destroy the economic base of the Valley, meant to deprive General Robert E. Lee’s Army of needed supplies. The Confederacy took a crushing defeat and the Union pushed on! General Sheridan also entered the battlefield and rallied his troops to victory!
The Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park has been signed into law by President Bush thus making Cedar Creek the only National Park in the U.S. in which reenactments will be permitted. The Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation will continue to host the reenactment as we have in the past. All proceeds from the reenactment benefit battlefield interpretation and preservation.
The Foundation was created by a small group of Shenandoah Valley preservationists who learned that a 158-acre tract of land in the core area of the 1864 battlefield (next to Belle Grove, an 18th-Century plantation house owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation) was slated to become an industrial park. The Foundation bought the 158 acres for $450,000, all of which was borrowed, in 1989. In 1996, after raising nearly three quarters of a million dollars in principal and interest, the Foundation retired the debt and placed the land under a perpetual preservation easement to ensure that it can never be divided or developed. It became the first battlefield easement to be held by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
The Cedar Creek Foundation Battle Reenactment is an annual reenactment that takes place every year around the third weekend in October. The reenactment is one of the best reenactment sights in the world that continues to reenact on original ground. It is spectator friendly with vast areas and wide views of the actual battlefield. One of the premiere places to view a reenactment. Over 4000 reenactors attend this event annually. It is held in mid fall which can bring mild temperatures, but usually comfortable.
Name of Battle: The Battle of Cedar Creek - Valley Campaign
Name of War: The American Civil War 1861-1865
Entrance Fee: 2.00 (listed in local currency)
Date(s) of Battle (Beginning): 10/19/1864
Parking: Not Listed
Date of Battle (End): Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Post a photo of you in front of a sign or marker posted at the site of the battle (or some other way to indicate you have personally visited the site.
In addition it is encouraged to take a few photos of the surrounding area and interesting features at the site.