[at-l] War but not THAT ONE!

[daveh@xxxxxxxxxx (Dave Hicks)]

As someone who walks the AT, within walking distance has a different meaning
that your friends might have.  However the following is a brief outline of
some of what you might find, if you have the time and interest in the late
unpleasantness.

Others have already mentioned Gettysburg and I agree.

The areas with which I am most familiar are the Northern Virginia/WV/MD area
and SW Virginia.

Here in SW Virginia the trail passes through the site of the May 1864 Battle
of Cloyd's Mountain near Dublin in Pulaski County remains the largest
engagement ever fought in Southwest Virginia. A future president, Col.
Rutherford B. Hayes, was a hero of that battle. Today only a marker
commemorates the site.

There are lots of sites of David Hunter's fierce raids (both pre-West
Virginia and later), but you need to be a real history buff to find them.

Saltville, north of I-81 on Route 107 - Salt wells here were crucially
important to the Confederate war effort, important enough to be the focus of
Union attacks late in 1864. Civil War Trails interpretation at two sites.

Hanging Rock Battlefield, near Roanoke just off Route 31 - Markers and
monuments mark the spot of a running battle fought June 21, 1864, between
Confederate forces under Jubal Early and Union troops under David Hunter as
Hunter was withdrawing from Lynchburg. A new park with an interpreted battle
trail and Civil War Trails interpretation.

 J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace, Patrick County, located 25 miles west of Stuart,
Va., and five miles north of Mt. Airy, N.C. - A self-guided walking tour is
available at the site of the famed Confederate cavalry commander's birth.
The site is supported by a foundation. Trails interpretation.

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, extreme southwestern tip of
Virginia into Kentucky on U.S. Route 58 - Exhibits and videos outline the
history, including the Civil War era, of the great mountain gap, a gateway
for armies passing between theaters during the war. Call 606-248-2817 about
visiting the park.

Jubal Early Homeplace, Franklin County - The homeplace of Confederate Gen.
Jubal A. Early.  It's located just off Route 116 in the Red Valley section
of the county. Site is not open for visitation except by appointment.
Contact the Birthplace Trust at PO Box 638, Rocky Mount, Va. 24151.

Cedar Bluff - Two Civil War Trails interpretive markers describe the action
here as Federal raiders made their way to the salt works at Saltville in
1864. Signs located at the Cedar Bluff Overlook Park off US 460 and at the
Old Post Office, which was looted during the action.

Engagement at Marion, Civil War Trails sign on Route 11 in Marion -
Confederates, outnumbered 4:1 here, managed to hold off for two days (Dec.
18-19, 1864) Union forces raiding the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad and the
salt and lead mines in the area. Local heroes saved county records and other
town resources.

Lexington was the home to Stonewall Jackson before the Civil War and to
Robert E. Lee after, Lexington retains much of its 19th century flavor. Lee
and Jackson both chose to be buried in this small city.  There is also Civil
War Trails interpretation, featuring Hunter's Raid in 1864.

Lee Chapel, on the Washington and Lee University campus - Robert E. Lee and
his family are buried here. The ex-Confederate commander served as college
president after the war, dying at his home a few steps away from the chapel
in 1870. Lee's office was in one of the rooms in the lower level of the
Chapel. It remains as he left it. His horse, Traveller, is buried just
outside the Chapel.

Virginia Military Institute Museum, on the Post - Good Jackson material,
including the bullet-pierced raincoat he wore at Chancellorsville.

"Stonewall" Jackson House,

"Stonewall" Jackson Memorial Cemetery, Jackson lies among hundreds of his
fellow Confederates, two Virginia governors and Revolutionary War soldiers
in this 18th century cemetery. The statue of Jackson above his grave was
dedicated in 1891. Open dawn to dusk.

Skyline Drive, Civil War signs located at Franklin Cliffs Overlook, just
north of Big Meadows and the Byrd Visitor Center - Great views from here
locate the New Market Gap and the Page Valley used so effectively by
Stonewall Jackson during the war. A large map describes Jackson's various
marches. Another sign tells of the last time Jackson crossed the mountains.

To the southeast of Harrisonburg you have the site some the battles of Port
Republic and Cross Keys.

In Dayton, located on Route 42 south of Harrisonburg,  just west of I-81 and
Route 11 is the Shenandoah Valley Heritage Museum.

More to the north there are a number of sights within a few miles of the
trail.

Strasburg Train Station / Museum, King Street - Civil War items and
information here in the Strasburg Museum. This is the place where T.J.
Jackson re-employed locomotives in the service of the Confederacy after
hijacking them in Harper's Ferry in April 1861.

Fisher's Hill Battlefield, a mile south of Strasburg, west of Route 11.
Follow signs to the APCWS park - Jubal Early's position here was shattered
by Union attacks Sept. 22, 1864. The APCWS maintains a site on 195 acres of
the battlefield.

The following sites along Route 11 are marked with Civil War Trails
interpretation unless otherwise noted.

Tom's Brook - Union cavalry under Gens. George A. Custer and Wesley Merritt
routed their Confederate counterparts under Gen. Thomas Rosser after hard
fighting here Oct. 9, 1864. The Southerners retreated in haste more than 25
miles to infantry lines at Rude's Hill. Battle also known as the "Woodstock
Races."

Woodstock, Trails sign located a block west of the courthouse - The citizens
of the seat of Shenandoah County experienced the horrors of war in the late
summer and fall of 1864 witnessing the smoke and flames of the infamous
"Burning" as well as ranger, guerrilla and bushwhacker activities. Trails
sign details some of the worst.

Narrow Passage, east of Route 11, south of Woodstock - Stonewall Jackson
ordered Jedediah Hotchkiss to make a map of the Shenandoah Valley near here
on March 26, 1862. The house on Narrow Passage Creek still stands. Jackson's
spring campaign that followed became famous. So did Hotchkiss' maps.

Edinburg Mill, two Trails signs in the parking lot of the mill on Route 11 -
This mill, opened in 1850, survived the burnings ordered in late
September-early October 1864 by Union Gen. Philip Sheridan. More than two
years earlier Confederates used Stony Creek (which provided the mill's
power) as a defensive line. A sharp battle on the line near the mill in late
March 1862 delayed a Federal advance on the Valley Pike.

Mount Jackson - This small town hosted a Confederate hospital complex
established early in the war. A Confederate cemetery and monument honors
those who died here. Just south on Route 11 is Union Church, a hospital
site. Open some weekends. [No Trails sign.]

One of the most heartbreaking was the Battle of New Market where 247
Virginia Military Institute cadets advanced side by side with veteran Civil
War infantrymen into hellish cannon and rifle fire. When the smoke of the
battle cleared, 10 cadets lay dead, including Cadet Thomas G. Jefferson, 17,
descendant of our nation's third president. Another 47 cadets were wounded.
Its maybe 15 miles from the trail.

Rude's Hill, turn-off with interpretation south of Mount Jackson on Route
11 - Stonewall Jackson's troops camped here on high ground above Meem's
Bottom during the summer of 1862 and Jubal Early's infantry halted the 1864
Woodstock Races begun in Tom's Brook.

Battlefield at Cool Spring, Route 7, east of Berryville - State historical
markers cite the action here as Confederate Gen. Jubal Early was pursued
after his July 1864 foray to the suburbs of Washington D.C. Union forces,
including those led by future President Rutherford Hayes, were repulsed
bloodily.

Right on the trail you have Harpers Ferry of John Brown fame and where
Jackson forced the surrender of 11,000 with the bombardment from Loudoun
Heights.  Antietam which followed is fairly close (five miles?).

About a year earlier, at Ashby Gap you have where Jackson crossed on his way
to First Manassas/Bull Run.

At Snickers Gap is where Moblley was ambushed and where Early crossed on his
retreat from Washington.

Of course any old house in the Snickers Gap to Manassas Gap was some sort of
Mosbey/Moblley raid or base.

There are a bunch of signal knobs and the like along the trail.

Chainsaw


----- Original Message -----
From: "William Neal" <nealb@midlandstech.com>
To: "AT-L List (E-mail)" <at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 7:52 AM
Subject: [at-l] War but not THAT ONE!


After talking to some people, I have a question.  Are there any
Revolutionary and/or Civil War sites on or near the trail?  When I say near
the trail I mean within reasonable walking distance, and not as far away as
Boston ;-).  I know about the Shelton boys, but such sites are usually not
that interesting for the people I am asking for.  Mainly because they would
not walk that far just for a couple of regular soldiers grave.  Now if is
were Stonewall's grave or somebody else (North or South) who was famous,
that would be another question.  And if the site were a full blown battle
field, they would go ape over it.  But its a mixed group I am asking for and
any help would be appreciated.  Especially since they are mostly day-hikers
(if that) and only one or two are even considering long hikes (a couple
retiring within a year or two).  Mostly they are people who are military
history fans.

William, The Turtle
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