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The terrain explains why some of the largest and most significant battles of the Valley's 1862 and 1864 campaigns occurred within sight of Signal Knob.
In 1862, Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson used the Massanutten to screen his movement northward, successfully attacking a small Union garrison stationed at Front Royal and disconnected from the larger Federal force at Strasburg. Weakened, the northerners lost to Jackson again at Winchester two days later.
In the fall of 1864, Confederates under Gen. Jubal Early made a futile stand at Fisher's Hill on the west side of Signal Knob after suffering a stinging defeat at Winchester just days earlier. After watching Union forces lay waste to the Valley's bounty, Early's cavalry attacked the Federals at Tom's Brook but was forced to retreat. Finally, Early used Signal Knob as a vantage point from which to plan a surprise attack on Union forces encamped around Cedar Creek - an assault that came very close to succeeding in one of the largest battles west of the Blue Ridge. The decisive Battle of Cedar Creek all but ended the Civil War for the Shenandoah Valley.
Today, the road networks are much the same and vestiges of these military events have survived sufficiently to allow modern visitors to retrace these famous campaigns.
Front Royal, Hupp's Hill in Strasburg, and the Cedar Creek battlefield each have visitor centers open daily that help explain Civil War events, while Belle Grove Plantation, open seasonally, can tell you about life in the antebellum era. With information provided at these places about walking trails, driving tours, and interpretive signage, visitors can walk parts of these and other battlefields and explore the sites that tell this part of the Shenandoah Valley's Civil War story.
Visitor Information
These visitor centers offer Civil War site brochures and lodging and restaurant information. Group tour information is also available.
Front Royal Visitor Center
414 E. Main Street, Front Royal
800-338-2576
www.ci.front-royal.va.us
Open daily, 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.
Shenandoah County Tourism
600 N. Main Street, Suite 101, Woodstock
888-459-6276
www.shenandoahtravel.org
Open Monday - Friday, 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m
Winchester-Frederick County Visitor Center
1360 S. Pleasant Valley Road, Winchester
www.visitwinchesterva.com
Open daily, 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
Please note that this is a new national park without park service operated facilities. See the listings for the Cedar Creek Battlefield Visitor Center and Belle Grove Plantation for information about visiting privately-operated historic sites within the park.
www.nps.gov/cebe
Signal Knob Area Civil War Sites
Key
 Group Tour Arrangements Available
 Pet-Friendly Sites
 Admission Fee
1 - Signal Knob Hiking Trail
Hiking Trail: Rigorous 9-12 mile hike within the George Washington National Forest.
Trailhead on Fort Valley Rd south of Va. 55
540-984-4101
www.fs.fed.us
2 - Newtown History Center
Museum: Interprets the history of this 267-year-old town: frontier settlement, growth, wagon industry and craftsmen, Civil War conflicts.
5408 Main Street, Stephens City
540-869-1700
Open June - December, Tues - Sat, 10am - 4pm
3 - Belle Grove Plantation
Historic house and farm: This antebellum plantation and 18th-century farm reveals Valley life during the years prior to the Civil War.
U.S. 11 south of Middletown
540-869-2028
www.bellegrove.org
Open April - October, Mon - Sat, 10am - 4pm & Sun, 1 - 5pm
4 - Strasburg Museum
Museum: Interprets local history, pre-settlement to 20th century. 1891 building originally used as a pottery factory and later as a train depot.
440 East King Street, Strasburg
540-465-3175
www.csonner.net/museum.htm
Open daily May - October, 10am - 4pm
5 - Strasburg Walking Tour
Town Walking Tour (1.5 hours): Ten interpretive signs tell the story of the town of Strasburg including its Civil War experience.
Printed tour available at the Strasburg Museum above.
6 - Warren Rifles Confederate Museum
Museum: Extensive collection of relics and records of the War Between the States.
95 Chester Street, Front Royal
540-635-2219
users.erols.com/va-udc/museum.html
Open April - November, Mon - Sat, 10am - 4pm & Sun, 1 - 4pm
Front Royal Walking Tour
Town Walking Tour (1.5 hours): Introduces Front Royal's historic sites and personalities, many of which were closely related to the Civil War.
Printed tour available at the Front Royal Visitor Center (see map letter A).
Jackson's Valley Campaign
(Battle of Front Royal)
In his effort to draw Union troops from McClellan's drive toward Richmond, Stonewall Jackson tied up elements of three separate armies in a bold campaign of swift marching and countermarching that crisscrossed the Valley and erupted at Front Royal on May 23, 1862.
7 - Stonewall Jackson Museum at Hupp's Hill
Historic site: preserved earthworks, a Civil War museum, and a topographic map of the Cedar Creek battlefield.
U.S. 11 north of Strasburg
540-465-5884
www.waysideofva.com/stonewalljackson/
Open daily Apr - Oct, 10am - 5pm; Nov - Mar, 10am - 4pm
8 - Cedar Creek: Strategic Crossing 1862
Interpretive Signage (one of two signs at this site): describing the burning of the bridge by Jackson's army during the 1862 campaign.
U.S. 11 as it crosses Cedar Creek north of I-81
Battle of Front Royal - interpretive signage and printed driving tour
Driving Tour: The battle is described by more than ten Virginia Civil War Trails markers located throughout the Front Royal area.
Printed tour available at the Front Royal Visitor Center (see map letter A).
9 - Belle Boyd Cottage
Historic home: Home of the famous Confederate spy Belle Boyd.
101 Chester Street, Front Royal
540-636-1446
www.warrenhs.org/belleboyd.html
Open Monday - Friday
Sheridan's Shenandoah Campaign
(Battles of Fisher's Hill, Overall*, Tom's Brook, and Cedar Creek)
In the fall of 1864, Union leadership sent Gen. Philip Sheridan to the region - a decision that would bring final defeat to Confederate forces in the Valley and destruction to the area's farms, mills, and citizenry.
10 - Newtown
Interpretive Signage: describes 1864 military actions and the dramatic effects of the war on the town and its residents.
U.S. 11 south of Stephens City
8 - Cedar Creek: Strategic Crossing 1864
Interpretive Signage: Second sign interprets the crossing's importance in 1864 and the nearby mill and residence.
(See location information for "Strategic Crossing 1862" at bottom left.)
11 - Shenandoah County Park on the Fisher's Hill battlefield
Interpretive signage and one-mile walking trail over steep terrain.
Va. 601 (Battlefield Road), two miles west of U.S. 11, Fisher's Hill
Park open during daylight hours.
12 - Execution of Mosby's Rangers
Interpretive Signage: describes the execution without trial of six of Mosby's Confederate Rangers by Union troops in late September 1864.
U.S 340 north of Front Royal
13 - Valley Pike
Interpretive Signage: tells the story of the role of the Pike during the war, especially at this "choke point" of the Valley.
U.S. 11, one mile south of Strasburg
14 - Shenandoah County Park on the Tom's Brook battlefield
Interpretive Signage: describes nearby events during the Battle of Tom's Brook.
U.S. 11, 1.5 miles south of the town of Tom's Brook
15 - Woodstock: Execution and The Burning
Interpretive Signage: describes tragic events in the town in the fall 1864.
One block west of the courthouse at W. Court and S. Main Streets.
16 - Cedar Creek Battlefield Visitor Center
Battlefield Visitor Center: interprets the Battle of Cedar Creek
(operated by the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation)
8437 Valley Pike, Middletown
888-628-1864 or 540-869-2064
www.cedarcreekbattlefield.org
Open April - October, Mon - Sat, 10am - 4pm, Sun 1pm - 4pm
7 - Stonewall Jackson Museum at Hupp's Hill
(See earlier site description.)
The Valley after the Civil War
18 - Veterans' Picnic Grounds
Interpretive Signage: describes the reunion picnics that veterans from both sides attended here from the 1880s until the 1930s.
Va. 601, two miles west of U.S. 11, Fisher's Hill
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