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SVBF Protects More Core Area at Third Winchester
Foundation and City of Winchester close on sale of 100-acre property
WINCHESTER, Va.—Today the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation purchased approximately 100 acres of core Third Winchester battlefield from the City of Winchester, Virginia. The land lies just northeast of the city in Frederick County and at the center of some of the heaviest fighting of the Shenandoah Valley’s largest Civil War battle.
The new parcel links two already preserved core-area properties owned by the Battlefields Foundation and the Civil War Preservation Trust, bringing the total protected area to more than 350 acres. This preservation effort and the eventual interpretive work at the site will enable the Foundation and its partners to more fully tell the story of this nationally-significant battle, the opening salvo of Union Gen. Philip Sheridan’s Shenandoah Campaign.
The Third Battle of Winchester, fought on 19 September 1864—nearly 140 years ago, was the largest battle fought in Virginia west of the Blue Ridge and heralded the end of Confederate power in the region. For the next month, Sheridan moved steadily south through the Valley, defeating Confederate Gen. Jubal Early’s forces at Fisher’s Hill on 22 September and again at Tom’s Brook on 9 October. In the interim, Sheridan’s army laid waste to farms and mills throughout much of the Valley, denying the region’s agricultural bounty to Robert E. Lee’s forces at Petersburg. The campaign would end one month after Third Winchester with another major battle at Cedar Creek and the war itself ended several months later at Appomattox.
“The Battlefields Foundation is extremely pleased to be able to protect this important parcel and to soon add it to the interpreted landscape at Third Winchester,” commented Foundation Chairman Dan C. Stickley, Jr. “Until now, the story of this battle has largely been untold except in the history books. Together with our partners, we look forward to enabling visitors to experience the compelling story this land has to tell.”
The Third Winchester battlefield is one of only 45 sites in the nation ranked “A” in military importance (having a decisive influence on a campaign and a direct impact on the course of the war) by the National Park Service’s Civil War Sites Advisory Commission. The battle engaged more than 50,000 forces over 18 square miles. This Union victory not only launched Sheridan’s Shenandoah Campaign but also contributed to the reelection of President Abraham Lincoln.
“Third Winchester is one of the ten battlefields identified by Congress for preservation when it created the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District,” said Stickley. “And the hard work that our congressional delegation does each year to appropriate funds for the District makes preservation efforts like this possible. The leadership of Senators John Warner and George Allen and Representatives Frank Wolf and Bob Goodlatte means that current and future generations will be able to explore the site of this dramatic aspect of the American experience.” Funding for the Battlefields Foundation’s preservation efforts is provided through its annual congressional appropriation on behalf of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District through the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service.In September, the Third Battle of Winchester and its aftermath will be commemorated by a variety of partners during the Third Winchester Civil War Weekend—sites throughout the area will work together to tell the story of the battle and its effect on the small community enveloped by it. From battlefield tours to living history at the site of Sheridan’s 500-tent field hospital to Fort Collier to the old courthouse that served as both a hospital and prison to academic lectures and exhibits, each site will give visitors a glimpse into our nation’s history. (More information about the Civil War Weekend is available online at www.ShenandoahAtWar.org/events.)
Preservation of this parcel also contributes to the Redbud Run stream corridor conservation effort—
(A map of the Fay Spring parcel and surrounding parcels is available on the web at http://www.shenandoahatwar.com/pdfs/3rdwinlocator.pdf).
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Created by Congress in 1996, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District encompasses Augusta, Clarke, Frederick, Highland, Page, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren counties and the cities of Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro and Winchester.
The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation is a Virginia nonprofit corporation and is the successor organization to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District Commission. The Foundation was created in 2000 as the first step in implementing the Commission’s Management Plan for the National Historic District. As authorized by the Secretary of the Interior, the Foundation serves as the management entity for the District, partnering with local, regional and national organizations and governments to preserve and promote the Shenandoah Valley’s Civil War story.
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ON THE WEB: Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District:
City of Winchester:
National Park Service 1992 study of the Third Winchester battlefield: http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/shenandoah/svs3-12.html
Third Winchester Civil War Weekend: www.ShenandoahAtWar.org/events
### Howard J. Kittell (540-533-1401 cell) |
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