SVBF Protects Portion of Tom’s Brook Battlefield

TOMS BROOK, Va.—Today the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation announced that it has protected 109 acres of the Tom’s Brook battlefield in Shenandoah County, one of ten battlefields in the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District.  Situated east of U.S. 11 just south of the town of Toms Brook , the parcel is at the center of the battlefield. Its features, including Jordon Run, figured prominently throughout the battle.

In 2004, Shenandoah County , the Battlefields Foundation, and local landowners crafted a preservation plan for the Fisher’s Hill and Tom’s Brook battlefields, which was later adopted by the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors.  The plan made parcel-specific recommendations for protecting the battlefields and envisioned permanent protection for the Jordon Run area.

“This is very gratifying for the Battlefields Foundation,” said SVBF Chairman Kris Tierney.  “The local community, from the Board of Supervisors to the area landowners, had expressed a clear interest in preserving this part of the battlefield—and we are thrilled to be able play a part in protecting this landscape.”

The Jordon Run property is located just north of the Shenandoah County Park at Maurertown. The park, which forms a portion of the county farm, is also in core area battlefield.  It hosts a Virginia Civil War Trails interpretive marker about the battle and has been one of the few places open to visitors wishing to explore the battlefield.

The county farm has played an important role in the history of Shenandoah County and the nation since before the Revolutionary War.  The Rev. Peter Muhlenberg, leader of Shenandoah County troops in the Revolution, lived there when it was the county glebe farm.  After the Revolution, it was confiscated by the state and used as a county poor farm for two centuries. Preservation of the adjacent Jordon Run property will lend protection to this important local landmark.

Acquisition of the property will present significant management challenges and opportunities for the Battlefields Foundation.  Its proximity to the town of Toms Brook offers the opportunity to provide substantial green space to town residents.  Likewise, adjacency to the county farm and park could enable a variety of public uses that are compatible with the preservation of the battlefield.  Like much of the rest of the county, the Toms Brook area offers splendid views of the nearby Massanutten Mountain and both Jordon Run and Toms Brook drain into the North Fork of the Shenandoah River .

SVBF Executive Director Howard Kittell said, “ Shenandoah County has been a great partner in our efforts to protect and interpret the area’s Civil War history, from Cedar Creek, to Fisher’s Hill, Tom’s Brook, and New Market and the many historic points in between. We look forward to working with the county in the coming months and years to coordinate our interpretive efforts throughout this battlefield area.”

Dennis Morris, Chairman of the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors, said, “The county is extremely pleased that this important part of our history will be protected and available for future generations to experience and enjoy.  We are grateful to the Battlefields Foundation for responding to our request that they consider pursuing this project.  As someone who has had the opportunity to work with the Foundation and its predecessor, the Battlefields Commission, from the beginning, it’s exciting to be a part of the progress that is being made here in Shenandoah County and throughout the National Historic District—they’re doing a great job.  We look forward to working with their board and staff and members of the community to coordinate interpretation of this area.”

Since its creation in 2000, the Battlefields Foundation has protected almost 1,000 acres at eight of the ten battlefields in the National Historic District.  Including those accomplishments, the Foundation has 49 projects underway totaling more than 4,000 acres and there is at least one land protection project underway at each of the ten battlefields.

The Battle of Tom’s Brook (9 October 1864)

Tom’s Brook—one of the largest cavalry battles in the Shenandoah Valley—was a key part of Union Gen. Philip Sheridan’s 1864 Shenandoah Campaign, the operation that all but ended the war for the Shenandoah Valley.  In its 1992 study of the Shenandoah Valley ’s Civil War battlefields, the National Park Service stated:

”Tom's Brook was a battle of strategy and maneuver that pitted cavalry against cavalry.  The Confederate cavalry were eager for revenge against the Federal cavalry, which had been burning barns and mills in the Valley for the previous week. On 9 October 1864, however, Sheridan ordered his cavalry to ‘whip’ the enemy or get whipped themselves.  In the resulting conflict, the Federal troopers routed the Confederate cavalry, impairing its morale and efficiency for the remainder of the campaign.”

Two main battle lines under Confederate Gen. Lunsford Lomax and Union Gen. Wesley Merritt were arrayed against one another on the property.  Lomax’s forces were positioned along Teaberry Road (Va. 650), on the southern boundary of the parcel, opposing Merritt’s men on the north bank of Jordon Run.  During the battle, combat between these two forces see-sawed back and forth across the property until the Confederates along the Valley Pike and Jordan Run were forced to retreat, along with forces to the west in the Back Roadarea.  The Confederates were pushed beyond Woodstock in what would later become known as the “Woodstock Races.”

Note: A map of the Jordon Run property may be downloaded by clicking the link at the end of this release.

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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 in Virginia and the cities of Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro, and Winchester .  The legislation authorizes federal funding for the protection of ten battlefields in the District: Second Winchester, Third Winchester, Second Kernstown, Cedar Creek, Fisher’s Hill, Tom’s Brook, New Market, Cross Keys, Port Republic , and McDowell. As authorized by the Secretary of the Interior, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation serves as the non-profit manager of the National Historic District, partnering with local, regional and national organizations and governments to preserve the Shenandoah Valley ’s Civil War battlefields and interpret and promote the Valley’s Civil War story for the region and the nation.

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ON THE WEB:

Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District:
     www.ShenandoahAtWar.org

National Park Service 1992 study of the Shenandoah Valley’s Civil War battlefields:
     http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/shenandoah/svs0-1.html
     The Battle of Tom’s Brook: http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/shenandoah/svs3-14.html

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