Visiting Staunton and Augusta County

The Shenandoah Valley, once called the Breadbasket of the Confederacy, thrived thanks to fertile fields that ensured soldiers could be fed. Of course, the farms of Augusta County were part of the supply chain. In May 1862, Confederate General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson led troops through West Augusta and met Union push-back. A trail of fortifications gives travelers the chance to learn more about the skirmish, the players, and the setting leading up to the battle at McDowell on May 8, 1862. The trail is located at the Confederate Breastworks Interpretive Site on Shenandoah Mountain near the Highland County border.

Visit Waynesboro to visit the site of the final major armed conflict in the Shenandoah Valley in March of 1865. The Waynesboro Heritage Foundation operates the Waynesboro Heritage Museum and the Plumb House Museum which offer a wonderful insight into life in the Shenandoah Valley and the turmoil it experienced during the war.

The Stonewall Brigade Museum takes visitors from the Civil War to the present through the eyes of the 116th Infantry Regiment. The oldest continuous service regiment in the Virginia National Guard and seventh oldest in the United States dates back to 1742. The Museum highlights the 116th’s service in the Civil War, World War II as well as recent deployments to Bosnia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States of America, was born in Staunton in 1856. Visit his childhood home at the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum.