Cedar Creek, VA

In August 1864 Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant ordered Major General Philip H. Sheridan to command the U. S. forces in the Shenandoah Valley and to “put himself South
of the enemy, and follow him to the death. Wherever the enemy goes, let our troops go also.” On October 19 Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early’s Confederates opened the final major battle in the Valley with an early morning attack that pushed the Federals north toward Middletown. Sheridan reestablished control and then rode the new lines to the cheers of his troops. His powerful counterattack that afternoon forced Early into a retreat that became a rout.

The Conservation Fund assisted the Cedar Creek Foundation in its purchase of 12 acres, adjacent to its Visitor Center, that were in the area of the Confederate advance during the battle.