Bridgewater

Bridgewater During the War

Photographed by Robert H. Moore, II, February 20, 2009

1. Bridgewater Marker

Inscription. The town of Bridgewater was a center of Confederate logistical activity during the Civil War. It also sent one company of infantry, the Bridgewater Grays, to the 10th Virginia Infantry Regiment, which fought in most of the major battles in Virginia as well as at Gettysburg.

A Confederate remount station for cavalrymen from states other than Virginia was located a few blocks behind you. Confederate partisan ranger chief Capt. Charles Woodson of Missouri got mounts for his men here when they operated in the Valley in the summer and fall of 1864.

Bridgewater was also a collection point for Confederate tax-in-kind supplies, when Virginians with little cash paid their taxes in meat (live and cured), produce, tobacco, wool, hides, and anything else useful to the Confederate war effort. The town collection center was a two-story log cabin near here. At the approach of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan’s Union army on the fall of 1864, the revenue agent let townspeople take whatever they wanted and then burned the rest on the cabin lawn to keep it out of Federal hands. Gen. George A. Custer’s U.S. Cavalry division occupied Bridgewater from September 30 to October 5, 1864.

Erected by Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation & Virginia Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker

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is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1741.

Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 38° 22.798′ N, 78° 58.778′ W. Marker was in Bridgewater, Virginia, in Rockingham County. It could be reached from the intersection of South Main Street (State Highway 42) and West Riverside Drive, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 303 S Main St, Bridgewater VA 22812, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

It was also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: A different marker also named Bridgewater (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Bridgewater (a few steps from this marker); The Roscoe Burgess Riverwalk (within shouting distance of this marker); In Honor and Remembrance (within shouting distance of this marker); The Litten Water Gardens at Edgebriar Park (within shouting distance of this marker); Dr. John G. Brown House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Bridgewater Historic District (approx. 0.2 miles away); Sipe Center (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bridgewater.

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Two Virginia Civil War Trails Bridgewater Markers are along the waterfront here image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Robert H. Moore, II, February 20, 2009

2. Two Virginia Civil War Trails Bridgewater Markers are along the waterfront here

this marker. On the left is a photo of Capt. Charles Woodson, commander of Woodson’s partisan rangers, which included men from Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, and the Shenandoah Valley. On the right is a photo of Main Street (Warm Springs Turnpike.). A Confederate soldier, marching through Bridgewater for the first time, wrote home that it was a beautiful place, “full of flowers and trees.”

Credits. This page was last revised on November 1, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 25, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,581 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 25, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.