Historic Strasburg

Historic Strasburg. Stop 9. , Signal Knob, the northernmost point of Three Top Mountain, overlooks Strasburg and is 2,110 ft. above sea level. During the Civil War, both sides used it as a signal station, but the Confederate signal corps occupied it almost continuously from 1862 to 1864. On October 19, 1864, Confederates there observed Union positions and directed the opening attack of the Battle of Cedar Creek. Other stations were established at Ashby Gap (east of Winchester), Burnt Springs (south in Fort Valley), and New Market Gap. Special signal flags, lanterns, and telescopes were used to communicate from one peak to another.

During the Civil War 15 major battles and 45 smaller ones were fought in the Valley, with casualties overwhelming local resources to care for them. More soldiers died of disease than battle injuries. The sick and wounded were nursed everywhere, in newly designated hospitals, in hastily erected medical tents, and even in private homes. Medical clerks periodically posted casualty lists at the Presbyterian Church, to your left. After reading these lists, many families were able to locate their loved ones and provide care for them. Some of these "Registers of the sick and wounded" are on exhibit at the Strasburg Museum. The Presbyterian Church, built in 1830, served as a hospital throughout the war, after Dr. William J. Upshaw established one there in 1862.

After the war, Confederate veterans gathered the remains of soldiers into the Presbyterian Church Cemetery and in 1896 dedicated an obelisk, which stands to your left, “In Memory of our Fallen Comrades, Numbering 136.” The area just south of the cemetery was used as a Federal military outpost to monitor “the hostile territory.” Still standing is Walnut Hill, the brick residence built in 1872. It housed the Strasburg Female Seminary in 1884, not long after U.S. troops withdrew from the area.

Further to the south, just out of sight, is the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, which winds along the undulating base of the Massanutten Mountain. To illustrate how much it curves, consider that Strasburg is just 11 miles from Woodstock by road, but 51 miles by river!