Civil War Superhighway

Civil War Superhighway. The Valley Pike. The road behind you is US Route 11. Today it looks very ordinary, but in the 19th century it was an engineering marvel. During that time, travelers were often hampered by poor roads that were narrow, difficult to traverse, and plagued by choking clouds of dust when they were dry and muddy morasses when it rained., The Valley Pike, as Route 11 was originally known, was a well-designed, relatively straight and wide highway. The road’s surface was graded for drainage and “macadamized,” or paved with layers of stone. This allowed for easy travel and trade and helped build towns like Woodstock., Construction of this 19th-century superhighway by the Valley Turnpike Company began in 1834. It eventually ran 93 miles from Winchester to Staunton., When the Civil War began, the turnpike brought repeated military campaigns, bloodshed, and destruction to the Shenandoah Valley. The Valley Pike played a key role in:, . General "Stonewall" Jackson's 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. He used the Pike so effectively his Confederates were nicknamed the "Foot Cavalry" for their rapid marches., . The Gettysburg Campaign, when most of the Army of Northern Virginia marched to Pennsylvania on the Pike., . The 1864 Valley Campaign, when Union Gen. Philip Sheridan used the Valley Pike to move his forces. and shut down Confederate traffic on the road., "The Valley pike, a broad macadamized road, running up the valley, through Winchester, and terminating at Staunton." , Union Gen. Philip Sheridan, (sidebar) , What's Up? , The Shenandoah River flows south to north, therefore, when soldiers marched north on the Pike during the Civil War, they marched “down” the Pike, as that was “downriver.” Conversely, moving south on the Pike was considered marching "up," or upriver. For more about the Shenandoah River and its defining role in our community's history and geography, visit the Seven Bends State Park located 2 miles west of Woodstock., (captions) , An early automobile is parked at the turnpike toll gate in Woodstock. The gate would have been removed in 1919, which helps date the image. Aside from the car, the Pike looks much as it did during the Civil War. Courtesy Shenandoah County Historical Society, If you had looked to your left on October 7, 1864, you would have seen Gen. Philip Sheridan's troops marching through Woodstock on the Valley Pike during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Courtesy Western Reserve Historical Society