Civil War Strasburg

Civil War Strasburg. Strategic Intersection. , The railroad tracks before you follow the route of the Manassas Gap Railroad, which reached Strasburg from Washington, D.C., in 1854. The line was a vital link between the Shenandoah Valley and eastern markets. Strasburg became strategically important because of the intersection of the railroad with the Valley Turnpike (now U.S. Route 11). , In the summer of 1861, Confederate Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s forces captured large quantities of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad rolling stock near Harper’s Ferry, 40 miles north. To reach the Manassas Gap Railroad line in Strasburg, the equipment had to be pulled by horses and mules up the Valley Turnpike from Martinsburg. Fourteen locomotives and almost a hundred cars were brought here and then used throughout the Confederacy. , Signal Knob, the northern end of Massanutten Mountain, can be seen in the distance from here. During the war, it served as an observation and signaling station from which the Confederates observed Union positions and directed the opening attack of the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864. , (sidebar) Pot Town. Pottery making was an important industry in Strasburg throughout the 1800s, when local clay was used to make food-storage crocks and decorative pieces. After the war, five small potteries were located here, and Strasburg was nicknamed Pot Town. The brick building on your right, the Strasburg Museum, was built as a steam pottery factory in 1891. The business eventually failed because of competition from large mid-western factories and the use of glass jars. The railroad bought the building in 1913 for a depot. In 1970, it became the Strasburg Museum and today displays an excellent collection of pottery.