Historical Markers and War Memorials in Middletown, Virginia
Winchester is the county seat for Frederick County
Middletown is in Frederick County
Frederick County(231) ► ADJACENT TO FREDERICK COUNTY Clarke County(75) ► Shenandoah County(217) ► Warren County(45) ► Winchester(132) ► Berkeley County, West Virginia(107) ► Hampshire County, West Virginia(76) ► Hardy County, West Virginia(44) ► Jefferson County, West Virginia(349) ► Morgan County, West Virginia(109) ►
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Dedicated on 15 October 1907, this monument is adjacent to the original Valley Pike right of way. It marks the eastern limit of the XIX U.S. Corps positions occupied on 19 October 1864 and is at the approximate point where U.S. Generals Horatio G. . . . — — Map (db m3397) HM
In Memory of
The Men of This Regiment
Who Lost Their Lives at the Battle
of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864
Erected by
Their Comrades and Friends
Dedicated in 1907 — — Map (db m117458) WM
Captain Eben D. Haley's 1st Maine Light Artillery occupied a knoll behind the contact point of Colonel Daniel Macaulay's 3rd Brigade and Brigadier General Henry W. Birge's 1st Brigade. The battery quickly came under Confederate artillery fire and . . . — — Map (db m3427) HM
Belle Grove was Union headquarters, and thus was surrounded by hundreds of supply wagons, ambulances and tents. As the Confederate advance neared the plantation manor house there was a scramble to evacuate them to safely. Most escaped capture. . . . — — Map (db m123963) HM
General Philip Sheridan defeated General Jubal Early here for the third time in 30 days. Sheridan’s pursuit of Confederates from Fisher’s Hill halted at Mount Crawford. On his return he encamped his three corps in this immediate area. Early . . . — — Map (db m581) HM
The Battle of Cedar Creek 19 October 1864 (a.m.) Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan’s Union forces established themselves on both sides of the Valley Pike, north of Cedar Creek, centered on Belle Grove. Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early . . . — — Map (db m15171) HM
The Battle of Cedar Creek
19 October 1864 (a.m.)
Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan’s Union forces established themselves on both sides of the Valley Pike, north of Cedar Creek, centered on Belle Grove.
Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal A. . . . — — Map (db m78063) HM
(Preface): The fertile Shenandoah Valley was the "Breadbasket of the Confederacy" as well as an avenue of invasion. Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early's march north and his raid on Washington, D.C., in June-July 1864 alerted Union Gen. Ulysses . . . — — Map (db m78137) HM
The Battle of Cedar Creek 19 October 1864 (a.m.)
Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan’s Union forces established themselves on both sides of the Valley Pike, north of Cedar Creek, centered on Belle Grove. Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early . . . — — Map (db m234941) HM
Near this point General Early, on the morning of October 19, 1864, stopped his advance and from this position he was driven by Sheridan in the afternoon. — — Map (db m231401) HM
In early Oct. 1864, portions of Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan’s army bivouacked here on the hills and rolling farmland just north of Cedar Creek along the Valley Turnpike (present-day U.S. Rte. 11). Just before daybreak on 19 Oct., Confederate . . . — — Map (db m50310) HM
From this position (Belle Grove Mansion is west of here) most of the VI and XIX U.S. Corps camps were visible on 19 October 1864. The XIX Corps camped close to their earthworks along the ridge to the south. VI Corps units were placed along the . . . — — Map (db m3363) HM
On October 15, 1907, veterans of the 128th New York Regiment met on the Cedar Creek battlefield to dedicate the monument to their unit. These men, along with the rest of the 19th Corps, had borne the brunt of the Confederate attack against their . . . — — Map (db m117461) HM
Genl. Stephen Thomas commanding brigade advanced across the Pike the morning of Oct. 19, 1864. Engaged the enemy near and beyond this point, and before sunrise lost in killed and wounded 110 men. Three color bearers were shot down and 13 out of 16 . . . — — Map (db m158568) HM
Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark under the jurisdiction of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935. This site possesses exceptional value in commemorating or illustrating the . . . — — Map (db m92700) HM
Commanding Reserve Brigade
Cavalry Corps
Army of the Shenandoah
Fell in action near this place
October 19, 1864
Useful Citizen * Gallant Soldier
He died too early for his country(reverse side)
Cedar . . . — — Map (db m1868) HM
The Middletown Cemetery, on a knoll west of the village, was the only point where Union officers believed they could establish a strong position and attempt to slow the Confederate advance. They hoped to halt the momentum that had propelled the . . . — — Map (db m235288) HM
This knoll marks the position of the Union Army when Sheridan rejoined it at 10:30 A.M., October 19, 1864, in the Battle of Cedar Creek. His arrival, with Wright's efforts, checked the Union retreat. — — Map (db m577) HM
Most enslaved people at Belle Grove lived in the field you see before you. Archaeologists surveyed and excavated this site from 2015 through 2019. Their goal was to learn about enslaved life at the plantation.
Unfortunately, no photographs, . . . — — Map (db m235301) HM
On the night of October 18, 1864, tents sheltering part of General Philip Sheridan's 32,000 strong Union Army of the Shenandoah blanketed the fields before you. Numerous supply wagons stood around Belle Grove. Above the banks of Cedar Creek, more . . . — — Map (db m117576) HM
On the night of October 18, 1864, tents sheltering part of General Philip Sheridan's 32,000 strong Union Army of the Shenandoah blanketed the fields before you. Numerous supply wagons stood around Belle Grove. Above the banks of Cedar Creek, more . . . — — Map (db m234852) HM
The 2nd (Vermont) Brigade of the 2nd Division, VI U.S. Corps, briefly deployed around the Heater House as skirmishers in the first federal effort to stop the 19 October 1864 Confederate morning attack. When this proved unfeasible, the entire . . . — — Map (db m155787) HM
Probably built around 1800, this clapboard-covered log house was once the center of a prosperous 600 acre farm owned by Solomon and Caroline Wunder Heater. Although two of her sons died in Confederate service, Mrs. Heater, a native of Pennsylvania, . . . — — Map (db m155785) HM
The Virginia General Assembly established Middletown in 1794. Dr. Peter Senseney laid out the original lots for the village. Surrounded by farms and plantations, including historic Belle Grove, the community grew along the Great Wagon Road, which . . . — — Map (db m1862) HM
"We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war that we may have peace. Be peaceful, therefore, in warring, so that you may vanquish those whom you war against, and bring them to the prosperity of peace.
-St. Augustine
Some . . . — — Map (db m235252) WM
The westernmost brigade of U.S. Brigadier General Cuvier Grover's 2nd Division, XIX U.S. Corps, the 2nd Brigade first came under pressure when C.S. Major General Joseph B. Kershaw's Division attacked its front and left. Then C.S. Major General John . . . — — Map (db m3428) HM
This Property Has Been
placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
By the United States
Department of the Interior
Circa 1883 — — Map (db m78060) HM
(Front):
Brig Gen John Pegram’s Division
Lt Col William Davis Brigade
(Formerly Brig Gen Archibald Godwin’s)
6th North Carolina
21st North Carolina
54th North Carolina
57th North Carolina
Brig Gen Robert D. Johnston’s . . . — — Map (db m231367) HM WM
In 1783, Isaac Hite, Jr. married Nelly Madison Hite of Montpelier, and acquired by grant from his father the 483 acre tract that was to become the center of Belle Grove Plantation. Until the elegant manor house was built between 1794 and 1797, the . . . — — Map (db m44581) HM
When Isaac Hite, Jr. and Nelly Conway Madison of Montpelier were married in 1783, they received from his father a 48-acre tract that became the centerpiece of Belle Grove Plantation. Old Hall, as it is known today, was already in place at the . . . — — Map (db m158576) HM
The Union's 19th Corps, expecting an attack from the south, dug the trenches you will find along this trail. The Confederate attack, however, came from the east and in the confusion Union soldiers were ordered to the other side to defend their . . . — — Map (db m235141) HM
The US 19th Corps, expecting an attack from the west or southwest, dug the trenches you will find along these trails. The Confederate attack, however, came from the southeast. In the confusion, Federal soldiers turned around to defend their . . . — — Map (db m235249) HM
This is the oldest building still standing at Belle Grove. Established as part of Isaac Hite Jr.'s plantation, the construction date of 1788 comes from dendrochronology, the analysis of tree ring growth in the wood used for the beams of the . . . — — Map (db m158566) HM
In the Shenandoah Valley, small family farms were the norm but plantations did exist, including Belle Grove. Major Isaac Hite, Jr. and his family recorded 276 enslaved people that they owned between 1783 and 1851. Some worked raising crops of . . . — — Map (db m158575) HM
Esse Quam Videri
Northwest of this tablet, 800 yards, is the Belle Grove House in which died, October 20, 1864, of wounds received at Cedar Creek October 19, 1864, Maj.-Gen. Stephen Dodson Ramseur, C.S.A. A native of North Carolina, he . . . — — Map (db m18684) HM
General Philip Sheridan arrived on the battlefield following his famous and dramatic "Ride" from his headquarters in Winchester. Along the way he ordered Captain (and future U.S. President) William McKinley to stop retreating units and direct . . . — — Map (db m235380) HM
Went to the end of three Top Mountain and examined the position of the enemy around Belle Grove with reference to an attack. I made a map of the position and General Gordon and myself fixed upon a plan of attack to suggest to General . . . — — Map (db m234839) HM
Following the successful Confederate surprise attack, Union forces from the 8th and 19th corps formed battle lines across the woods and fields in front of you, in the hopes of slowing the overwhelming Southern assault moving in this direction. . . . — — Map (db m158565) HM
Maj. Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw’s Division
Brig. Gen. James Conner's Brigade
(Formerly Kershaw’s)
Maj. James M. Goggin Commanding
2nd South Carolina Infantry
3rd South Carolina Infantry
3rd South Carolina Battalion Sharpshooters
7th . . . — — Map (db m235039) HM
In a desperate attempt to stem the onward rush of Confederates, Col. Stephen Thomas was ordered to sacrifice his 1,000 soldiers from Vermont, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. The fight that followed was a "vortex of hell," one veteran . . . — — Map (db m234849) HM
The opening attack of the Battle of Cedar Creek began here at about 5:00 a.m. A Confederate scouting party on Signal Knob, directly before you, had seen that a frontal attack on the entrenchments and the positions just north of Cedar Creek and . . . — — Map (db m235108) HM
The opening attack of the battle took place in these fields and woods around 5 a.m. on October 19, 1864. The surprise was complete and the Union troops were completely routed in the heavy fog and predawn darkness of early morning. Colonel Joseph . . . — — Map (db m235109) HM
Fought on these hills and fields, Oct 19, 1864. Gen. Jubal A. Early's 22,000 Confederates attacked Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's 60,000 Federals. The first assault a surprise flank movement by Gen. John B. Gordon, was a Confederate success. This . . . — — Map (db m3380) HM
In 1870 the Vermont Legislature commissioned a painting for the State House by artist Julian Scott to commemorate the valor of the state's Civil War soldiers. The Battle of Cedar Creek, in which more Vermont regiments were under fire than any . . . — — Map (db m78349) HM
The defense of the high ground around Middletown Cemetery by the 2nd Division, U. S. VI Corps, stopped the Confederate momentum. Confederate forces from the divisions of Generals Stephen D. Ramseur and Gabriel Wharton regrouped in the area between . . . — — Map (db m36752) HM
The fenced area within the orchard is believed to be a burial ground for some of the men, women, and children enslaved by the Hite family at Belle Grove. As is typical at many such graveyards, simple uninscribed stones mark the graves. Additional . . . — — Map (db m217764) HM
By late morning, about 14,000 Confederates had pushed approximately 32,000 Union soldiers out of their positions and sent them in full retreat through Middletown and almost one mile north of the village. General John Gordon and his commanding . . . — — Map (db m235464) HM
The Shenandoah Valley
Welcome to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, renowned in story and song. The valley has been home to American Indians and early settlers from Germany, Ireland, and Scotland who followed the Indians' Warrior Path and turned . . . — — Map (db m158561) HM
The Shenandoah Valley
Welcome to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, renowned in story and song. The valley has been home to American Indians and early settlers from Germany, Ireland, and Scotland who followed the Indians' Warrior Path and turned . . . — — Map (db m235329) HM
The Shenandoah Valley
Welcome to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, renowned in story and song. The valley has been home to American Indians and early settlers from Germany, Ireland, and Scotland who followed the Indians' Warrior Path and turned . . . — — Map (db m235573) HM
The carnage of battle meant that beside the hundreds of men killed or mortally wounded on the battlefield, thousands of others had wounds or injuries that required treatment. Dozens of private homes and other structures, including St. Thomas . . . — — Map (db m235148) HM
On the highest mountain top to the southeast is the grave of an unknown soldier. The mountain top was used as a signal station by both armies, 1861-1865. — — Map (db m586) HM
Federal wagons and teams were in camp, close to and along the pike, while the shelter tents of the soldiers were arranged close to the earthworks themselves. By 8 A.M. on 19 October 1864, the area was filled with withdrawing units and individuals, . . . — — Map (db m91963) HM
General Philip Sheridan's reformed battle lines stretched for almost two miles from east to west, with cavalry anchoring both ends, ready to exploit any openings. Their counterattack took them back over the fields that they had earlier fled. The . . . — — Map (db m205731) HM
The main portion of the XIX U.S. Corps earthworks began here and extended one mile westward. Colonel Daniel Macaulay's 3rd Brigade, a part of Brigadier General Cuvier Grover's 2nd Division, occupied them with the 128th New York and 38th . . . — — Map (db m3399) HM
Elements of Brigadier General James W. MacMillan's 1st Division, XIX U.S. Corps, left their part of the earthworks to fight C.S. Major General John B. Gordon's men closer to the Valley Pike. When Colonel Edward L. Molineux's and Brigadier General . . . — — Map (db m3429) HM
Vermont soldiers played an important role in the Union victory at Cedar Creek. In a desperate stand made to slow the early morning onslaught of confederate Jubal Early’s army, the Eighth Vermont Regiment lost 110 of its 164 men engaged. The First . . . — — Map (db m155786) HM
Frederick County. Area 485 Square Miles. Formed in 1738 from Orange, and named for Frederick, Prince of Wales, Father of King George III. Several battles were fought in the vicinity of Winchester, 1862-1864.
Shenandoah . . . — — Map (db m3430) HM
