Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation

This review is for 3 things; the battlefield, the foundation, and the foundation’s HQ building. It’s important to discuss them together, because they can’t exist separately. A visit is free, but donations accepted.
Not many people realize the Cedar Creek battlefield (right across the road from the Foundation) isn’t owned by the National Park Service (NPS); it’s owned by the Foundation, which is an NPS partner but doesn’t get NPS support. So money spent here directly goes to battlefield preservation. Not being NPS has some benefits though; NPS typically doesn’t allow reenactors to use its land for battles but the Foundation does, black powder and all.
The building has plenty of historical and touristy knick-​knacks for sale (flags, original bullets, period dresses, even hardtack!) but also serves as an education center. While it doesn’t have artifacts (those are at its sister building at Hupp’s Hill), it does have a library with plenty of Civil War books, and helps organize periodic reenactments. For $ 25 you can also become an ‘honorary owner’ of a piece of the battlefield. Really it’s just a donation that comes with a certificate, but it’s for a good cause.
The battlefield itself isn’t much to look at; its basically a big empty field. There are cows munching on the grass but no actual trails, and all the historical plaques are along Valley Pike. Still, it’s a big portion of the ACTUAL battlefield, so that’s something.
The Battle of Cedar Creek was kind of a big deal, if only as a capstone for the Civil War’s Shenandoah Campaign. In late 1864 the Union army under General Sheridan won a string of important victories and thought General Early was defeated. But victory breeds complacency; Sheridan was on his way back from a meeting with Lincoln, and his army set up two rather leisurely camps along Cedar Creek. From a nearby mountain look-​out point, the Confederates saw the Union had lazily left one of its flanks undefended…
In the early hours of 19 October, the outnumbered Confederates snuck down along a small mountain path and crossed the creek in the morning fog, completely surprising the Union’s southern camp. While the battle initially went very well for Early, he paused to reorganize his force (many of whom were looting for supplies), giving the Union a chance to regroup.
Hearing fighting in the distance, Sheridan rode hard from Winchester and showed his presences by galloping along the line of his reforming army. His counterattack destroyed the Confederates and captured nearly all its artillery. Thus ended the last battle of the Shenandoah campaign — just in time to give Lincoln some good news right before the Presidential election.
So yeah — don’t you think $ 25 is worth a piece of this history?
Don’t stop your trip here. Just 10 minutes to the south is the Foundation’s sister building at Hupp’s Hill, which has original Civil War fortifications and a good museum. The NPS has a separate museum at a tiny strip mall a few minutes north of the battlefield.
Other Cedar Creek links:
Cedar Creek Foundation webpage for Hupp’s Hill
NPS site