Star Fort is on the northwest side of Winchester, Virginia. (see map below) It was built by Union Brigadier General Robert H. Milroy in 1863 on high ground that had been the site of Confederate artillery emplacements that overlooked the Martinsville Turnpike and the Pughtown Road. The fort played a part in fighting around Winchester in the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign (when it was captured from Union forces by Confederate troops) and in the 1864 Valley Campaign (when it was captured from Confederate forces by Union troops). The site is preserved and being developed by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Association and is open to the public during the day.
Wayside markers at the Star Fort site:
Civil War Earthworks – “Where they are compelled by nature … to resort to it”
Constructing Star Fort – “It was hard work”
The Second Battle of Winchester – “A scene… I shall never forget”
Second Battle of Winchester – “The guns in Star Fort greeted them”
The Third Battle of Winchester “The enemy within the fort… hastily evacuated”
(marker has been removed)
Star Fort – Guardian of Winchester
The site is preserved by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Association
Location
Star Fort is nothwestwest of Winchester, Virginia. Take North Frederick Pike (U.S. 522) to Fortress Drive,
either 1.2 miles north from Picadilly Street in downtown Winchester or 0.9 mile east of the Virginia Route 37 interchange.
Then take Fortress Drive 0.16 mile north. The marker is on the east sde of the street in a residential neighborhood.