Cedar Creek • Tour the Battlefield • Battle Maps • The Armies
The Stand of the 8th Vermont wayside marker is at Stop Four on the Cedar Creek Battlefield auto tour.
Text from the marker
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 later claimed. In the smoke and fog it quickly became a hand-to-hand fight. Rifles became clubs, bayonets were used, both sides contested for control. The fighting was fiercest around the flags of the Eighth Vermont, but they were not taken. The regiment lost 110 of 164 men, but Thomas’ command had stalled the Confederate onslaught for 30 minutes. The monument marks the center of the regiment’s line, and also where three color bearers were killed defending their flags.
Caption to the flag photograph
The Eighth Vermont regimental flag, carried throughout the Civil War, shows the battles in which the regiment fought.
Caption to the background graphic
This postwar illustration depicts the brutal struggle for both the national and state flags of the regiment. Note the state flag is the same one shown in the photograph (above).
Location of the marker
The Stand of the 8th Vermont wayside marker is at Stop Four on the Cedar Creek Battlefield auto tour. It is down a 0.15 mile trail from the trailhead. (39° 0.647′ N, 78° 18.201′ W)