Cedar Creek • Tour the Battlefield • Battle Maps • The Armies
Stop Six on the Cedar Creek battlefield auto tour is the Belle Grove Plantation. Belle Grove was the Union army headquarters at the time of the battle. The extensive grounds between the buildings and the Valley Pike served as the army’s wagon park, and supplies were stockpiled there.
The Confederates overran the area about 7 a.m. in heavy fighting. After the battle the house served as a hospital. Confederate General Stephen Dodson Ramseur was brought here after he was mortally wounded.
Belle Grove was built in 1797 by Isaac Hite Jr., grandson of Jost Hite. It is one of the few large plantations in the Shenandoah Valley. The site is managed and operated by Belle Grove, Inc. Touring the grounds is free, and guided tours of the house are available for a small fee which goes to the upkeep and presentation of the historical site. Ranger talks are held in the front yard, which looks across the valley to beautiful Massanutton Mountain.
