Cedar Creek • Tour the Battlefield • Battle Maps • The Armies
As the battle continued north less than an hour after dawn the fog was still dense. The noise of the Union 8th Corps being overrun warned the 19th Corps, who manned their trenches – which faced the wrong way. Nine hundred men of Thomas’ brigade were pulled from the right of the Union line and marched across the Valley Pike to buy time while the rest of the 19th Corps modified their position to defend their suddenly vulnerable flank. Thomas’ desperate stand – centered around the current location of the 8th Vermont Monument – lasted only ten minutes but cost the majority of the brigade. The Confederates of Kershaw’s and Evans’ Divisions ground through the 19th Corps position and continued north toward the 6th Corps camps. At the same time Ramseur’s and Pegram’s divisions struck toward Belle Grove.
Four monuments and a number of historical markers are in the central area of the Cedar Creek battlefield:
monuments
Confederate Major General Stephen Dodson Ramseur
8th Vermont Infantry
128th New York Infantry
South Carolina Troops at Cedar Creek
markers
A Rich Prize 7 a.m.
1st Maine Battery
128th New York Regiment
Battlefield Center
Battle of Cedar Creek (Circle Tour)
Battle of Cedar Creek (BMA)
Bearing the Brunt
Heater House
Molineux’s 2nd Brigade
Old Hall at Belle Grove
Plantation Slavery wayside marker
Signal Knob during the Civil War wayside marker
Stand of the 8th Vermont wayside marker
Tomb of an Unknown Soldier historical marker
Union Trenches
Union Withdrawal wayside marker
Cedar Creek Auto Tour
Start at the National Park Service’s Visitor Center. It is located in Middletown on the south side of the Valley Pike (US 11) at Middletown Courts, 7712 Main Street.
To reach Stop 1:
Turn left out of the parking lot and proceed two miles along Main Street, which becomes the Valley Pike upon leaving the town. Stop 1 is a pull off on the north side of the highway.
Stop 1 – Cedar Creek Battlefield
Two historical markers overlook the fields around Belle Grove Plantation, where 32,000 men of Union Major General Philip Sheriden were in camp.
To continue to Stop 2:
Continue southwest on the Valley Pike for 0.9 mile, then turn left on Water Plant Road.
Go to the Long Meadow tour page for Stop 2 of the driving tour.
Returning from Stop 2 on the Long Meadow page:
Turn right (north) onto U.S. Route 11, continue north just 75 yards and turn left onto the gravel access road. Park in the lot beyond the 128th New York monument.
To continue to Stop 4:
Turn left (north) U.S. Route 11 onto and continue north for 1/3 mile. Turn right into the first driveway, marked with a “Morning Attack Trails” sign. The second driveway leads to National Park Center offices (which is not the Visitor Center).
Stop 4 – Morning Attack Trails
To continue to Stop 5:
Return up the driveway to U.S. Route 11. Turn right and continue 1/3 mile. Turn left onto Belle Grove Road and continue 0.1 mile. Turn right onto Meadow Mills Road and continue 0.8 mile until it dead ends at Veteran Road.
To continue to Stop 6:
Go to the Middletown and North tour page.