Stop Four – Morning Attack Trails

Cedar Creek • Tour the Battlefield • Battle Maps • The Armies

Stop Four of the Cedar Creek Battlefield auto tour is the trailhead for three walking trails that explore part of the early morning section of the battlefield.

Stop Five of the auto tour on the Cedar Creek battlefield.

Stop Four of the auto tour on the Cedar Creek battlefield.

Text from the marker

Following the successful Confederate surprise attack, Union forces from the 8th and 19th corps formed battle lines across the woods and fields in front of you, in the hopes of slowing the overwhelming Southern assault moving in this direction. This included the 8th Vermont (whose surviving veterans later dedicated a monument to their sacrifice) and troops under Colonel (and future President) Rutherford B. Hayes. This fighting delayed the Confederate advance long enough for the rest of the Union army, on the other side of the Valley Pike, time to readjust their lines.

Trail Guidelines

The Morning Attack Trails consist of three individual trails, which cross land preserved by the National Park Service, and can be hiked individually or in various combinations.

These trails include:

  • The 8th Vetmont Monument Trail – 0.15 mile long trail (0,3 mile round trip) through wooded terrain with one moderate incline, to the 8th Vermont monument.
  • Thomas Brigade loop trail – a 0.7 mile long trail, through gently rolling open fields, which focuses on the stand of Colonel Stephen Thomas’s Brigade
  • Hayes-Ramseur Loop Trail – a 0.65 mile long trail, through gently rolling open fields, that explores the attack of Stephen D. Ramseur’s Confederates on the Union forces of Rutherford B. Hayes and Howard Kitching.

Links to the Monument and wayside markers along the trails:

Slowing the Advance orientation marker on the Cedar Creek Battlefield

Location of Stop Four of the Cedar Creek Battlefield auto tour

Stop Four is on the south side of the Valley Pike (US 11) about 1.2 miles from the west side of Middletown. (39°00’41.2″N 78°18’20.1″W) A driveway off the highway, marked  leads through the trees to a parking area.