Cedar Creek • Tour the Battlefield • Battle Maps • Battle Facts • The Armies
Stop 7 on the Cedar Creek battlefield auto tour is Miller’s Mill. These ruins marks the furthest point of advance for the Early’s Confederates. He formed his line along present-day Cougill Road (known at the time as Miller Lane), which in 1864 was lined with stone walls. The army halted to reorganize and rest while many of the hungry, barefoot Confederates left the ranks to pillage the richly supplied Union camps of food and equipment.
The Fatal Halt wayside marker
The Fatal Halt wayside marker at Cedar Creek
Text from the marker
By late morning, about 14,000 Confederates had pushed approximately 32,000 Union soldiers out of their positions and sent them in full retreat through Middletown and almost one mile north of the village. General John Gordon and his commanding officer, General Jubal Early, met to assess the situation. Gordon urged continuing the pursuit. Early believed that the battle had been won. Some of his troops, he argued, had been on the move for over 12 hours and needed rest and food, and he worried about facing the formidable Union cavalry. Early decided to halt here. It was a decision that would haunt both men – and military historians – for years to come.
The concentration was stopped; the blow was not delivered…. We halted, we hesitated, we dallied.
– General John Gordon
Caption for the illustration in the upper right
General John Gordon (left) vehemently urges Jubal Early to continue purusing the retreating Union army.
– Sketch by James E. Taylor, an artist for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 1864
Closeup of The Fatal Halt wayside marker at Cedar Creek
Location of Stop Seven on the Cedar Creek auto tour
Stop Seven and The Fatal Halt wayside marker are in Middletown at the corner of Cougill Road and Mineral Street. There is a pull off on the right side of Mineral Street. (39°02’18.2″N 78°16’22.7″W)