The Shenandoah Valley: “The Breadbasket of the Confederacy”

At the time of the Civil War, the fertile soil and ample water of the Shenandoah Valley produced most of the South’s wheat. The valley was also known for its corn, livestock, orchards, and more. Its limestone foundations made it ideal for farms, mills, and plantations to thrive. The Union recognized its significance to the South, and by 1864, they not only plotted to capture the valley but to burn it to the ground.

The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862

In spring 1862, Union General George McClellan started his Peninsula Campaign from the east coast. As he led the offensive toward Richmond, hoping to seize the city, thousands of Union troops were recalled from Winchester to Washington, DC. Fearing that these troops would reinforce Fredericksburg, which would allow the Union to attack Richmond from the Northeast and Southeast, Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson led a diversion in the Shenandoah Valley. In addition to numerous skirmishes, the following battles were fought:

1st Battle of Kernstown – March 23, 1862 (Union victory)
Battle of McDowell – May 8, 1862 (Confederate victory)
Battle of Front Royal – May 23, 1862 (Confederate victory)
1st Battle of Winchester – May 25, 1862 (Confederate victory)
Battle of Cross Keys – June 8, 1862 (Confederate victory)
Battle of Port Republic – June 9, 1862 (Confederate victory)

Approximately 4,500 Union troops were killed, wounded, captured, or presumed dead. In contrast, the Confederacy lost 2,600 (Cozzens). By the end of the campaign, General Jackson was the hero of the Confederacy, and it elevated him to a God-like status among the women of Winchester, so much so that when he died of pneumonia in May 1863, they felt as if all hope of Confederate victory had been lost.

The 1864 Valley Campaign

Prang and Co., L. “Sheridan's Ride / Thulstrup ; Facsimile Print by L. Prang & Co.” *Library of Congress*, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92506224/. Accessed 3 Apr. 2022.

By the late summer of 1864, Confederate General A. Early maintained a steady control of the Shenandoah Valley. His summer had been filled with military successes, from skirmishes with Federal forces to a July win at Second Battle of Kernstown, outside of Winchester. The Union quickly implemented a change of command, and General Philip H. Sheridan seized control of Federal forces on August 7th. The valley was an economic breadbasket for the Confederacy, and his orders were simple – defeat the Confederacy and burn the valley to a desolate wasteland.

Battle of Opequon (aka the 3rd Battle of Winchester) – September 19, 1864 (Union victory)
Battle of Fisher’s Hill – September 22, 1864 (Union victory)
Battle of Tom’s Brook – October 9, 1864 (Union victory)
Battle of Cedar Creek – October 19, 1864 (Union victory)

The Battle of Cedar Creek was Early’s last-ditch effort at a Confederate victory in the valley. The Union forces were camped near Cedar Creek, preparing to return to Washington, DC for further instruction. Early watched them from the mountains, and his forces began their descent upon the unsuspecting Union around 5:00am. The plan worked, and as the Union retreated, the Confederate forces looted their camps and even paused to eat breakfast. If they continued their attack, they may have won the battle. However, General Sheridan, who was staying in Winchester the night prior, arrived on the battlefield to muster his troops. They led a counterattack around 4:00pm, which broke the Confederate line. The battle ended in a decisive Union victory.

The approximate total casualties were 8,600 (5,700 Union and 2,900 Confederate).

“The Burning”

Waud, Alfred R. “Shenandoah Valley, Sept. 1864.” *Library of Congress*, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004660274/. Accessed 3 Apr. 2022.

In late September 1864, Union General Sheridan delivered on his promise to General Grant. His forces scorched forty miles of land between Harrisonburg and Woodstock, Virginia. They slaughtered livestock along the way and burned “2,000 barns filled with wheat, hay, and farming implements [and] over seventy mills filled with flour and wheat.” (Anderson).

The Historic Edinburg Mill is a rare example of a mill that was salvaged. General Sheridan ordered the grain mills at Edinburg to be set aflame, and there are a few versions of the tale, which all involve two young women. In one story, the women urge Sheridan to save the mills, Edinburg’s only livelihood. The general sympathizes with the women and orders the flames extinguished (Robertson and Willis). In another story, these women were part of the bucket brigade that stifled the fire and saved the mill (Swain).

Mary and Mollie Bell (aka Bob Martin and Tom Parker)

In 1862, Mary (15) and Mollie Bell (22) watched their uncle leave for the Union army. At his departure, the girls were filled so with southern patriotism that they disguised themselves as men, enlisted in the Confederate cavalry, and then joined the 36th Virginia Infantry.

For two years, they fought in General Early’s army, and their service included the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1863) and a series of skirmishes and battles up and down the Shenandoah Valley. When their secret reached General Early in October 1864, fresh from numerous losses in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, the women were defamed as immoral and prostitutes. This contrasted with the opinions of their fellow troops, who claimed the women had “done good service as soldiers” (Blanton and Cook, 124). With ruined reputations, Early sent the cousins to Castle Thunder, a Confederate prison in Richmond, where they awaited judgement. Their story was recorded in the Richmond Daily Examiner, which blamed the women for Early’s military failures. They were soon released from prison and sent home to their parents.

Mollie Bell claimed to know six other women serving under Early’s command. Their identities have not been discovered.

Winchester and its “Devil Diarists”

Winchester was a well-connected town for commerce. As a part of the “Breadbasket of the Confederacy”, it held significance in the flour industry, and through the Winchester and Potomac Railroad and the Valley Turnpike, they could send exports north and south. In the 1860 census, Winchester recorded “4,400 people: 3,000 whites, 708 enslaved, 655 free blacks. Only 2% of the white population owned slaves” (Ping, 17). Throughout the war, when considering raids and skirmishes, it is estimated that the town changed hands around 72 times. The consistency of change altered the town – many of Winchester’s enslaved fled the town with Union troops, neighbors reported each other as enemy spies, and wounded soldiers were rushed into town after nearby battles, filling churches, homes, and even storehouses.

Diaries of women on Winchester’s home front, Union and Confederate, paint a picture of daily life through numerous occupations. The Union called some of the particularly outspoken Confederate women “devil diarists” (Soodalter). Among these women were Cornelia Peake McDonald, Laura Lee, and Mary Greenhow Lee. Confederate women (or “Secesh” as the Union women called them) strongly opposed Union occupations. Much like with the women in Williamsburg, there were disputes over the flag and demands of loyalty. Confederate women refused to walk under the Stars and Stripes, and Union General Milroy required an oath of loyalty for all coming into the town. Those who could not provide it and had no favor with the Union officers were banished.

The families of Union diarists Julia Chase and Harriet Griffith faced hardships under Confederate occupation. There were fewer Union supporters in Winchester than Confederate, and when their identities were known, the Confederate townspeople wasted no time in reporting them. As a federally appointed postmaster, Julia Chase’s father had to flee after Stonewall Jackson’s victory at the 1st Battle of Bull Run. He was eventually arrested and put in Confederate prison in 1862. Though Harriet Griffith’s family hosted both Union and Confederate soldiers during occupations, her father Aaron was arrested numerous times. In two separate circumstances, one of Aaron’s daughters was taken and a gun was pointed at another daughter’s head (Ping 69).

Many women, despite their allegiances, experienced supply shortages that impacted their daily lives. During the homespun movement, women were encouraged to spin their own cloth and make their own fashions. These creations became increasingly creative, and one girl mentioned in her diary that popcorn could decorate a hat or form a necklace (Ping 39). Hats and hoop skirts were few and difficult to find, as were salt and coffee. Instead of salt, people were encouraged to smoke meat for preservation, and there were several substitutions for coffee, like rye and sweet potato.

A butterfly outside the Hupp’s Hill Museum - when I asked about its significance to the Civil War, I found there wasn’t any. Someone who worked at Hupp’s Hill likes butterflies.

Site Visit: Cedar Creek Battlefield in Middletown, VA

The model for the Battle of Cedar Creek at the Hupp’s Hill Museum.

In January, my dad and I visited the Hupp’s Hill Museum and the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation Museum & Visitor Center. Up until that morning, the destination was going to be the Virginia Museum of the Civil War at the Virginia Military Institute. Since Hupp’s Hill was on the way, I thought it could be a quick morning stopover before I-81. I was wrong. I had read a story the night before about Mary and Mollie Bell, and it looked like the museum might have information about the cousins or their cavalry. After over an hour at the museum, plans were scrapped, and we journeyed into Middletown, VA to visit Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove Plantation.

The Hupp’s Hill Museum is easy to miss from the road, and we got lost twice before pulling up to the small building, which resembled a log cabin. For $5, there is a video overview of the Shenandoah campaign and access to Civil War history, pictures, and artifacts centered around the Shenandoah Valley. Some of the more unique elements include a model of the Battle of Cedar Creek, which showed troop positioning, and a wall mural which extends across the back wall. Though Mary and Mollie Bell were not at Cedar Creek, I noted where their cavalry was positioned. If the weather were warmer, we would have stayed longer to walk the park.

This was one of the stops on the driving tour, a gravel pull off from the main road with a historical marker - note the mountain line beyond the trees.

After Hupp’s Hill, the docent recommended that we visit the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation Museum & Visitor Center, five minutes up the road. The center was free to visit, and we picked up a map for the 17.5 mile driving tour. The brochure included a paragraph or two of explanation for each stop is listed, and we stopped whenever possible to read the history in chronological order. As we took in the mountain views, we passed creeks, farmland, railroad tracks, old buildings, and a cemetery. The Union counterattack which ended the battle took place on what is now Lord Fairfax Community College.

Overall, the museums provided the perfect amount of information for my research and thesis. Hupp’s Hill presented an overview of the Shenandoah Valley campaigns, their battles, and their impacts on both the war and home front. Through driving, I gained an understanding of the Battle of Cedar Creek’s scope, the landscape of the Shenandoah Valley, and how Union and Confederate forces utilized the valley’s terrain for their strategic advantage. I’m excited to return and explore the fields by foot when the weather grows warmer.

Works Cited

Anderson, Paul Christopher. “Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War.” Encyclopedia Virginia, https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/shenandoah-valley-during-the-civil-war/.

Blanton, DeAnne, and Lauren M. Cook. They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War. Vintage Books, 2003.

“Civil War History - Winchester-Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau.” Discover Winchester Virginia, 4 May 2021, https://visitwinchesterva.com/civil-war-history/.

Cozzens, Peter. "Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (12 Feb. 2021). Web. 27 Mar. 2022

“Overview of the 1862 Stonewall Jackson Valley Campaign.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 26 Feb. 2015, https://www.nps.gov/cebe/learn/historyculture/overview-of-the-1862-stonewall-jackson-valley-campaign.htm.

Ping, Laura J. Life in an Occupied City: Women in Winchester, Virginia During the Civil War. 2007. Virginia Commonwealth University, Master of Arts in History. VCU Scholars Compass. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2503&context=etd

Robertson Jr., James I., and Brian Steel Willis. Civil War Sites in Virginia: A Tour Guide. University of Virginia Press, 2011.

Soodalter, Ron. “War at Her Door: A Southern Writer's Diary Presents a Vivid Picture of Life on the Home Front.” America's Civil War, 1 Sept. 2021, pp. 16–18. Ebscohost, https://web-p-ebscohost-com.mutex.gmu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=e5c492e3-9d19-4650-92f9-448523a345e2%40redis. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.

Swain, Craig. “Edinburg Mill Historical Marker.” The Historical Marker Database, 7 Jan. 2022, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=25382.

Virginia Civil War Series, Part 4: Shenandoah Valley Region