Stand Quietly and Feel the History

During the Civil War, control of the Shenandoah Valley was critical to the fate of Virginia and the Confederacy.

The Valley witnessed Stonewall Jackson’s brilliant 1862 Valley Campaign, Gen. Robert E. Lee’s advance to the Confederate “high tide” at Gettysburg, the VMI Cadets’ valiant charge at New Market, and U.S. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan’s final campaign to crush Confederate hopes in the Valley—which included The Burning, the fiery destruction of the region’s agricultural bounty.

Historical Civil War Reenactmentss

Today you can still view much of the landscape as it was seen by soldiers and civilians during the war, and you can explore the region’s dramatic Civil War story at historic sites, battlefields, courthouses, cemeteries, walking trails, and museums that tell the story of those storm-tossed years.