National Historical Parks · Virginia
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
National Park Service source material · single source. Source dates and reuse information are available beside each field.
Check the official park website for current access, conditions and visitor information.
Introduction
Background: 1
Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley has a long and rich heritage that still inspires today. Native Americans first shaped the land, followed by colonists and settlers. The fertile valley became an important wheat-growing region in the 1800s. It also witnessed dramatic Civil War campaigns, including the Battle of Cedar Creek, a decisive Federal victory that helped bring the war to an end.
Geography
Designation: 3
National Historical Park
State or territory: 4
Virginia
Park Map - Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park: 5
Map scope: Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
Map of Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park in Virginia. The lowercase letter b-shaped park lies with the stem angled to the top right corner. Some areas in the park are dark green and others a paler shade of green. Surrounding terrain is beige, and bodies of water are blue.
History and culture
People: 6
Some of the Shenandoah Valley's diverse individuals are captured in portrait photographs and other historic documents.
Places: 7
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District preserves land in eight Virginia counties.
Visitors on tours of the 1797 Manor House learn about the plantation owners and enslaved workers alike
The Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation Museum and Visitor Center building houses its exhibits, book and gift shop, and visitor services.
Stories: 8
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park preserves parts of the Shenandoah Valley's rich heritage: from Native Americans who first shaped the land, to pioneers of this frontier; this fertile area became one of the most important wheat producing regions of the entire South. The Shenandoah Valley also witnessed some of the most dramatic events of the Civil War, including the Battle of Cedar Creek, a decisive Federal victory on October 19, 1864.
Suggested Reading: 9
National Park Service staff often refer to the following books to learn about Cedar Creek & Belle Grove.
Adams, John Quincy. Narrative of the Life of John Quincy Adams, When in Slavery, and Now as a Freeman . 1872, from https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/adams/summary.html
Broomall, James J. 'The Stars Fought from Heaven': Race and Slavery in the Shenandoah Valley from Early Settlement to Jim Crow . 2020, National Park Service.
Dew, Charles B., Bond of Iron: Master and Slave at Buffalo Forg e. W. W. Norton & Company; Revised edition,1995.
Hofstra, Warren R. and Karl B. Raitz. The Great Valley Road of Virginia: Shenandoah Landscapes from Prehistory to the Present . Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010.
Hofstra, Warren R. The Planting of New Virginia: Settlement and Landscape in the Shenandoah Valley. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004.
Kercheval, Samuel. A History of the Valley of Virgin ia. 2nd ed. Woodstock, VA: J. Gatewood, Printer, 1850.
Koons, Kenneth E., and Warren R. Hofstra. After the Backcountry: Rural Life in the Great Valley of Virginia, 1800-1900 . Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2000.
Noyalas, Jonathan A., et al. Slavery and Freedom in the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War Era . University Press of Florida, 2021.
Rouse, Parke. The Great Wagon Road: From Philadelphia to the South . New York: McGraw-Hill, 1973.
Simmons, J. Susanne And Nancy T. Sorrells. "Slave Hire and the Development of Slavery in Augusta County, Virginia." In Koons, Kenneth E., Hofstra, Warren R (Ed.), After the Backcountry: Rural Life in the Great Valley of Virginia, 1800–1900 . University of Tennessee Press, 2000.
Veney, Bethany. The Narrative of Bethany Veney: A Slave Woman . 1889, from https://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/veney/summary.html
Horton, James Oliver, and Lois E. Horton. Slavery and Public History: The Tough Stuff of American memory . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press 2009.
Levine, Bruce C. Half Slave and Half Free: The Roots of Civil War . Revised Ed. New York: Hill and Wang, 2005.
McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War era . New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Sutton, Robert Kent. Rally on the High Ground: The National Park Service Symposium on the Civil War, Ford's Theatre, May 8 and 9, 2000 . Fort Washington, PA: Eastern National, 2001.
Carhart, Tom. Sacred Ties: From West Point Brothers to Battlefield Rivals: A True Story of the Civil War . New York: Berkley Caliber, 2010.
Colt, Margaretta Barton. Defend the Valley: A Shenandoah Family in the Civil War . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Duncan, Richard R. Beleaguered Winchester: A Virginia Community at War, 1861-1865 . Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2007.
Gallagher, Gary W. "Revisiting the 1862 and 1864 Valley Campaigns: Stonewall Jackson and Jubal Early in the Shenandoah." In Lee and His Generals in War and Memory ," 182-195. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1998.
Gallagher, Gary W. The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003.
Hale, Laura Virginia. Four Valiant Years in the Lower Shenandoah Valley, 1861-1865. Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Pub. House, 1968.
Hotchkiss, Jedediah and Archie P. McDonald. Make Me a Map of the Valley: The Civil War Journal of Stonewall Jackson's Topographer. Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1973.
Noyalas, Jonathan A. "My will is absolute law": A Biography of Union General Robert H. Milroy . Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2006.
Noyalas, Jonathan A. and Nancy T. Sorrells. "If this Valley is Lost, Virginia is Lost!": Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign . New Market, VA: Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, 2006.
Noyalas, Jonathan A. Stonewall Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign: War Comes to the Homefront . Charleston, SC: History Press, 2010.
Tanner, Robert G. Stonewall in the Valley: Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Shenandoah Valley Campaign, Spring 1862 . Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976.
Connor, Richard, and Wilson R. Springer. Sheridan, The Inevitable. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1993.
Cooling, B. Franklin. Jubal Early's Raid on Washington, 1864 . Baltimore, MD: Nautical & Aviation Pub. Co. of America, 1989.
Cooling, B. Franklin. Monocacy: The Battle that Saved Washington . Shippensburg, PA: White Mane Pub. Co., 1997.
Dickert, D. Augustus. History of Kershaw's Brigade, with Complete Roll of Companies, Biographical Sketches, Incidents, Anecdotes, etc . Dayton, OH: Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1976.
Early, Jubal Anderson. Jubal Early's Memoirs: Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States . Baltimore, MD: Nautical & Aviation Pub. Co, 1989.
Gallagher, Gary W. The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.
Lewis, Thomas A. The Shenandoah in Flames: The Valley Campaign of 1864 . Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1987.
Mahon, Michael G. The Shenandoah Valley, 1861-1865: The Destruction of the Granary of the Confederacy . Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1999.
Noyalas, Jonathan A. "Give the Enemy no Rest!": Sheridan's 1864 Shenandoah Campaign . New Market, VA: Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, 2007.
Stackpole, Edward J. Sheridan in the Shenandoah: Jubal Early's Nemesis . 2nd ed. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1992.
Taylor, James E. With Sheridan up the Shenandoah Valley in 1864: Leaves from a Special Artist's Sketchbook and Diary . Cleveland, OH: Western Reserve Historical Society, 1989.
Wert, Jeffry D. From Winchester to Cedar Creek: The Shenandoah Campaign of 1864 . Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2010.
Grimsley, Mark. The Hard Hand of War: Union Military Policy Toward Southern Civilians, 1861-1865 . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Heatwole, John L. The Burning: Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley . Charlottesville, Va.: Rockbridge Pub., 1998.
Taylor, James E. With Sheridan up the Shenandoah Valley in 1864: Leaves from a Special Artist's Sketchbook and Diary . Cleveland, OH: Western Reserve Historical Society, 1989. (Hard to find/Out of Print)
Mahr, Theodore C. The Battle of Cedar Creek: Showdown in the Shenandoah, October 1-30, 1864 . 2nd ed. Lynchburg, VA: H.E. Howard, 1992. (Out of Print/Hard to find)
Noyalas, Jonathan A. The Battle of Cedar Creek: Victory from the Jaws of Defeat . Charleston, SC: History Press, 2009.
Whitehorne, Joseph W. A. The Battle of Cedar Creek: Self-Guided Tour . Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1992.
Places To Go: 10
Start at the Visitor Center where park rangers can answer questions about where to go and what to do. Outside the park, numerous nearby attractions , including places affiliated with the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District , offer chances to experience the area's rich natural and cultural heritage.
History & Culture: 11
The Shenandoah Valley has a long and rich cultural heritage. Native Americans first shaped the landscape, followed by pioneers of this frontier. The fertile Valley became an important wheat producing region in the 1800s. The Valley saw some of the most dramatic events of the Civil War. Federals won the Battle of Cedar Creek , on October 19, 1864, bringing the war closer to its end.
Broomall JJ. 2020. 'The Stars Fought from Heaven': Race and Slavery in the Shenandoah Valley from Early Settlement to Jim Crow. National Park Service (PDF file)
Koons KE and Noyalas J. 2010. Historic Resource Study: Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park (PDF file)
Visitor centers and places
Belle Grove Welcome Center: 12
Guided tours occur daily from mid-March through October. Plantation grounds and trails are open sunrise to sunset year-round.
Visitor information
Sources & field notes
Source records (15)
Select a numbered reference to open a source card. Retrieval dates describe this edition’s source capture, rather than an independent verification or the date of the underlying information.
Background · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Fisher's Hill Battlefield · NPS Photo. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Source scope
- Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Public domain:Full Granting Rights
- Rights
- Public domain:Full Granting Rights
Designation · National Park System directory. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Factual reference data; source attribution retained.
State or territory · National Park System directory. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Factual reference data; source attribution retained.
Park Map - Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park · National Park Service, Harpers Ferry Center. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Source scope
- Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
- Download
- Official map PDF ↗
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Public domain; NPS map
- Rights
- Public domain; NPS map
People · People — National Park Service. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Source page last updated
- May 13, 2023
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-authored U.S. government material is generally public domain; third-party content may have separate rights.
Places · Places — National Park Service. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Source page last updated
- November 29, 2023
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-authored U.S. government material is generally public domain; third-party content may have separate rights.
Stories · Stories — National Park Service. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Source page last updated
- May 13, 2023
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-authored U.S. government material is generally public domain; third-party content may have separate rights.
Suggested Reading · Suggested Reading — National Park Service. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Source page last updated
- January 19, 2023
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-authored U.S. government material is generally public domain; third-party content may have separate rights.
Places To Go · Places To Go — National Park Service. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Source page last updated
- August 6, 2024
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-authored U.S. government material is generally public domain; third-party content may have separate rights.
History & Culture · National Park Service. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-authored U.S. government material is generally public domain; third-party material may have separate rights. No images copied.
Belle Grove Welcome Center · National Park Service park structured data. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored U.S. government work is generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Physical Address · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Mailing Address · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Telephone · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.