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Battlefields Foundation to buy Cooley Farm property
As you turn down Bowman Mill Road off of Guard Hill Road, one can’t help but notice the natural beauty of the surrounding area.
What is far less obvious, though, is a plot of land that holds great historical significance.
That land, Cooley Farm, was an integral part of the Battle of Cedar Creek and is currently being purchased by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation (SVBF).
The acquisition of this property will allow visitors to step back in time and stand in the shoes of the men battling the Civil War.
The Battle of Cedar Creek, fought between Strasburg and Middletown, was the last great battle of the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley.
As the Union army lay in wait, Union General George Cook’s troops were positioned on the Cooley Farm property.
Several other commands were located on the Cooley property at that time. Col. Rutherford B. Hayes, future president of the United States, and Capt. Frank Gibbs were placed on the Cooley land with the hopes that they would eventually take control of the Valley pike bridge.
On the evening of Oct.18, 1864, the Confederate forces surrounded the Union. With careful strategy they used a three-column formation that allowed one column to move east and cover what is now Bowman’s Mill Road.
The south received the second column as they marched along Long Meadow Road coming close to modern day Interstate-66. The last column came from the north and settled along Cedar Creek.
After lying in wait the Confederate forces moved north colliding with Hayes’ troops on the Cooley property.
The battle was on and the Confederate forces tightened their grip on the Federal army — within half an hour the Union troops were frantically retreating across the Valley Pike towards the west.
As they retreated the Union troops were filtered through a ravine that became known as the “valley of death.”
By the end of the hour the Union troops were feebly fighting back. Those troops who had stayed behind were defending their ground to give the rest of the retreating army time to escape north. The troops fell back to Belle Grove Plantation and held their ground to fight the Confederates later that day.
The 187 acres that the SVBF will acquire will add to the land that the foundation is preserving. This land will be devoted to entertaining and educating visitors on the events of the Civil War and their impact of the people of the Shenandoah Valley.
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More stories on Shenandoah.com:
 (Shenandoah.com)
- Tuesday Aug 31 2010
(VIRGINIA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION)
- Monday Aug 30 2010
(The Warren Sentinel)
- Monday Nov 30 2009
(The Winchester Star)
- Tuesday Nov 17 2009
(Daily News-Record)
- Tuesday Nov 17 2009
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