SVBF Protects Additional Land on the Cedar Creek Battlefield
Parcel is in national park, near area preserved by Foundation last year
For immediate release—February 1, 2007
Contact: Howard J. Kittell (SVBF Executive Director): 540-740-4545
NEW MARKET, Va.—Today the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation announced that, through the donation of a conservation easement, the Powers family of Winchester has protected an additional 33 acres on the Cedar Creek battlefield. The parcel lies along the
North Fork of the
Shenandoah
River in
Warren
County, just downstream from the confluence of the river and Cedar Creek. The property will continue in its current agricultural use.
Note: A map of the parcel within the national park may be downloaded using the link at the end of this release.
With the donation, the Battlefields Foundation has preserved 304 acres in the Cedar Creek and
Belle
Grove
National
Historical
Park. Of the nearly 3,500 acres within the park, almost 1,200 have been protected by private landowners, local government, and private conservation organizations.
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Protected Land in the Belle Grove and Cedar Creek
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National Historical Park
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Acres
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Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation
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304
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Belle Grove Inc.
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103
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Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation
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297
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National Trust for Historic Preservation
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283
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Shenandoah
County
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151
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National Park Service
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8
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All protected land within the national park
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1,147
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In addition, the
Potomac Conservancy has protected 107 acres adjacent to the park.
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Sources: Frederick, Shenandoah, and Warren county web sites.
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“We welcome the fact that one of our partners has found a way to protect the rural and agricultural character of the park,” Superintendent Diann Jacox said, hailing the project.
The property is part of the Powers family’s Fair Meadow Farm and is near a 137-acre parcel that the Battlefields Foundation purchased from the family last summer. The newly-protected parcel fronts the
North Fork of the
Shenandoah
River for more than 3,200 feet and is primarily located in the river’s flood plain. The protection of this area not only preserves its historic resources, it also provides a permanent buffer for the waterway, preserving this important riparian area and decreasing the chance of flooding downstream.
“We are extremely grateful to the Powers family for their intense interest in preserving the historical and natural features of their farm,” said Foundation Executive Director Howard J. Kittell. “This is a tremendous donation to the Battlefields Foundation.”
“We are particularly happy to be protecting the fords and the scenic nature of the
Shenandoah
River,” said
David Powers.
The
Battle of Cedar Creek
The property is in the core area of the Cedar Creek battlefield where more than 47,000 Americans fought one another in what would become the last major Civil War battle in the
Shenandoah Valley . In the early morning hours of October 19, 1864, Confederate troops under General Jubal Early marched north from Fisher’s Hill. They crossed Cedar Creek and the
North Fork to attack Federal units encamped north of the creek, along the Valley Pike (modern US 11), and on the Thoburn’s Redoubt property, purchased by the Battlefields Foundation in 2002. Many of the Confederates waded through the
North Fork of the
Shenandoah
River at McInturff’s Ford and Bowman’s Ford on the newly eased property—as a result, the Battlefields Foundation has dubbed it the “Shenandoah River Fords” property. The battle, which began as a Confederate victory before a massive Union counterattack ultimately turned the tide for the northerners, would last all day and sweep from the creek and river several miles north to
Middletown before ending on the roads south of Strasburg.
In a 1992 National Park Service study of Civil War sites in the
Shenandoah Valley, historian David W. Lowe wrote, “The Confederate surprise attack at Cedar Creek is considered one of the most daring and successful maneuvers of its kind and is studied by military theorists today. It was a feat ‘unduplicated’ during the Civil War.”
Cedar Creek, a focal point of Union General Philip Sheridan’s 1864 Shenandoah Campaign, dealt the crushing blow to the Confederacy in the
Shenandoah Valley. Together with Northern successes in the Atlanta Campaign, it spurred the reelection of President Abraham Lincoln a few weeks later.
Conservation Easements
To protect this parcel, the Battlefields Foundation used a preservation tool, called a conservation easement, which keeps property in private ownership while protecting its historic and natural resources. A conservation easement is a legal agreement through which an owner retains possession of a property yet conveys certain specified rights to the holder of the easement, in this case the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation.
Easements can be tailored to meet the owner's wishes regarding the future use of their land. Typically an easement restricts development or uses that would destroy natural, scenic, or historic areas while at the same time allowing other traditional uses such as farming. Conservation easements are conveyed—either donated or sold—to a non-profit conservation organization or a public agency. Owners like the Powers who are able to donate an easement can experience substantial state and federal tax advantages through such a donation.
“We hope that the Powers family’s leadership in donating this conservation easement will be a catalyst for other landowners in the park to follow suit,” said Kittell.
Since its inception six years ago, the Battlefields Foundation has completed 23 projects that have protected more than 1,200 acres through the acquisition of land or conservation easements at each of the ten battlefields identified in the legislation that created the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District. The Foundation is currently working with 30 additional landowners on projects that could preserve more than 3,000 additional acres at the Valley’s battlefields.
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As authorized by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation serves as the non-profit manager of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, partnering with local, regional, and national organizations and governments to preserve the Valley’s battlefields and interpret and promote the region’s Civil War story.
Created by Congress in 1996, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District encompasses
Augusta , Clarke,
Frederick,
Highland , Page, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and
Warren counties in
Virginia and the cities of
Harrisonburg,
Staunton,
Waynesboro, and
Winchester. The legislation authorizes federal funding for the protection of ten battlefields in the District: Second Winchester, Third Winchester, Second Kernstown, Cedar Creek, Fisher’s Hill, Tom’s Brook, New Market, Cross Keys,
Port
Republic , and McDowell.
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ON THE WEB:
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District:
www.ShenandoahAtWar.org
National Park Service 1992 study of the
Shenandoah Valley ’s Civil War battlefields:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/shenandoah/svs0-1.html
The
Battle of Cedar Creek: http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/shenandoah/svs3-15.html
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park:
www.nps.gov/cebe
Information about preservation and conservation easements:
Virginia
Department of Historic Resources:
http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/easement/easement.htm
Virginia
Department of Conservation & Recreation:
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/land_conservation/howto04.shtml#conease
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