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Shenandoah Group Protects Additional Cedar Creek Land
Feb. 1 2007--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.
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.
“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.
Note: A map of the parcel within the national park may be downloaded from the news area at www.ShenandoahAtWar.org.
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.
“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.
Note: A map of the parcel within the national park may be downloaded from the news area at www.ShenandoahAtWar.org.