Walk the Morning Attack Trails (U.S. National Park Service)

A mountain looms behind a grass field with mowed trails and a belt of trees. — The Morning Attack Trails are mowed grass through fields
NPS

Follow the Morning Attack Trails to places where soldiers fought during the early hours of the Battle of Cedar Creek. The three trails combined are 1.5 miles long. All three are on national park land. Pick up a free trail guide at the trail entrances or at the Visitor Center. The guide follows stops marked on the trails.

Pick up a free trail guide at the trail entrance or at the Visitor Center. The guide follows stops marked on the trails. The trails are easy with one moderate slope on the 8th Vermont Monument Trail.

Pets must be kept on a six-foot leash and under physical control at all times. Pet waste may not be left on the ground. If you are visiting with your pet, please remember to bring plastic bags or a scoop and determine how you will transport waste from the park.

Entrance fees may apply, see Fees & Passes information.

The main trail head is at 8739 Valley Pike (U.S. Highway 11), south of Middletown.

The Morning Attack Trails, like the other public areas administered by the National Park Service, are open from sunrise to sunset.

The trails are mowed grass, easy for walking with one moderate slope on the 8th Vermont Trail.

Self-guiding Tour Stops

Showing results 1-6 of 6

Loading results...

Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
Thomas's Approach Route
US soldiers from Col. Stephen Thomas’s brigade moved across the Valley Turnpike through this ravine to the ridge above, pushing through retreating soldiers and hoping to stop the Confederate advance.
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
8th Vermont Monument
Herbert Hill, veteran of the 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment, was just 18 years-old during the Battle of Cedar Creek. Twenty years after the war ended, Hill erected a monument where the 8th Vermont made its sacrificial stand to slow the Confederate attack.
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
Thomas's Right
Thomas’s brigade made a line roughly from the present monument, starting with the 8th Vermont on the brigade’s left. To their right was the 160th New York, 12th Connecticut, and then the 47th Pennsylvania at about this place. One by one, these regiments fell to the Confederates. The 8th Vermont retreated last, after desperate hand-to-hand fighting that bought time for other US troops to regroup west of the Valley Pike.
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
Gordon's Approach
Confederate soldiers led by Gen. John B. Gordon advanced across the field from the south and east. They included veterans of the famous “Stonewall Brigade,” many of whom were from the Shenandoah Valley. Rolling terrain, heavy fog, and early morning sunlight made it difficult to see them. They fought Thomas’s brigade in this field and, after meeting stiff resistance from the 8th Vermont, forced them to retreat across the Valley Pike.
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
Hayes's Camp
In early October, troops of the 8th Corps under Col. Rutherford B. Hayes camped along this ridge. While the army often woke up early and scouted for the enemy, they spent much time lounging in camp and reading mail from home. On October 11, these fields buzzed with activity as Ohio soldiers came to cast absentee votes in the 1864 election. Their votes and their victory at Cedar Creek a week later helped Abraham Lincoln win reelection.
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park
Hayes's & Kitching's Lines
With their camps overrun, Hayes’s and Kitching’s Federals withdrew toward this ridge to fight back against Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur’s advancing Confederates. The US troops here left to regroup north and west as the 8th Vermont and the rest of Thomas’s brigade crossed the nearby ravine to cover their retreat. Confederate soldiers, hungry, cold, and wet, began to leave their regiments to loot abandoned Federal campsites.