Trip Report

An Early Spring Drive Through Fort Valley, Virginia /  by Todd Henson

Dogwoods along Fort Valley Road

Fort Valley is a fascinating place. It is a valley formed when a continental plate crumpled, pushing mountain ranges upward and this valley downward. The eastern side is Massanutten Mountain, which runs the entire length of the valley. The western side is composed of three mountains almost forming a solid wall but with a couple gaps. To the north is a small gap where Passage Creek leaves the valley somewhere between Strasburg and Front Royal, and where Fort Valley Road enters the valley. From the south requires driving up and down a windy mountain road to get over the mountain. On the western front the two gaps between the mountains have roads heading over to Woodstock and Edinburg. It appears at least one of these roads may also travel up and down over a mountain before completely leaving the valley, though we’ve yet to drive them. For this trip we entered from the north and existed over the mountain to the south.

A first spring view of Passage Creek in Fort Valley

Redbud, dogwood and Fort Valley Road

The valley is almost a sealed system and because of that and how difficult it was to access at the time, George Washington had reportedly thought to use the valley as a natural fort to retreat to had the Continental Army been defeated by the British during the Revolutionary War. Seeing as that didn’t happen the valley was never used in that way, though it did become home to a couple blast furnaces used to create pig iron which were shipped to foundries and forged into other products. During the Civil War the Confederacy made use of the furnaces until Union troops destroyed them. One of the furnaces was rebuilt after the war but it closed shortly after as it was no longer competitive enough to stay in business.

Rustic views along Fort Valley Road

Redbud and the road

These days the valley is lightly populated with private homes and farms and is home to several recreational areas. We saw a number of folks fishing along the length of Passage Creek, and saw a number of areas for camping. And it’s also great for an early spring drive.

Bends in Fort Valley Road

Rolling valley hills

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Fisher’s Hill Battlefield - Ramseur’s Hill /  by Todd Henson

The entrance sign at Fisher’s Hill Battlefield

Virginia is a great location to live or visit if you are interested in Civil War history, and though I’ve never thought of myself as a Civil War buff, I do find it interesting and humbling to visit some of the battlefield locations and imagine what it might have been like at that time. My father and I recently visited Fisher’s Hill Battlefield, one of many locations within the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District.

A panoramic view of Fisher’s Hill Battlefield (8-image stitched pano)

As with so many of the battlefields, you may not see any evidence of the war, no buildings or canons or dug trenches, but you will see sweeping landscapes, large fields, and hilly terrain. The maps on the signs do a great job describing where the various troops were positioned and how they maneuvered. This location, Fisher’s Hill, is referred to as Shenandoah Valley’s “Gibraltar”. The signage describes it as: “a natural fortification, apparently an impregnable one,” that sits at the narrowest part of the Shenandoah Valley, stretching just four miles from Little North Mountain to your front to Massanutten Mountain behind you.

The main signage at the parking lot of Fisher’s Hill Battlefield

The first trail sign at Fisher’s Hill Battlefield

This is where Union General Philip H. Sheridan’s forces pursued and engaged for the second time with Confederate General Jubal A. Early’s army. Early’s forces were significantly outnumbered and outmaneuvered, with 9,500 Confederate forces battling against 29,444 Union forces. By the end of the battle which was a Union victory the Confederates had lost 1,235 soldiers and the Union lost 528.

A view from a hill hear the entrance to the battlefield

As for location names, Fisher’s Hill isn’t a single hill but a series of hills between Back Road and the Shenandoah River. Ramseur’s Hill is one of these hills, named after Confederate General S. Dodson Ramseur whose troops manned this hill during the battle.

From atop a hill on the battlefield you can see the traffic of Interstate 81

The trail starts at the parking lot and weaves around some of the hilly terrain. We walked the initial section which is fairly accessible and level, but it appears, and the signs indicate, that beyond this point the trail becomes steeper and less accessible. If you’re ever in the area consider a visit. It’s located just off Interstate 81 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

Looking down at the bridge and walkway to the parking lot

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Colonial Beach in Winter /  by Todd Henson

A little snow remained at the Colonial Beach Municipal Pier

In mid-January my father and I went for a drive and found ourselves at Colonial Beach in the Northern Neck of Virginia. This is a popular summer destination for some folks but isn’t very popular at all during the colder months of winter, which means I found it far more appealing in winter. Snow had fallen about a week before and though most of that had melted there were still some small amounts on the pier and beach.

Under the gazebo looking out at the pier

Snow and gulls on Colonial Beach pier

Over to the left was what I called cormorant pier for all the cormorants perched along the length

It was a cold day but not frigid. And there were hardly any people about, though we encountered many gulls and cormorants as you can see in the photos. The weather forecast had called for a small chance of rain in some areas of Virginia, and though we didn’t run into any it did result in some nice overcast conditions and clouds with a bit of character. Overall I found it a very calm, quiet and beautiful day and I’m glad we decided to pay the beach a visit.

Colonial Beach Municipal Pier and the Potomac River

A final look at winter at Colonial Beach

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