The historic preservation and open-space easement over the 146-acre French Tract in Shenandoah County helps protect two Civil War battlefield landscapes, along with their stories of perseverance, struggle, victory, and defeat.

By Kyle Edwards | DHR Easement Program Archaeologist

To date, DHR and its coordinating partners have protected over 17,000 acres of Civil War battlefields as part of the Commonwealth’s historic preservation easement program. These protected battlefields can be found across the state and represent various actions, campaigns, and events that tell a collective story of America’s bloody Civil War, while also providing valuable open-space land for recreation and conservation purposes. However, within this expansive collection of properties, we can sometimes lose sight of the more nuanced and individual stories associated with the battlefield landscape. Each preserved property has its own story to tell—of perseverance, struggle, victory, and defeat—that add a human quality to our understanding of the War and Virginia’s history. This is especially true of one of DHR’s newest easements over property known as the French Tract (The Property), located in Shenandoah County.

On April 8, 2026, the Commonwealth of Virginia accepted a historic preservation and open-space easement over the 146-acre French Tract. The easement was donated by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation (SVBF) with the support of grant funds provided by the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation and the American Battlefield Protection Program. Significantly, the easement falls within two battlefields, Fisher’s Hill and Cedar Creek, and protects the historic battlefield landscape, three archaeological sites, and three historic structures associated with these battles. The French Tract is particularly important for telling the story of Fisher’s Hill, and how the battle shifted the balance of power within the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War.

The Battle of Fisher’s Hill was a pivotal moment in the Civil War and, specifically, the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. Over the course of the War, control of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley was hotly contested for both logistic and strategic reasons. Perhaps most importantly, the Valley was an essential source of provisions for the Confederate capital in Richmond and the Army of Northern Virginia, which by the fall of 1864 was besieged within Petersburg. As a result, U.S. control of the region could limit valuable supplies for the Confederacy, weaking its army. The 1864 campaign began with this factor in mind. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant detailed to Major General Phillip Sheridan, who would lead the campaign, that, “…it is desirable that nothing should be left to invite the enemy to return. Take all provisions, forage, and stock necessary for the use of your command. Such as cannot be consumed destroy…” (Foote 1974:543). For Grant, this was to be the end of Confederate control over the Valley.

Opposing Sheridan’s offensive, was the Confederate Army of the Valley commanded by Lieutenant General Jubal Early. Early had previously led raids north from the Valley and Confederate General Robert E. Lee hoped that a successful campaign could draw the Army of the Potomac’s attention away from Richmond and Petersburg (Power 2020). Furthermore, any perceived defeats for the Union Army could tip the balance in the 1864 Presidential election and undermine northern appetite for continued fighting.

The Battle of Fisher’s Hill took place on September 22, 1864, as the second major battle of the campaign. After their defeat at Winchester on September 19, the Confederate Army of the Valley, under Early, retreated south to Fisher’s Hill to reform a defensive line. Early knew that his force was outnumbered nearly 3 to 1 by the pursuing Union Army and believed the position atop Fisher’s Hill would allow him to halt any Union advance south (Foote 1974: 555-556; Taylor 2024:324). At the time, Fisher’s Hill was considered the “Gibraltar of the Valley”. Here the valley was constricted to a mere 3.9 miles between Little North Mountain to the west and Massanutten Mountain to the east (SVBF 2026). Furthermore, the east-west orientation of the slopes of Fisher’s Hill created a formidable barrier that hugged the Shenandoah River and its tributary, Tumbling Run (ABT 2026). Little more than a month before, the Confederates had withdrawn their force to Fisher’s Hill and its imposing slopes had deterred any attempt at an attack. Early hoped this strategy would prevail again.

The Union Army of the Shenandoah under Sheridan followed their quarry up the Valley and organized near Strasburg, just north of Fisher’s Hill. Sheridan was initially perplexed about how to effectively assault Fisher’s Hill and destroy the enemy. However, Union Major General George Crook proposed a turning maneuver around the Confederate’s right flank by marching his VIII Corps onto the eastern slopes of Little North Mountain (See Image 2). This move would be accompanied by pressure from the XIX and VI Corps on the Confederate front to prevent Early from reinforcing his flank (Salmon 2001:363-365).

By the afternoon of September 22, Crook’s troops had taken up position on the Back Road to the west of Fisher’s Hill and around 4 p.m. they began their assault on the Confederate left (SVBF 2026). Crooks’ men quickly moved through Confederate pickets and dismounted cavalry placed across the lowlands northwest of Fisher’s Hill (Image 3). The Union forces routed the Confederate flank and began a rapid ascent of Fisher’s Hill. Simultaneously, the main body of the Union Army moved against the Confederate front and began overtaking their entrenchments, making Early’s position untenable. According to Confederate Captain and topographical engineer Jedediah Hotchkiss, “Our men came back in a perfect rout, and so rapidly that the enemy was crossing the railroad before the head of the column got into the pike, even” (USDW 1902: 575). As quickly as the Union advanced, Confederate forces retreated south on the Valley Pike to Woodstock.

During the battle, the far-left flank of the Confederate line extended across the eastern portion of the Property. The Union VIII Corps’ attack moved east across the Property, and climbed the lower slopes of Fisher’s Hill, forcing the Confederates from their positions on the French Tract. Interestingly, Union Colonel Joseph Thoburn reported that, “…on the second hill we came to a pretty strong line of works that were extended rearward to the right to protect the enemy’s left flank, which was carried without difficulty, and in which were captured three pieces of artillery” (USDW 1902:370). These fortifications described by Thoburn are still present on the French Tract landscape. On the lower slopes of Fisher’s Hill is a well-defined set of entrenchments running perpendicular to the main ridge of the hill. It was at these thinly manned fortifications that the Union routed the defenders and ultimately sent them on a 70-mile retreat to the safety of Waynesboro. The Confederate army had relinquished control of the Valley.

By the night of September 22, 1864, the Confederacy had lost 1,200 soldiers, many of them captured, while the Union had only suffered 530 casualties. The victory at Fisher’s Hill marked the beginning of what would come to be known as “the Burning”. This was a planned strategy to make the cost of war felt by the Confederate home front. With Early’s army retreating to Staunton, Sheridan’s force destroyed 71 flourmills, nearly 1,000 miles of railroad, and 2,000 barns over the next two weeks (Taylor 2024: 324). This was a crushing blow for the Confederacy, and in just over six months, Lee would surrender at Appomattox.

Part of the Union flank attack during the Battle of Fisher’s Hill was led by Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes of the 23^rd Ohio Infantry. On that day, Hayes commanded the Second Division of Crook’s corps, which would have placed him on, or near, the French Tract. Of the attack, Hayes recounted, “The moment the rebels discovered that we had turned their left and captured a battery on that flank, they seemed to give up all hope of holding their works and fled in confusion toward the turnpike on their right” (USDW 1902: 403). Colonel Hayes would later be elected the 19th president of the United States. His reputation as a fearless leader on the battlefield was a critical part of his campaign for president (RBHPL 2026). Also serving within Hayes’s division as a captain and acting as assistant adjutant to General Crook was the future 25th president of the U.S., William McKinley. The relationship between Hayes and McKinley highlights how military relationships would impact American politics through the Reconstruction period, as battlefield reputations, friendships, and grievances underpinned policy and patronage.

The history of the French Tract illustrates the varied stories held within the Commonwealth’s historic properties and their insight into the past. Undoubtedly there is still more to learn about the French Tract as it includes a farmstead occupied during the Civil War by Isaac Pifer and his family. This farm sat within a network of friends and relatives that witnessed the ebb and flow of the war. How did the battle impact Pifer and his family? Did they bear the consequences of “the Burning”? Perhaps future research by DHR or SVBF will uncover a new perspective on this property.

References Cited

American Battlefield Trust [ABT]. 2026. “Fisher’s Hill”. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/fishers-hill.

Foote, Shelby. 1974. The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume 3 Red River to Appomattox. Vintage Books.

Hayes, President Rutherford B. , None. [Between 1865 and 1880] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017894562/.

Hotchkiss, Jedediah. 1892. “No. 26. Map of the line of entrenchments at Fisher’s Hill, August 13th to 17th, 1864” Library of Congress. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/battle-fishers-hill-virginia-no-26.

Power, J. "Jubal A. Early (1816–1894)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/early-jubal-a-1816-1894/

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums [RBHPL]. “Rutherford Hayes’ “Golden Years””. https://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/civil-war/

Salmon, John S. 2001. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide. Stackpole Books.

Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation [SVBF]. 2026. “Fisher’s Hill September 22,1864”. https://www.shenandoahatwar.org/battle-of-fishers-hill.

Taylor, Alan. 2024. American Civil Wars: A Continental History. W.W. Norton & Company.

United States War Department [USWD]. 1902. The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series 1, Volume 43. Washington: Government Printing Office.