But now it is time to pause and take a moment to reflect on the magnitude of what happened here 150 years ago. To set the stage for this commemoration ceremony, i would like to welcome superintendent jim northrup to say a few words. [applause] well, good evening. As amy said, my name is jim northup. It is my great privilege to serve as the superintendent. Im here to join with amy and our hosts to welcome you and thank you for coming to this very important element in the 150th anniversary events here at cedar creek. Amidst all the activity that is taking place around us, we are gathered at this place in this moment to remember exactly what happened here. And to remember all of those who were killed or wounded on this battlefield. As all of you know, on october 19, 1864, a great battle was fought here. A battle that secured the Shenandoah Valley of virginia for the union, and a battle that is credited with propelling president Abraham Lincoln to reelection. We also talk a great deal about the interesting tactics associated with the battle. The risky surprise attack, the Great Success of the Confederate Forces in the morning, general sheridans famous ride from winchester and the union counterattack. But what we dont talk about quite as much are the lives of the young men who fought here. Approximately 46,000 men from 25 states, 17 for the union, and 8 for the confederacy, approximately 1000 of whom were killed or mortally wounded on this ground. With another 7600 wounded or captured. The secondlargest and the second bloodiest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley. This evening, we gather in this tranquil setting with signal nob in the distance and the beautiful Belle Grove Plantation house behind us to remember those men, their bravery and their sacrifice and the impact of the loss on their families that lasted for generations. Cedar creek and Belle Grove National Historical park is not just about this battle. It is a park that tells the story of this part of the Shenandoah Valley from native american use of this landscape to early settlement through a rich agricultural period and a plantation era to the civil war and beyond. But today, we take a moment to think only about one thing. To honor the men who fought and died here at the battle of cedar creek. As stewards of this land today, we must never forget. Welcome, and thank you for joining us. [applause] 150 years ago at this moment, this field would have been filled with union camps. Soldiers would have been sitting around the fire talking about what has been going on or perhaps who would be the best candidate for the president ial election in three weeks. Would lincoln be reelected . Would mcclellan be the better choice . Which candidate would bring the end to this war . At the same time that the relaxing atmosphere was here at belle grove, the environment was completely different over at fishers hill. The air at fishers hill was probably filled with electric nervous energy. The Confederate Army of the valley was having their last meal before they would be marching through the night to surprise the camps sitting unaware here at belle grove. 150 years ago tomorrow, this landscape will erupt with the sounds of war. The sun will set tomorrow in the valley with almost 1000 men lying in these fields with tattered tents and camp supplies strewn everywhere. By tomorrow evening, the Union Soldiers will return to their camps here victorious but solemn. What took place here has changed the course of the Shenandoah Valley for the rest of the war. At this place, we find the last major battle of the valley that not only secured this corridor for the union, boosted the votes for lincolns reelection, and contributed to the beginning of the end of the war. This place here in the Shenandoah Valley has significance for our local community, the commonwealth, and the nation. Its effects are farreaching and forever remembered. To recognize the impact of the battle of cedar creek had on the commonwealth of virginia, governor mcauliffe has issued a proclamation recognizing tomorrow as the 150th anniversary. Here to read the proclamation, it is my pleasure to introduce kristin lays, the executive director of belle grove incorporated. [applause] by virtue of the Authority Vested by the constitution of virginia and the governor of the commonwealth of virginia, there is hereby officially recognized the 150th anniversary of the battle of cedar creek. Whereas the events of the civil war have left a mark on our commonwealth and whereas the events surrounding the war and the war itself led to the ultimate abolition of slavery and whereas the fertile Shenandoah Valley, the breadbasket of the confederacy witnessed repeated campaigns and battles for control over its resources and access to washington, d. C. , during the civil war, and whereas the Confederate Army of the valley under the direction of Lieutenant General jubal a early initiated a surprise attack in the Early Morning of october 19, 1864 that pushed the federal army back in defeat. And whereas Major General philip sheridans ride from to middletown to rally the army of the shenandoah cemented his status in American History as an iconic American Military general. And whereas the union army of the shenandoah launched a successful afternoon counter attack that marks the end of the confederate control of the Shenandoah Valley and whereas more than 8000 union and confederate men were killed, wounded, or captured that day and the second bloodiest battle in the Shenandoah Valley. And whereas the defeat of the confederacy and the shenandoah was a turning point that led to the preservation of our union and the beginning of the end of our nations bloodiest conflict and whereas 150 years later, virginia recognizes the significance of the battle of cedar creek and the outcome of the American Civil War, now therefore, i, terence mcauliffe, do hereby recognize october 19, 2014, as the 150th anniversary of the battle of cedar creek in our commonwealth of virginia and i call this observance to the attention of all of our citizens. [applause] thank you. Tonight, it is my distinct honor to introduce our keynote speaker. I have a long list of accolades and distinctions to read about jonathan noyales, but the first one i want to share is that he is a passionate scholar on the battle of cedar creek. He is a supporter of this park and an active participant and an active participant in sharing the history of this place. Jonathan is an assistant professor of history and the director of the center of Civil War History at Lord Fairfax Community college in middletown. He is the author or editor of a biography of Robert H Milroy and the book of the battle of cedar creek. Jonathan is active in battlefield preservation in the Shenandoah Valley and serves on the board of directors for the battlefield association. It is my honor to introduce jonathan noyales. [applause] thank you, amy, and superintendent northup. As a College Professor who has spent the past decade of my career researching and writing about commemoration here in the Shenandoah Valley, i feel a great sense of honor and humility to stand here this evening as part of a chain of commemorations that go back to the 1880s on this landscape. When veterans from the 128th new york infantry gathered on the Cedar Creek Battlefield in 1907 to dedicate their regimental monument, a monument not too far from us here, a veteran from the regiment observed, i do not believe there is a spot on this continent where more for the interest of our nation was concentrated than here at cedar creek. While some individuals might seem inclined to think that this veteran exaggerated cedar creeks place in history, one could argue that because of what was at stake for the Union War Effort in the autumn of 1864, cedar creek if but for a moment became one of the most significant places on the north american continent. Among all the battles fought in the Shenandoah Valley, nine nine achieved more significant results and had wider success than cedar creek. It finally and permanently wrested the Shenandoah Valley from confederate control. Union victory here meant that valley harvests, what was left of them after the destruction of the burning, would not be available to feed Confederate Forces operating in the old dominion. Union victory here 150 autumns ago, solidified philip sheridans emerging reputation while simultaneously helping president Abraham Lincoln secure his bid for reelection in november. The Union Success at cedar creek also proved a turning point in the civil war. As with the Shenandoah Valley secured, the region could no longer used as a diversionary theater of war for Confederate Forces. The Union Success at cedar creek meant freedom for the regions slaves a freedom that proved , uncertain due to the backandforth nature of the civil war in the Shenandoah Valley, now stood on firmer ground. Although, africanamericans would still confront obstacles in the ensuing decades to realize the promise of president Abraham Lincolns emancipation proclamation. Beyond the mountains which define the Shenandoah Valley, news of cedar creek brought hope to those in the north for ultimate Union Success or the sobering reality to individuals in the south that the confederate experiment would ultimately end in defeat. In one of his many chronicles of the American Civil War, pulitzer prizewinning historian bruce catton imagined a scene which took place on the grounds where we stand in front of the majestic house which looms behind me. Bruce catton described a scene where general sheridan after the battle of cedar creek was over, was leaning against a captured confederate cannon parked in front of belle grove. Peering into the distance at the flickering campfires of the army of the shenandoah. And catton so eloquently captured from sheridans viewpoint what victory meant to the Union War Effort. Catton wrote, the sun had gone down, the fight was over, and earlys army was wrecked for keeps. The war in the Shenandoah Valley had been one without the valley. Lees army cannot hope to hold richmond much longer. It was an omen of the final set sun set of the confederacy. While this battle with a surprise earlymorning assault of an inferior army, the arrival of sheridan astride his horse, renamed winchester after the battle, an event immortalized by poetry and art after the battle. The rallying of union forces and an afternoon counter attack drove the confederate south. Cedar creek indeed proved to be a significant turning point in the conflict, an omen of the final sunset for the confederacy. The landscape upon which this battle occurred, a landscape which witnessed 8824 men become casualties, reminds us of the very tragic nature of the American Civil War. Sometimes as we stand upon the battlefield such as this one,one one that is usually cloaked in a quietness broken only by the sounds of nature, we forget how bloody our american iliad was, a conflict that claimed the lives of three quarters of a million americans. Many of the men who sacrifice in this field had their whole lives in front of them. Lives interrupted and sadly ended during that conflict. As a College Professor, who teaches students who are the same age as many of those slain on this hollowed ground, i pause to wonder about the might have been. What might have become of the Young Division commander general Stephen Dodson 27 years old at the time of the battle, 27 years old at the time he breathed his final breath. One also wonders what might have become of the harvard educated Union ColonelCharles Russell whose name is emblazoned in harbors memorial hall. Mortally wounded, like his confederate counterpart during the battles afternoon phase. Three years after the civil war ended, the short biography of lowell is published along with 95 others in the harvard memorial biographies, a series edited by a union veteran. After its publication, the colonels widow sent a copy to a wellknown scottish intellectual thomas carlyle, a man long admired by her late husband. After carlisle received and read the essay on the colonels life he penned a note to his widow which captured the tragedy of our civil war, a tragedy was we must never forget. Carlisle penned, it would need a heart much harder than my not to recognize the high and noble spirit that dwelt in these young men, their readiness, devotedness, patience, diligence and virtue in the cause that they sought to be the highest. Alas any difference i may feel, it only deepens me to the sorrowful tragedy that each of the brief lives is. While this battlefield can be viewed as a place where a turning point in a conflict occurred, or as a tragic landscape where men with potential had their lives cut short, it is also a place that reinforces Robert E Lees axiom that it is history that teaches us to hope. Those men who fought it cedar creek in october, 1864, and survived could have never fathomed that just 19 years after the battle men who had once shot at each other would come back as part of a united country. An unbreakable nation welded together with blood and fire to remember, contemplate, and commemorate. When the members of the sheridans Veterans Association made their excursion to the Shenandoah Valley in september, 1883, the 19th anniversary of sheridans 1864 shenandoah campaign, they visited all of the battlefields of that campaign, including this one. Entertained by the owners of belle grove, the veterans visited their old battlelines, delivered remarks of commemoration and walked sidebyside with confederate veterans. Veterans who served in earlys army and veterans who called the Shenandoah Valley home. When the sheridans Veterans Association returned two years later, this time to dedicate a monument to the heroic exploits of the eighth for mont infantry, a spirit of True National healing prevailed. A spirit that did not require the veterans to forget their past, but not let the past create a stagnant present nor paralysis for the future among former foes. While that block of vermont marble was intended to commemorate the heroic exploits of the eighth vermont on the morning of october 19, a morning where the regiment lost three quarters of its men in a span of 30 minutes, it also stood as a testament to the bravery and courage and shared experience of sacrifice of its citizen soldiers. Whether they donned the blue or the grey. One vermonter noted during the dedication of the symbolic importance of this monument as a tangible testament to national healing. This monument will serve as a pillar stone which shall forever mark an era of genuine fraternal feeling between us. Let it be an everlasting covenant that we will not pass over the stone to thee. Thou shall not pass over this pillar to us for harm. Let loyalty and fraternity everywhere prevail, all the social and moral virtues have a high rating with us and the people. Then there will be ground for the hope that the future of our beloved country may be worthy of its glorious past. As we commemorate the battle of cedar creek this evening, and contemplate its many meanings, it is important to remember that this battlefield can teach us and generations that we know not not only about the civil wars most significant battle in the Shenandoah Valley, but it can instruct us on such thing as heroism, devotion to duty, the general tragedy of war, memory and forgiveness. The men who fought here, bled here, died here, and those who survived and returned after our american iliad have earned the right along with this battlefield to remembered to be remembered not only once every quarter of a century but every year. It is fitting this evening to close my remarks with the words of a veteran of the second ohio cavalry. Who fought here at cedar creek 150 years ago. For the occasion of the grand army of the republic reunion in cleveland, ohio, 37 years after this battle, he penned a poem simply entitled cedar creek. His words which cut across time offer a reminder as to why we must always continue to commemorate, preserve, and learn from this battlefield landscape. And he wrote in part, confronting each other like tigers at bay two warbattered armies lay across the Shenandoah Valley that october day these veterans were all that word can imply. As brave as the biggest of men, when they duty demanded, they dare not die they had done it again and again the