As a gateway to the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester and Frederick County became a battleground from the very beginning of the Civil War.  The number of times the town changed hands during the war-perhaps more than 72 times-is today a matter of local pride. Five major battles took place here, including First Kernstown, the only command defeat of Stonewall Jackson's career, and Third Winchester, where 55,000 Americans fought one another in the largest battle west of the Blue Ridge.

Experiencing the Story Today
Today, vestiges of the war remain. The voices of wounded and captured soldiers echo through the county courthouse where their graffiti is still visible. The courthouse is now a museum open to the public, as is the house that served as Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters the winter before his famous 1862 Valley Campaign.  Visitors can walk the battlefields at Kernstown and Second and Third Winchester. Scattered throughout the region are the stories of the war's effect on the Valley's civilian population-how these families survived the personal and economic devastation that war brought.

Civil War Weekend offers rare opportunities to see many of these sites as they may have looked at the time of the war. Civil War sites throughout Winchester and Frederick County will provide unique opportunities to experience this story. From military, civilian, and medical living history demonstrations, to a theatrical production and a conversation with "Stonewall" Jackson, to battlefield and cemetery tours - including the first free tour of newly preserved battlefield lands - Winchester and Frederick County's Civil War story will come to life in unforgettable ways.

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