Cool Spring Battlefield

Cool Spring Battlefield occupies roughly three miles of the Shenandoah River valley in northeastern Clarke County, Virginia. The district takes in the ground fought over on July 16-20, 1864, including river bottomland, terraces, limestone ridges, ravines and the gap at Snickers Gap. The fighting took place on two plantations: Cool Spring, on the west bank, and Retreat, on the east. The landscape shaped the engagement. Ravines hid massed Confederate troops from Union view and artillery, while a limestone bluff gave retreating skirmishers a defensible line. The district also holds archaeological sites and mid-19th-century buildings from the plantations, farms, roads, mining and milling that supported the local wheat economy. The battle was part of the campaign that followed Jubal Early's advance to the edge of Washington. The district is recognized for its military history, and its preserved terrain and remains make it possible to reconstruct and interpret the battle.