Battle of Third Winchester and Fisher’s Hill

160th Anniversary Commemorative Programs

September 20th and 21st

On September 20th and 21st, the Battlefields Foundation will be hosting a conference and programs commemorating the 160th anniversary of the battles of Third Winchester and Fisher’s Hill. The conference will take place on Friday at the George Washington Hotel. On Saturday, ranger programs will be held at various places from the James R. Wilkins Winchester Battlefields Visitor Center, the Third Winchester Battlefield Park, and Fisher’s Hill Battlefield. The rangers programs are free, but the conference will require registration.

Schedule of Activities

160th Anniversary Conference

Friday, September 20th at the George Washington Hotel

103 E. Piccadilly Street, Winchester VA 22601

Registration for Members is $35, Non-Members $40

8:00am - Check in opens

9:00am - Phillip Greenwalt "If this Valley is Lost...": Shenandoah Campaign of 1864

Phillip is a full-time contributor to Emerging Civil War and co-founder of Emerging Revolutionary War. He is the author or co-author of six books on the American Civil War and American Revolutionary Wars. He has worked for the National Park Service for the last 16 years at multiple historic and natural sites and is currently on a detail as the supervisory park ranger and trail manager of the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail. He is an active member and contract historian with the American Battlefield Trust and Civil War Trails. He resides in Frederick, Maryland where he roots on the Baltimore Orioles, the best baseball team in the land.

10:15am - Caroline Janney “1864: John S. Mosby’s Rise to Fame – or Infamy?”

Caroline is the John L. Nau III Professor of the American Civil War and Director of the John L. Nau Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia. A graduate of the University of Virginia, she worked as a historian for the National Park Service and taught at Purdue University before returning to UVA in 2018.  An active public lecturer, she has given presentations at locations across the globe. She is the past president of the Society of Civil War Historians and a series editor for the University of North Carolina Press’s Civil War America series. She has published eight books, including Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation (2013) and Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army after Appomattox (2021) winner of the 2022 Lincoln Prize.

11:15am - Jeffry Wert "The hardest stand-up, all-day fight": The Third Battle of Winchester

Jeffry is the award-winning author of ten books on Civil War topics, including: From Winchester to Cedar Creek, Gettysburg, Day Three, Cavalryman of the Lost Cause; and his latest, the critically acclaimed, The Heart of Hell. His articles and essays on the Civil War have appeared in many publications, including Civil War News, Civil War Times Illustrated, American History Illustrated, and Blue and Gray. Wert has appeared several times on C-SPAN and has appeared in numerous film documentaries about the Civil War.  Jeff Wert's interest in history first began after an eighth grade school field trip to the Gettysburg battlefield. After high school he graduated cum laude with a B.A. from Lock Haven University, and a M.A. from The Pennsylvania State University, both in History. He worked for many years as a history teacher at Penns Valley Area High School in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania.

12:00 - Lunch

1:30pm - Jonathan Noyalas "It Looks... Now as Though the Rebellion is Caving In": The Meaning & Legacy of the Battle of Fisher's Hill

Jonathan is a history professor at Shenandoah University and director of SU's McCormick Civil War Institute. He is the author or editor of sixteen books, including The Battle of Fisher's Hill: Breaking the Shenandoah Valley's Gibraltar. Noyalas has published more than 100 articles, essays, chapters, and reviews for a variety of scholarly and popular publications including Civil War History, Civil War Times, and America's Civil War. He has appeared on C-SPAN's American History TV, NPR's "With Good Reason," and PCN. In addition to teaching and writing Noyalas has consulted on a variety of public history projects for organizations such as the National Park Service, Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, and American Battlefield Trust. Noyalas is the recipient of numerous awards for his teaching and scholarship including Shenandoah University's Exemplary Teaching Award for the first-year seminar, the University's Wilkins Award, and the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia's Outstanding Faculty Award. Noyalas's next book, General Philip H. Sheridan: History, War, and Memory is under contract with Routledge.

2:30pm - Jon Tracey "Winchester National Cemetery and Interments Associated with Third Winchester and Fisher's Hill."

Jon is a public historian focused on soldier experience, memory, and veteran life in the Civil War era. He holds a BA in History from Gettysburg College and an MA from West Virginia University in Public History. Jon has extensive experience preserving and interpreting historic sites and is a published author and editor. Most of his recent research focuses on the way Americans chose to remember and commemorate the war. He is currently the Historian/Cultural Resource Program Manager at Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, a National Park Service site in the Shenandoah Valley.

3:30pm - Jeff Chamberlin "The Opequon Battlefield: Images Then and Now"

Jeff is an 8th generation Frederick County native. He was raised in a history appreciating household with a father that had his masters in U.S. history and studied under Dr. Bushong. Jeff holds degrees from Virginia Tech ('87) and James Madison University ('98). Primarily a local historian of Frederick Co., his research is focused on 18th & 19th century lower Valley Wheat economy. He is currently a surveyor for a local engineering company.

Registration for Members is $35, Non-Members $40

Register via the links below or call our office at 540-740-4545

160th Anniversary Programs

Saturday, September 21st

10:00am - Road to Battle led by Ranger Aaron Siever

James R. Wilkins Winchester Battlefields Visitor Center

 541 Redbud Road, Winchester, VA 22603

11:00am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm - Cannon and Musket Firing Demonstration

James R. Wilkins Winchester Battlefields Visitor Center

541 Redbud Road, Winchester, VA 22603

11:00am to 3:00pm - Youth Interactive Civil War Experience

James R. Wilkins Winchester Battlefields Visitor Center

541 Redbud Road, Winchester, VA 22603

11:30am – Battle Walk - Fighting in the Middle Field led by Ranger Jack Owens

 253 Averell Avenue, Winchester, VA 22603

1:30pm – Battle Walk - Action on the Huntsberry Farm led by Ranger Michael Gionfriddo

Follow signage from the Visitor Center

3:30pm – “Sad havoc in our ranks”: Human Interest Stories at Third Winchester with Nick Picerno

James R. Wilkins Winchester Battlefields Visitor Center

541 Redbud Road, Winchester, VA 22603

6:00pm – Overview of the Battle of Fisher’s Hill led by Ranger Jack Owens

2952 Battlefield Road, Strasburg, VA 22657

6:30pm – Cannon Firing Demonstration

2952 Battlefield Road, Strasburg VA 22657