#13 Winchester (03-13-15)

[St Albans Raid]

How many times did Winchester change hands during the war?

Edit - The rules of the game, as indicated in the sticky at the beginning of this forum, call for questions posted on Fridays, Saturdays, and holidays to count 2 points each, while all other questions count 10 points each.

Until I am told otherwise, I assume those scoring rules are still in effect. Therefore, question 13, which was posted on a Friday, will count 2 points for a correct answer. The same will be true for question 14, which was posted on a Saturday.

Hoosier

 

[GELongstreet]

72 times

 

[Copperhead-mi]

At least 70 times according to these 2 sources:
"Day One - Winchester, Virginia changed hands 70 times during the Civil War; 13 times in one day."
https://www.virginia.org/pressroom/civil_war_trip_ideas.asp

"Located in the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester was the most contested town in the Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861–1865), changing hands more than seventy times and earning its reputation (in the words of a British observer) as the shuttlecock of the Confederacy."
http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Winchester_During_the_Civil_War

 

[Brenal]

72

 

[FarawayFriend]

Most sources say "over 70" times, a lot of them say 72 times, among them the travel guide we used when we were there in 2013:
https://books.google.de/books?id=8b...winchester va civil war changed hands&f=false

and one source I found said even 76 times:
https://books.google.de/books?id=OD...winchester va civil war changed hands&f=false

Omitting the smallest and the biggest number, my answer is: 72 times.

 

[C.S.M 1861]

Typically this question has multiple answers: the official Winchester History site says the town changed hands "70" times: http://oldtownwinchesterva.com/about-old-town/history/

History.net has a different set of numbers: "All this action has led some local historians to claim that military control of the town switched hands nearly 100 times, though a recent tally of formal changes of possession sets the number at 14." http://www.historynet.com/wincheste...g-americas-civil-war.htm#sthash.URr53Ugj.dpuf

Ken Burns PBS famous/infamous documentary claimed that Winchester changed hands "72" times.
http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/

 

[Cumpston1862]

Most sources say 72 times

 

[Stony]

72

 

[BrrrBRRRR]

72 times

 

[chellers]

72 +/- depending on the source

 

[O' Be Joyful]

Claims of 72

 

[Rebel_Giratina]

Seventy-six times

 

[adisciu9]

At least 72 times

 

[sarladaise]

over 70 times

 

[hoosier]

Seventy-two

 

[lelliott19]

Unofficially/informally - 72 times. Formally - 14 times.

 

[Littlestown]

Depends on what source you believe. ...

"more than seventy times" http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Winchester_During_the_Civil_War

"as many as 72 times"
"changing hands dozens of times" http://www.civilwar.org/battlefield...ester-history-articles/winchesteradelman.html

military control of the town switched hands nearly 100 times, though a recent tally of formal changes of possession sets the number at 14. http://www.historynet.com/wincheste...g-americas-civil-war.htm#sthash.C2hWNXu1.dpuf

The town of Winchester, Virginia changed hands over 70 times during the Civil War. http://www.omgfacts.com/lists/5560/...hands-over-70-times-during-the-Civil-War-abf5

In her book "Defend the Valley: A Shenandoah Family in the Civil War," Margaretta Barton Colt
included a list of times the town was occupied.
It denoted 13 occupations, the shortest being Union troops' July 21-24, 1864, stay that ended when
Jubal Early drove them through Winchester during the Second Battle of Kernstown.
That's the figure preferred by Joe Whitehorne, a former Army staff historian who taught at Lord
Fairfax Community College for 21 years and a contributor to numerous books, including some on
the Civil War. http://www.shenandoahatwar.org/News-Press/How-Many-Times-Did-Winchester-Change-Hands

position taken by local historian Ben Ritter, who said he considers 72 to be the number
of times Winchester changed hands during the war. http://www.shenandoahatwar.org/News-Press/How-Many-Times-Did-Winchester-Change-Hands

While a considerable gap is evident between Colt's representation of 13 occupations of Winchester
and Chase's chronicle of 72 control shifts, some accounts provide a greater number.
The online archives of The New York Times contain a list of federal and Confederate occupations
that the newspaper published on Sept. 17, 1865, under the headline "A Town Well Occupied:
Three years' Experience of Winchester, Va."
Union troops occupied the town 48 times, it stated, and Confederates controlled it 27 times. It was
occupied by both sides in one day during a battle, making a final total of 76 occupations. http://www.shenandoahatwar.org/News-Press/How-Many-Times-Did-Winchester-Change-Hands

The diaries of Chase and Kate Sperry were used in creating the list, but Mary Greenhow Lee's
diary was his primary source. Delauter said he thinks more than one source is needed "to see what
really happened."
He highlighted events that accounted for a changing of hands and came up with 96 times (though
97 are marked with an asterisk denoting such an occurrence) even as he said the true number
might exceed 100. http://www.shenandoahatwar.org/News-Press/How-Many-Times-Did-Winchester-Change-Hands


I've spent over an hour and a half reading resources to answer this question and have come up with multiple answers anywhere from 13 to over 100 times.

 

[Seduzal]

Trick question, some sources said: over 70 times, others 72 to 100 times.

But I'll go with over 70 times.

 

[Northern Light]

as many as 72 times

 

[ErnieMac]

72.