VA ECW - Winchester's Cemeteries

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ECW Weekender: Winchester’s Cemeteries

Posted on September 20, 2019 by Emerging Civil War


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Winchester—an important city in the lower Shenandoah Valley—had been a region hub prior to the Civil War. During the conflict, it changed hands over seventy times, and three significant battles took place on the outskirts of town, including Third Winchester, on September 19, 1864.

The war took its toll on the community. Men and boys died in Confederate ranks, sometimes in their own hometown. The women and girls who remained in the town struggled to survive occupations and the resentment that resulted from their experiences. Due to its significant strategic location, the city was spared a major fire or destruction; both sides used Winchester as a hospital town, regularly taking over civic or religious buildings and sometimes private homes.

Sick and injured on Winchester’s battlegrounds or in hospitals died, creating a massive casualty difficulty for the community. Eventually in the post-war era, the Civil War dead buried the Winchester area were moved to two major locations: Winchester National Cemetery or Mount Hebron Cemetery. The National Cemetery honored the fallen Federal soldiers while the Confederates found a final resting place across the street in “Stonewall” Cemetery, a division of the large local cemetery, Mount Hebron Cemetery.
 
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