MIDDLETOWN, Va. (AP) _ More than 180 acres of the Cedar Creek Battlefield will be preserved through two recent land acquisitions. Media outlets report that the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and a coalition of community groups have acquired a conservation easement protecting 179 acres in Strasburg known as Island Farm. A Confederate division crossed the land’s southern border in a surprise attack during the Battle of Cedar Creek on Oct. 19, 1864. The Civil War Trust has acquired 6.7 acres of the battlefield north of Middletown. The land is the site of a defensive stand by Union forces during a Confederate counterattack. The land borders Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. Park ranger Eric Campbell says the trust plans to eventually transfer the land to the park.
