History of Winchester, VA

town served as a central point for troops' conducting major raids against the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and turnpike and telegraph paths along those routes and the Potomac River Valley. For instance, in 1861, Stonewall Jackson removed 56 locomotives and over 300 railroad cars, along with miles of track, from the B&O Railroad. His attack closed down the B&O's main line for ten months. Much of the effort to transport this equipment by horse and carriage centered in Winchester.

During the war, Winchester was occupied by the Union Army for four major periods:

Major General Nathaniel Banks – (March May 12 to 25, 1862, and June 4 to September 2, 1862)

Major General Robert Milroy – (December 24, 1862, to June 15, 1863)

Major General Philip Sheridan – (September 19, 1864, to February 27, 1865)

Major General Winfield Scott Hancock – February 27, 1865, to June 27, 1865

Major General Sheridan raided up the Valley from Winchester, where his forces destroyed "2,000 barns filled with grain and implements, not to mention other outbuildings, 70 mills filled with wheat and flour" and "numerous head of livestock," to lessen the area's ability to supply the Confederates.

Numerous local men served with the Confederate Army, mostly as troops. Dr. Hunter McGuire was Chief Surgeon of the Second "Jackson's" Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. He laid the foundations for the future Geneva conventions regarding the treatment of medical doctors during warfare. Winchester served as a major center for Confederate medical operations, particularly after the Battle of Sharpsburg in 1862 and the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

Among those who took part in battles at