Last week we did a broad-based trip to the Shenandoah Valley, based in Staunton, the birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson. We stayed, not surprisingly, in the Stonewall Jackson Hotel, which is next door to the Blackfriars Theater, a year-round Shakespeare playhouse. Key stops were the Battle of Port Republic, where Jackson had his final triumph against Fremont’s forces in 1862 and the Virginia Museum of the Civil War. The latter celebrates (venerates!?) the contributions of the VMI cadets who helped defeat Sigel in the 1864 campaign. (Sigel helped by enhancing here his well-deserved reputation as one of the very worst Union generals).
GENE SCHMIEL, CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN, AUTHOR, AND LECTURER 