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H-NET BOOK REVIEW
Published by [log in to unmask] (March, 2008)

Richard R. Duncan. _Beleaguered Winchester: A Virginia Community at War,
1861-1865_. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2007. xix +
380 pp. Illustrations, bibliography, index. $40.00 (cloth), ISBN
978-0-8071-3217-3.

Reviewed for H-CivWar by Gregory Robert Jones, Department of History,
Kent State University

Playing Both Sides of the Civil War

While most of the United States and the Confederacy experienced directly
the effects of the Civil War, citizens of Winchester, Virginia,
certainly shouldered more than their share of the pain of war. Located
in the heart of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, Winchester was "the key"
that could unlock the abundant resources of the region (p. xiii). Both
Union and Confederate armies sought the town and surrounding countryside
to supply their troops and, in turn, inhibit the enemy. As a result,
possession of the town changed hands an estimated seventy-two times, and
the townspeople were left with confusingly divided loyalties and
struggled for their survival.

Richard R. Duncan's book _Beleaguered Winchester_ explains the trauma
and turmoil that the residents endured. Duncan elucidates that when the
war initially broke out the people of the town supported the
Confederacy. As Southerners and Virginians, residents of Winchester
fought to resist any Union invasion. However, as the war continued and
threats to survival became more imminent, the people of Winchester found
themselves siding with the occupying force, whether Union or
Confederate.

Duncan utilizes a chronological approach, explaining developments in
Winchester's existence throughout the course of the war. This structure
illuminates the intriguing ebb and flow of the residents' attitudes
regarding the Union. While Southerners living in Winchester were always
Virginians and during the war Confederates, they began to understand the
Union army. Duncan explains relationships that developed between the
townspeople, particularly young ladies, and Union officers. By late 1864
and early 1865, both sides had seen enough of the war and were ready to
carry on with life. Beyond that, the destruction had run rampant with
the Union army's "hard war" policy, and necessity dictated that the
hostilities cease.

The underlying themes of Winchester were location and loyalty. While
located in Virginia and the agricultural heart of the Shenandoah Valley,
there were also difficulties with nearby West Virginia, which split off
in 1863. With its location in northern Virginia, Winchester was, from
the perspective of Union officers, "the key that unlocked the door to
Richmond" (p. 43). Although the politics of the town were quite divided,
their loyalties in military service were resolute. Duncan reports that
Frederick County contributed more than 50 percent of its eligible men to
serve in the Confederate army. While there were some in the region who
remained loyal to the Union, many residents of Winchester fervently
fought with Virginia.

The people of Winchester grew to accept occupying forces. First occupied
by the Union army, then frequently changing hands throughout the war,
the people began supporting "both sides" of the conflict to survive. The
Union army's initial plan was one of conciliation. The U.S. government
did not intend to subjugate Southern people, especially because many
government officials, such as President Abraham Lincoln, insisted that
the vast majority of the Southern populace did not even want this
rebellion. However, as the war increased in intensity, Union Generals
Robert Milroy, Franz Sigel, and eventually Phillip Sheridan, who all
served in the Winchester area, realized that the common people of the
Confederacy were helping supply Confederate armies. Because of their
support of the armies, the Confederate citizenry became military
targets. This introduced the 1864 "hard war" policy, which struck
Winchester, along with much of the South, quite severely.

Occupying forces brought with them considerable extra burdens as well.
When Confederate armies came into Winchester, the citizenry readily
supplied soldiers with food. However, when the federal army occupied the
town, their soldiers raided and stole food from homes. Officers, who
made their rank and status quite obvious, often paid a fair price for
food and services provided by the people, but the citizens were left
with no food or supplies. Late in the war when Sheridan brought the
Union "hard war" policy to the region, wanton slaughter of animals and
resources grew widespread.

Duncan also accents the importance of Winchester as a hospital town.
With battles nearby, such as those at Antietam, Gettysburg, Cedar Creek,
and Winchester itself, the town became burdened with numerous
Confederate and Union wounded. Not only did these men require food and
supplies, but they also needed care from local nurses and doctors. Chaos
struck Winchester severely following the Gettysburg campaign. Conditions
in the town deteriorated rapidly, and the dust was so thick that the
sick and wounded were moved to nearby Jordan Springs for recovery.

More than a chronicle of the war's events and their impact on
Winchester, Duncan's work portrays a town entrenched in the ugliness of
war. Not only did they shoulder the responsibility of contributing
troops to the war effort, but the common people on the home front also
bore a considerable hardship serving in hospitals, maintaining farms,
and sustaining the Confederate war effort. While the story itself is a
bit confusing and muddled with the politics of northern Virginia, Civil
War scholars cannot ignore the underlying importance of the town and its
people. This saga of Winchester could not be told without including the
complex political situation that helped fuel the war.

This book highlights the significant contributions made by the people of
Winchester as much, if not more, than it details the hard fighting over
the town. Rather than dwelling on the trivial fact that it was the most
captured town in the Civil War, Duncan examines the intricacies of
Winchester's contributions as a Confederate town, including the
important Unionists who further complicated local politics. Winchester,
in many ways, serves as a microcosm of the war itself, showing that many
times the issues were more complex than slavery or states rights. As
_Beleaguered Winchester_ demonstrates, often geography and outside
influences directed the decisions of a people far more than their own
desires.

Duncan's study helps historians better understand northern Virginia,
Appalachia, and the bitterly contested Valley Campaign. Duncan adeptly
interweaves context of the greater war and its impact on civilians, all
while explaining significant local events. Including research conducted
by historians like Michael Fellman, Noel Fischer, and Mark Grimsley, the
author carefully situates this story of Winchester into an
ever-expanding compilation of Civil War historiography. Duncan shows
that Winchester was a town of consequence, whose people experienced
firsthand the reality of "hard war" and the transformation of the Civil
War from a policy of conciliation to total war.


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