CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Congressman Riley Moore believes that legislation to expand the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District will help preserve integral pieces of West Virginia’s history.
Moore, R-W.Va., recently announced plans to introduce the Shenandoah Valley Access, Legacy, and Outdoor Recreation Act — known as the Shenandoah VALOR Act — to Congress. It would add West Virginia’s Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan counties, along with Virginia’s Rockbridge County, to the historic district.
Moore said on MetroNews “Talkline” last week that it makes “all the sense in the world” to protect historic Civil War battlefields in the region.
“We’ve seen massive amounts of economic activity that come from National Historic Districts,” Moore said. “Attracting millions of visitors each year, roughly, right now, creating almost $300 million in economic impact, 4,000 jobs, $20 million, give or take, in tax revenue within that historic district.”
There are two historic battlefields in the Mountain State that the bill focuses on, Moore explained, one in Jefferson and another in Berkeley County.
“Battle of Shepardstown, obviously that’s in Jefferson County, and the Battle of Hoke’s Run, which is in Berkeley County; Falling Waters,” Moore said. “This dovetails perfectly into that Shenandoah district that already exists in Virginia.”
Moore cited bipartisan support on the bill. He said that the entire delegation from both Virginia and West Virginia are on board. Additionally, a U.S. Senate companion bill introduced earlier this summer by U.S. Senator Jim Justice has similar support from both sides of the political aisle, Moore said.
“To me, this just makes all the sense in the world for us to preserve our history, and our history is worth preserving,” Moore said. “Were it not for the Civil War, the state of West Virginia would not exist, in fact. These are things that, not only preserving our state’s history but our nation’s history, but will also be an economic driver in bringing more people to the Eastern Panhandle.”
While the battlefields aren’t in a ‘state of emergency’ in terms of disrepair, Moore said they certainly need some work. That’s where the Shenandoah VALOR Act comes in.
“This legislation will really help and bring federal funds to be able to bear to this,” Moore said. “The legislation is also going to authorize annual funding for grants and land acquisition through the year 2033, and those funds will give the district the resources they really need to be able to grow and do the preservation work that we’re talking about here.”
Moore said that tourism dollars will be impacted positively by this bill, were it to pass. He said there is such rich history with the Shepardstown and Hoke’s Run skirmish; history worth preserving. Moore said the Battle of Shepardstown happened “just down the road” from the Battle of Antietem. That struggle, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, claimed more than 22,000 lives on September 17, 1862.
Moore considers the Battle of Shepardstown “an extension” of that struggle. He noted that Shepardstown had a hospital for the Confederate forces. Without preserving Shepardstown, Moore said, you can’t properly tell the history of the battle. He added that the same is true with Hoke’s Run.
“All of the famous folks that you think about were there,” Moore said. “Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee. By the way, the Battle of Hoke’s Run, Stonewall Jackson is there as well, but he’s not a general at that time. It predates all of this, he is a colonel at that time.”
The Battle of Hoke’s Run, Moore said, was an early struggle in the Civil War. While it doesn’t get the attention it should, he said, the preservation would boost awareness of its role in history. He said all in all, it’s going to drive tourism and economic dollars to tell the full story.
The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and local partners would be able to develop trails, signage, tours and events at those sites if the bill becomes law.