Daniel Bowman Mill at Silver Lake

Daniel Bowman Mill at Silver Lake (HMV1A)

Location: Dayton, VA 22821 Rockingham County
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 25.294', W 78° 56.457'

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Inscription

Shenandoah Valley Mills

During the Civil War, the Daniel Bowman Mill occupied this site, grinding wheat brought here by Rockingham County farmers. The county was part of the prosperous agricultural region known as the "breadbasket of the Confederacy." It was no accident that the reaper was perfected in the Shenandoah Valley or that the largest flourmills in the world were constructed in Richmond to process Valley wheat harvests. The Shenandoah Valley's agricultural success brought devastation to the region, however, in the fall of 1864. Union Gen. Philip H. Sheridan understood that the bounty of the Shenandoah Valley was a major source of life for the Confederacy. He convinced Gen. Ulysses S. Grant that neutralizing the Valley was an important military expedient.

Sheridan ordered his men to burn only barns and mills that contained grain or forage. Those that were empty were to be left alone, and those belonging to widows, single women, or orphans were to be spared. Between September 26 and October 8, Union soldiers destroyed barns, mills, and crops in the fields. Thousands of head of livestock were either slaughtered or driven away. Tanneries, woolen factories, sawmills, furnaces , and foundries were leveled. In Rockingham County, one of the ten most prosperous agricultural counties in America before the war, 35 mills were destroyed during this dark period including the Daniel Bowman Mill.
Details
HM NumberHMV1A
Series This marker is part of the Virginia Civil War Trails series
Tags
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Placed ByShenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation & Virginia Civil War Trails
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, October 18th, 2014 at 7:40am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17S E 679748 N 4254598
Decimal Degrees38.42156667, -78.94095000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 25.294', W 78° 56.457'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 25' 17.64" N, 78° 56' 27.42" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)540
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 4229-4683 VA-735, Dayton VA 22821, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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