Aug. 9, 1862, was a hot and dusty day, a grueling time to be marching into war. Confederate soldiers struggling through the blistering heat on their way from Gordonsville that day were about to engage in a battle that would go down as the deadliest in Culpeper County history. The Battle of Cedar Mountain, the only time Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson is known to have drawn his sword in combat, is approaching its 143rd anniversary, and the fledgling preservationist group Friends of the Cedar Mountain Battlefield has planned a weekend of activities to commemorate the event. The group, in partnership...