Quarterpath Road Marker

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Williamsburg, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Quarterpath Road
Historic Avenue
— 1862 Peninsula Campaign —

Quarterpath Road Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Bill Coughlin, August 10, 2008

1. Quarterpath Road Marker

Inscription. On the other side of the parapet is Quarterpath Road, a historic roadbed that for centuries linked Williamsburg to Allen’s Wharf on the James River. It runs behind the Confederate fortifications here, gaining additional importance during the Battle of Williamsburg.

Confederate Gen. John B. Magruder intended to use the Williamsburg Line if forced to abandon the Warwick-Yorktown Line. When Gen. Joseph E. Johnston assumed command of the Confederate forces blocking Union Gen. George B. McClellan’s advance from Fort Monroe toward Richmond, however, Johnston ignored the line and ordered a retreat up the Peninsula to the Confederate capital. On the evening of May 3, 1862, the Confederates withdrew from the Warwick-Yorktown defenses in heavy rain and on muddy roads. When McClellan realized that the fortifications had been abandoned, he sent Gen. Edwin V. Sumner in pursuit. The Confederate rear guard, Gen. James Longstreet’s division, had to slow the Federals and allow the Confederate artillery and wagon trains to advance toward Richmond.

Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry watched for pursuing Federal troops. On May 4, cavalry engagements occurred between Williamsburg and Yorktown. A Confederate later recalled, “The roads were long strings of guns, wagons, and ambulances, mixed in with infantry, artillery and cavalry, splashing

By Bill Coughlin, August 10, 2008
2. Marker in Redoubt Park

and bogging through the darkness in a river of mud, with frequent long halts when some stalled vehicles blocked the road.”

Stuart concentrated his strength on the Confederate left under Lt. Col. W.C. Wickham’s 4th Virginia Cavalry, which clashed with Union Gen. George Stoneman’s cavalry, including four batteries of horse artillery, along the Yorktown Road. Philip St. George Cooke, Stuart’s father-in-law, commanded a Federal battery. When Stoneman detached Gen. William H. Emory to cut off a portion of the Confederate cavalry, Stuart and his horsemen became separated from the Southern forces. Stuart rode along the beach on the James River and then galloped up Quarterpath Road to rejoin the Confederate army.

Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails.

Marker series. This marker is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails marker series.

Location. 37° 15.446′ N, 76° 40.988′ W. Marker is in Williamsburg, Virginia. Marker can be reached from Quarterpath Road, on the left when traveling south. Click for map. Marker is located in Redoubt Park on Quarterpath Road in Williamsburg. Marker is in this post office area: Williamsburg VA 23185, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Redoubt 1 (a few steps from this marker); Battle of Williamsburg (a few steps from this marker); Defending the Peninsula (within shouting distance of this marker); Williamsburg in the Civil War (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); History of Fort Magruder (approx. 0.4 miles away); a different marker also named Battle of Williamsburg (approx. 0.5 miles away); Peninsula Campaign (approx. 0.5 miles away); a different marker also named Quarterpath Road (approx. 0.5 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Williamsburg.

Marker with Earthworks Photo, Click for full size

By Bill Coughlin, August 10, 2008

3. Marker with Earthworks

More about this marker. The marker contains photographs of Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, courtesy of the Museum of the Confederacy, and Gen. George Stoneman, courtesy Library of Congress. The bottom left of the marker features a picture of “The Union army ‘splashing and bogging … in a river of mud’ up the Peninsula, from Official and Illustrated War Record. The bottom right features battle map showing troop positions.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Markers on the walking trail of Williamsburg’s Redoubt Park.

Also see . . .
1. Battle of Williamsburg, 5 May 1862. Williamsburg was the first large battlefield encounter between Union and Confederate forces during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. (Submitted on August 20, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)
2. The Peninsula Campaign. (Submitted on August 20, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)
3. Tidewater Virginia, The 1862 Peninsula Campaign. Civil War Traveler. (Submitted on August 20, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)

Trail through the Williamsburg Line Photo, Click for full size

By Bill Coughlin, August 10, 2008

4. Trail through the Williamsburg Line

The marker is located in the middle of Confederate fortifications of the Third Defensive Line. Quarterpath Road is located on the other side of the earthworks.

Williamsburg's Redoubt Park Photo, Click for full size

By Bill Coughlin, August 10, 2008

5. Williamsburg's Redoubt Park

This park on Quarterpath Road contains a walking path that traverses the Confederate fortifications of the "Williamsburg Line." Several Civil War Trails signs are found along the path.