| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester — Q 10A — Cappahosic |
| | Seven and one-half miles southwest is Cappahosic, where a ferry was established early in the eighteenth century. On the old charts, this indian district lay between Werowocomoco and Timberneck Creek. Powhatan is said to have offered it to Capt. John Smith for "two great guns and a grindstone". John Stubbs patented the Cappahosic Tract in 1652 and 1702 and a few years later built "Cappahosic House", which has clipped gables and inside chimneys with eight unique corner fireplaces. — Map (db m7518) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester — Court House |
| | County of Gloucester, VA. Re-erected 1766 on site of building destroyed by fire. Restored, remodeled and clerks office building added 1956.
Carl M. Lindner & Son A.I.A. Architects, Richmond, Virginia Wray & Richardson, General Contractors, Williamsburg, Virginia — Map (db m7524) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester — 1-NA — Gloucester Courthouse |
| | The courthouse was built in 1766. The debtors prison is also old. A skirmish occurred near here between Confederate and Union cavalry, January 29, 1864. — Map (db m7520) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester — In Memoriam John Clayton — 1685 - 1773 |
| | The Garden club, Gloucester, VA, planted a live oak tree, April 2, 1957 near old clerk's office on Court Green in honor of the internationally revered botanist and for 51 years, 1722-1773, Clerk of Gloucester County, VA. Scientiae Artis Herbariae Ac Rebus Civilibus Rei Publicae Semper Fidelis — Map (db m7525) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester — Indian Princess Pocahontas — 1595 - 1616 |
| | of Weromocomoco Wicomico Gloucester County Virginia
Sculpture by Adolf Sehring A.D.1994 — Map (db m7521) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester — N 66 — Marlfield |
| | A mile and a half west is the site of Marlfield, an eighteenth-century dwelling built by the Buckner family. It was purchased in 1782 by William Jones, who gave the house its name. Jones was among the first Virginia planters to use marl in his agricultural practices. His descendants sold Marlfield in 1906 but retained ownership of the nearby family cemetery. Marlfield had fallen into ruins by the mid-twentieth century. — Map (db m7515) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester — Pvt. James Daniel Gardner — Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient |
| | 36th U.S. Colored Troops Sept. 16, 1839 - Sept. 29, 1905 Served during the Civil War as a private in Company 1, 36th United States Colored Troops. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Battle of Chapins Farm, Virginia on September 29, 1864. — Map (db m7522) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester — NW 11 — Thomas Calhoun Walker — (1862 - 1953) |
| | Here lived Thomas Calhoun Walker, the first black to practice law in Gloucester County and a civil rights spokesman who vigorously advocated education and land ownership for blacks. Mr. Walker was elected for tow terms to Gloucester's Board of Supervisors, serving from 1891 to 1895. President William McKinley appointed him the Commonwealth's first black collector of customs in 1893. He became the only black to hold statewide office in President Roosevelt's Works Project Administration when he . . . — Map (db m7582) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester — To the Confederate Dead of Gloucester |
| | Erected by their surviving comrades and friends. Plant the fair column o'er the vacant grave, a soldier;s honors let a soldier have. 1889 — Map (db m7527) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — A Vital British Outpost at Gloucester Point |
| | “They have one or two little works to preserve a communication with the Country.” American General Anthony Wayne describes the British defenses at Gloucester Point, 1781
In 1781, large armies and important events came to Gloucester Point and to Yorktown across the river. An 8,300 man British army, commanded by General Charles Lord Cornwallis, marched to the Virginia coast to establish a naval base. A French battle fleet, allies of the Americans, beat British ships . . . — Map (db m18704) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — After the Surrender at Yorktown |
| | Near this place on October 19, 1781, a surrender occurred one hour after the Surrender at Yorktown. The British troops under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton surrendered to the French Brigadier General M. de Choisy, Commander of the French and American forces, thus ending British rule in America. — Map (db m18697) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — Attacking with “Decisive Vigor” — The Battle of the Hook |
| | “…the Cavalry…has attaqued them, pierced through and…have had a great advantage of them.” Duc de Choisy to George Washington, October 3, 1781
One of the largest cavalry battles of the Revolution was fought a few miles north of Gloucester Point. The Battle of the Hook set the stage for the American victory at Yorktown.
The bottled-up British needed food. General Cornwallis instructed Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Dundas to lead a foraging party out of the Gloucester . . . — Map (db m18706) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — Classic Camp Life — The Union Army Occupies Gloucester Point |
| | “The name of our Fort is Fort Keyes, and it is strongly fortified. There is about 2000 men on this side of the [York] river and 2 batterys…” Private Stephen T. Buckson, 4th Delaware infantry Regiment, March 16, 1863, at Gloucester Point
The Union army fought its way up the York River, only to lose the hard fought Seven Days Battles around Richmond in June and July of 1862. The Union army left behind a large force that strengthened the defenses around Yorktown. That force . . . — Map (db m18745) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — NW 10 — Early Land Patent |
| | Argoll Yeardley patented 4000 acres of land, known as Tyndall's Neck, here on the north side of Charles (now York) River, October 12, 1640. This was one of the first land patents north of the York River. — Map (db m18649) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — Gloucester Point — Ancient Defender of the York — 1862 Peninsula Campaign |
| | The earthworks before you are the remains of the star-shaped “covering work” that helped to defend the York River against Union attack from 1861 to 1862. Tyndall’s (Gloucester) Point was first fortified in 1667 and was officially named Fort James when it was rebuilt with brick in 1671. The narrowing of the river between Yorktown and Gloucester Point provided a good defensive position to effect control of the upper reaches of the York River and the inland countryside. These . . . — Map (db m18642) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — NA 9 — Gloucester Point |
| | Known first as Tyndall's Point. The colonists built a fort here in 1667. In 1676 Bacon led his rebels across the river here. Tarleton and Dundas occupied the place in October, 1781, in the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis planned to break through the blockade here, but a storm kept him from crossing the river. The point was fortified by the Confederates in 1861 and occupied by Union troops in 1862. — Map (db m18643) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — Gloucester Point — The 1781 Siege of Yorktown |
| | “The works on the Gloucester side are in some forwardness, and I hope a situation to resist a sudden attack.” General Charles Lord Cornwallis to General Sir Henry Clinton, August 12, 1781.
While the earthworks in front of you date to the Civil War, during the 1781 Siege of Yorktown, the British also constructed extensive fortifications in this area. The narrow gap in the York River between Yorktown and Gloucester Point necessitated fortifications and artillery batteries . . . — Map (db m18695) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — Natives, Explorers, Tobacco and Buccaneers — The Early History of Gloucester Point |
| | “I made a draughte of our river…by us discovered.” Robert Tyndall to Henry, Prince of Wales
In 1600, this tidewater land was part of a vast American Indian empire ruled by the Powhatan nation. English mariner and mapmaker Robert Tyndall found a narrow entrance to the York River in 1608. He was exploring the new Virginia Colony with John Smith and Christopher Newport. Tyndall sent a map back to England, calling these narrows “Tendales fronte.” John Smith . . . — Map (db m18703) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — On to Richmond! — McClellan Invades the Virginia Tidewater |
| | “It is indispensable to you that you strike a blow...you must act.” President Abraham Lincoln to General George B. McClellan, April 6, 1862
The York River Confederate defenses were tested early in the Civil War. A large Union force, the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George B. McClellan, steamed down the Chesapeake Bay from Washington D.C. in March, 1862. McClellan, called “Little Mac” by his adoring troops, intended to use the York and James . . . — Map (db m18735) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — Still Defending Virginia’s Shores — Gloucester Point Today |
| | “Seeking knowledge and solutions through coastal marine science.” Mission of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science
When Robert Tyndall sailed past Gloucester Point in 1608, the York River and the Chesapeake Bay were unspoiled worlds. His fellow explorer, John Smith, boasted that Virginia was a “fruitful and delightsome land.” Four centuries later, both men would find a much changed tidewater region.
Large populations and pollution are the new enemies . . . — Map (db m18746) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — 7-NA — Tarleton's Last Fight |
| | Here, at the Hook, Tarleton, commanding the cavalry of Cornwallis's army, fought an action with Choisy's French force and Virginia militia, October 3, 1781. The Duke de Lauzun's cavalry charged Tarleton, who retired to Gloucester Point. There he was blockaded by the French and by Virginia militia. — Map (db m7584) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — The British Safety Valve — An Attempted Escape from Gloucester Point |
| | “Thus expired the last hope of the British army.” Colonel Banastre Tarleton
On the night of October 16, 1871, after almost three weeks of the American-French siege, the British defenses at Yorktown were crumbling. In a last ditch effort to save his army, General Cornwallis decided on a desperate plan. He would have most of his army row across the river and escape northward through the 2,900 American and French soldiers besieging the Point.
After midnight, the . . . — Map (db m18725) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — Welcome to Gloucester Point — A Point for the Defense |
| | You are standing at the entrance to Tyndall’s Point Park. These protected remains of a Civil War fort survive to help take us back into the history of Gloucester Point. Nearby, you will find signs and brochures explaining events that occurred here during the American Revolution and the Civil War. You can also explore the eight-sign Point Walk ahead, strolling through 400 years of history.
English settlers, redcoat and patriot armies, and blue and gray citizen soldiers have defended and . . . — Map (db m18698) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Gloucester Point — Where North Meets South — Virginia Fortifies Gloucester Point |
| | “Just throw three or four shells among those blue-bellied Yankees and they’ll scatter like sheep.” Bravado from a North Carolina Confederate in May, 1861
Eighty years after the decisive events at Yorktown, a major war again came to Gloucester Point. This time it was a civil war. As Virginia joined the Confederacy in April, 1861, its leaders were soon defending the Chesapeake tidewater. Within days, the first shots of the war in Virginia were fired at Gloucester Point by . . . — Map (db m18731) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Saluda — 99-Z — Middlesex County / Gloucester County — Area 146 Square Miles /Area 223 Square Miles |
| | Middlesex side:
Formed in 1673 from Lancaster, and named for an English County. Rosegill, frequented by colonial governors, is here.
Gloucester side:
Formed in 1651 from York, and named for Gloucester County, England, Bacon, the rebel, died in this county, 1676. Gloucester Point was the outpost of Cornwallis at Yorktown, 1781. — Map (db m7414) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), Signpine — N-61 — Poplar Spring Church |
| | This is the site of Poplar Spring Church of Petsworth Parish. In 1694, Old Petsworth Church was abandoned in favor of this church. It was considered the finest church of colonial virginia. In 1676, the followers of Bacon, the Rebel, interred here a casket supposed to contain his remains, but in reality filled with stones. The body was buried secretly. — Map (db m2974) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), White Marsh — NW5 — Abingdon Church |
| | This is the Third Church of Abingdon Parish and was erected in 1755 on the site of an earlier one. The parish, established between 1650 and 1655, had its first church near the river. — Map (db m2961) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), White Marsh — NW-6 — Dr. Walter Reed’s Birthplace |
| | Dr. Walter Reed, U.S. Army medical officer and bacteriologist, was born on 13 Sept. 1851 in a nearby cottage at Belroi. He received medical degrees from the University of Virginia medical school and Bellevue Hospital College in New York City. In 1875 he joined the U.S. Army Medical Department. By 1890 Reed was spending most of his time conducting medical research. During the Spanish-American War, Reed served on the Typhoid Board that studied this disease. He was appointed in 1900 to head the . . . — Map (db m2967) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), White Marsh — NW-22 — Fairfield |
| | Two miles west stood Fairfield, also called Carter’s Creek plantation, one of the most distinguished of Virginia's early brick homes. Built about 1694 for Lewis Burwell(ca.1651–1710), the house was a grand T-shaped structure, with distinctive double and triple diagonally set chimney stacks joined at the caps, two separate vaulted cellars, and a large ballroom. The plantation also included a large formal garden, slave quarters, and other buildings necessary to operate a large plantation. . . . — Map (db m2972) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), White Marsh — NW-12 — Robert Russa Moton |
| | Robert Russa Moton was born in Amelia County, Virginia, on 26 August 1867, and was educated in a local freeman’s school and at Hampton Institute(now Hampton University). He served as an administrator at the institute from 1890 to 1915, when he succeeded Booker T. Washington as president of Tuskegee Institute. There Moton led the school to full collegiate accreditation. An advisor to five U.S. presidents and a founder of the Urban League, he retired to Holly Knoll(10 miles northwest) in 1935. . . . — Map (db m5592) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), White Marsh — NW-14 — Rosewell |
| | Three miles west, on Carter’s Creek, stand the ruins of Rosewell, a grand mansion with the finest brickwork in the English colonies. Begun in 1725 by Mann Page I, and home to the Page family for more than one hundred years, Rosewell stood three stories tall. It was crowned with a parapet and twin octagonal cupolas and had two flanking dependencies on the north front that formed a forecourt. Rosewell contained fine paneling and wood carving. In 1916, fire swept the mansion, leaving a magnificent . . . — Map (db m2973) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), White Marsh — NW-8, NA-8 — Rosewell and Werowocomoco |
| | Several miles west is Rosewell, built about 1750, home of the Page family, and the largest of Colonial Virginia houses. On York River, probably at Puritan Bay some miles west of Rosewell, was werowocomoco, Chief town of the Indian ruler Powhatan in 1607. — Map (db m2970) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), White Marsh — NW-13 — United Negro College Fund |
| | Dr. Frederick D. Patterson founded the United Negro College Fund in 1944. He and the presidents of the member colleges of the Fund began meeting in 1946 at Holly Knoll, the retirement home of the late Robert Russa Moton. Patterson had established Holly Knoll Associates in 1945 to serve as a conference center for black educators. Their meetings contributed to the growth and reputation of the United Negro College Fund, which aids more than 40 historically black colleges, and provides student . . . — Map (db m5504) |
| Virginia (Gloucester County), White Marsh — NA-4 — Warner Hall |
| | Three miles east is Warner Hall. The estate was patented about 1650 by Augustine Warner, who built the first house in 1674. Bacon, the rebel, was here for a time in 1676. The later house, built about 1740 and burned in 1849, has been beautifully restored. — Map (db m2963) |
Subscribe
— Privacy Policy
— Terms of Use
— About Us
— Contact Us
HMdb.org