| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — Courtney Road Service Station — The Birth of Modern Automotive Services |
| | Before there were gas stations, motorists would get a drum of fuel from an industrial depot, bring it home, and store it. Soon after, consumers got their gasoline at the blacksmith shops and hardware and grocery stores. Still others received gasoline from horse drawn tanks that made house calls.
In the early 1900s, gas producers standardized their station designs to better package the image of their petroleum products. The “House with Canopy” design of the Henrico County gas . . . — Map (db m24597) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — Forest Lodge — Opulence in Glen Allen |
| | John Cussons built Forest Lodge as a resort along the Richmond, Fredericksburg, & Potomac Railroad where it intersects with Mountain Road in Glen Allen. The luxurious hotel had 125 rooms and stood six stories high. It took six years to build and was completed in the early 1880s.
Cussons, a successful entrepreneur, spared no expense for the construction of the building. The Victorian structure featured elaborate woodworking and handpainted murals of landscapes and portraitures throughout . . . — Map (db m24601) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — E 10 — Glen Allen |
| | Called Mountain Road Crossing when rail service began in 1836, the settlement which came to be known as Glen Allen took its name from the homestead of a local landowner, Mrs. Benjamin Allen. Its most noted resident was Captain John Cussons, a native Englishman, Confederate scout, author, and entrepreneur. Cussons made his residence here after the Civil War and founded a successful printing company. Later he built a fashionable resort hotel known as Forest Lodge adjacent to the railroad tracks. — Map (db m15821) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — HC 1 — Glen Allen Baptist Church |
| | The Reverend Alexander Sands organized the Glen Allen Baptist Church on February 23,1868. The Congregation first met in a rose arbor nearby belonging to Mrs. Susan Sheppard Allen. On July 4,1868, the new church held a feast and raised $400 to build the sanctuary. After the Hopkins family of Walkerton donated this site, church members built a frame structure, with three windows and a door, which opened in the winter of 1869. Members of the Glen Allen Baptist Church have worshipped here, in different sanctuaries, since that time. — Map (db m24568) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — HC-12 — Glen Allen School |
| | In 1886, Elizabeth Jane Holladay established the first Glen Allen School when she began teaching children in her home. In 1899, the school was moved to a one-room building on Mountain Road. It was relocated to Old Washington Highway in 1911. Constructed at a cost of $10,000, it had no central heating or indoor plumbing. Between 1914 and 1925, three wings were added. In the 1930's an auditorium/gymnasium and home economics cottage were constructed. The school ended operation at this site in . . . — Map (db m24570) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — John Cussons — A Pioneer and Entrepreneur |
| | John Cussons, the son of John and Elizabeth (Jackson) Cussons, was born in Hornscastle, Lincolnshire, England in 1838. His adventurous spirit led him to America in 1855 and he spent four years in the Northwest living with the Sioux Indians.
In 1859, he moved to Selma, Alabama and became half owner of the “Morning Reporter.” When the Civil War started, he joined the Confederate army and served as a scout. He was quickly promoted to lieutenant. After a handful of victories, the . . . — Map (db m24599) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — Meadow Farm — The Road to Yellow Tavern |
| | Union Gen. Philip Sheridan used the Mountain Road during his 1864 raid toward Richmond. His lengthy column of 12,000 horsemen passed here on the morning of May 11. The troopers spread out to destroy many miles of railroad track at Ashland, Allen’s Station (now known as Glen Allen), and Hungary Station. Shortly after passing here, Sheridan’s men encountered J.E.B. Stuart’s 3,000-man command blocking their route, which brought on the Battle of Yellow Tavern.
The Sheppard family lived at . . . — Map (db m15819) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — EA 1 — Meadow Farm |
| | The land comprising Meadow Farm was first patented by William Sheppard in 1713. In 1800, Sheppard family slaves thwarted plans for a well-organized slave uprising known as Gabriel's Insurrection. The farmhouse was built in 1810. Dr. John Mosby Sheppard practiced medicine at Meadow Farm between 1840 and 1877. The last private owner of Meadow Farm, Major General Sheppard Crump, was a founding member of the American Legion and Adjutant General of Virginia from 1956-1960. Until 1960, the Sheppard . . . — Map (db m15820) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — EA 5 — Mountain Road |
| | Mountain Road was originally an Indian trail. It became the main thoroughfare from Richmond to Charlottesville in the 1700s. During the American Revolution, the Marquis de Lafayette traveled this road on his march to Yorktown. Thomas Jefferson used it on his trips to Richmond and Williamsburg. During the Civil War, on 11 May 1864, Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan encountered Confederate skirmishers as his men destroyed the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad tracks here at Glen Allen. . . . — Map (db m15822) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — HC 7 — Sheppard and Baker's Grant |
| | The Sheppard's Way subdivision was part of the original 400 acre land grant made to William Sheppard and Richard Baker in 1713. They obtained it through the "Headrights System" by paying for the passage of eight people from England to the Virginia Colony. The Sheppard's descendants lived on this parcel called Meadow Farm until 1993. In 1899, this location was the site of the first Glen Allen School. Elizabeth Holladay, the school's founder and only teacher, taught here until 1901. — Map (db m24569) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — EA 2 — Walkerton |
| | Constructed in 1825 for John Walker on Mountain Road, once a major route between Richmond and the western Piedmont of Virginia, Walkerton served as a tavern in 1828 and 1829. Since that time it has been a hotel, store, voting precinct, and private dwelling. It is the largest brick 19th-century tavern still standing in Henrico County. Walkerton is notable for a hinged, swinging, two-segment partition that was used to enlarge an upstairs room to accommodate guests. Members of the Hopkins family . . . — Map (db m15823) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glen Allen — EA 6 — Wickham's Line |
| | In the first phase of the Battle of Yellow Tavern on 11 May 1864, Brig. Gen. Williams C. Wickham and his Confederate cavalry were posted just south of this location below Old Francis Road. Wickham's men fired on Brig. Gen. George A. Custer's Union troopers as they charged Brig. Gen. Lunsford L. Lomax's line on the Federal left flank, preventing Custer's advance. Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, the Federal commander, then sent Col. George H. Chapman's regiment to attack Wickham's line. This freed . . . — Map (db m15848) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — Battle Commences |
| | A march of less than three miles from the Glendale battlefield brought the Confederates to this spot at the foot of Malvern Hill. In earlier times it was a peaceful landscape, but on July 1 a line of Union artillery with infantry supports held the crest of the hill, not 800 yards from here. Their position was in front of the West House, which can be seen in the distance. When the Southern infantry arrived in this treeless space those guns opened fire with devastating exploding shells and solid . . . — Map (db m15200) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — Battle of Malvern Hill Trail — Richmond National Battlefield Park |
| | The battle of Malvern Hill is best remembered for the series of bold and bloody charges launched here by the Confederate army on July 1, 1862. This one and one-half mile trail offers hikers an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of some of the Southern soldiers in their ill-fated attack. Informational signs are located along the route, including at the locations where Union and Confederate artillery operated. The final leg of the trail returns to this parking lot after crossing the ground . . . — Map (db m14918) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — Battlefield Landscape |
| | Photographs taken during and shortly after the war help us to understand, preserve and rehabilitate the battlefield landscape. In the 1880’s a photographer recorded a series of views of Malvern Hill to accompany Civil War articles published in Century magazine. In this image the cameraman stood here to capture the sloping fields across which the Confederates attacked. Notice the slave cabins to the left and the largely treeless landscape. Recent scene restoration has made this comparison more effective. — Map (db m15201) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — 21 — Battlefield of Malvern Hill |
| | Against the Federals holding this eminence, the Confederates delivered repeated assaults from the North on July 1, 1862 and lost about 5,000 men in the final, indecisive Battle of the Seven Days’ Campaign. That night McClellan withdrew to Harrison's Landing, near Westover. — Map (db m14227) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — 16 — Frazier's Farm — or Glendale Battlefield |
| | Here, on the Charles City Road, the Confederate forces of Major General Benjamin Huger in their attempt to intercept the Federal withdrawal to the James opened with artillery the Battle of Frazier's Farm, June 30, 1862. — Map (db m14215) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — 17 — Frazier's Farm — or Glendale Battlefield |
| | North and South of this point lay the line of battle in which the Confederate commands of James Longstreet and A.P. Hill engaged indecisively the Federal forces in the Fourth Battle of the Seven Days’ Campaign. This spot marks the furthest Federal advance, June 30, 1862. — Map (db m14216) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — 18 — Frazier's Farm — or Glendale Battlefield |
| | Here, the Confederate line of Longstreet's Division crossed this, the Long Bridge Road. Southeasterly one-quarter mile occurred the fiercest encounter, in which the Federal forces under McCall were forced to retire at nightfall June 30, 1862. — Map (db m14222) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — Freeman Marker |
| | This is one in a series of 61 markers erected beginning in 1925 to identify the battlefields around Richmond. The tablets were the work of the Battlefield Markers Association, a group of historians committed to commemorating the Richmond battlefields. Most prominent among the association's members was Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman, the eminent biographer of George Washington and Robert E. Lee. The work of Dr. Freeman and the Association ultimately led to the purchase of battlefield lands and the . . . — Map (db m14283) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — PA 159 — Glendale (Frayser’s Farm) |
| | In this vicinity, the Union Army of the Potomac made a stand on 30 June 1862, during its retreat from the Chickahominy River toward the James River. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan posted several Union divisions facing east and north to protect this intersection, known locally as Riddell’s Shop. In the ensuing battle, Confederate divisions commanded by Major Generals James Longstreet and A. P. Hill attacked the Union divisions of Brig. Gen. George A. McCall and Maj. Gen. Philip Kearney. The . . . — Map (db m15058) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — 22 — Malvern Hill — Confederate Assault |
| | Up the face of this ridge and through the meadow to the left J.B. Magruder's troops charged the Federal positions on the crest, around the Crew House, July 1, 1862. D.H. Hill's charge was to the right, on both sides of the Willis Church Road. — Map (db m14229) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — Malvern Hill |
| | Malvern Hill is the story of Confederate infantry against massed Federal artillery – Southern valor against Union firepower. Late in the afternoon of July 1, 1862, blasts from Union cannon blanketed this field with smoke. Residents of Staunton, Virginia, more than 100 miles distant, heard the roar of those guns. Confederate infantry swarmed in front, desperate to gain a foothold near the Union guns. Their goal: drive the Federals from Malvern Hill and give Robert E. Lee the total victory . . . — Map (db m15204) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — 20 — Methodist Parsonage |
| | The residence of the Methodist minister, situated near this spot, was a landmark of the Battle of Malvern Hill and was directly in the line of advance of D.H. Hill's division southward against the Federal positions around the Crew house. July 1, 1862. — Map (db m14225) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — V 51 — Pvt. Benjamin B. Levy — 22 Feb. 1845 - 20 Jul. 1921 |
| | Benjamin B. Levy, a young Jewish volunteer, received the Medal of Honor on 1 Mar. 1865, one of the first Jews so recognized. He entered service in the 1st New York Infantry in New York City on 22 Apr. 1861. During the Battle of Glendale (Frayser's Farm) on 30 June 1862, under heavy fire near here, Levy "took the gun of a sick comrade, went into the fight. and when the color bearers were shot down, carried the colors and saved them from capture." He later reenlisted in the 40th New York Infantry . . . — Map (db m16183) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — 15 — Riddell's Shop |
| | West and Southwest, distant one-half mile lies the Battlefield of Glendale or Frazier's Farm, where the Confederate divisions of Longstreet and A.P. Hill on June 30, 1862, attacked and forced the withdrawal of Federal troops covering McClellan's march toward James River. — Map (db m14214) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — PA 230 — Seven Days Battles — Malvern Hill |
| | Across the hill here from east to west the Union artillery was in position in the afternoon of July 1, 1862. The Union batteries overpowered the few cannon the Confederates were able to bring up. When the Southern infantry charged from the woods, they were met by a terrible artillery fire but continued to advance until they came under the fire of the Union infantry. — Map (db m14909) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — PA 235 — Seven Days Battles — Malvern Hill |
| | Across the road here stretched the Union line of battle in the afternoon of July 1, 1862. Couch’s, Kearney’s and Hooker’s divisions were to the east of the road, Morell to the west, with Sykes in reserve. The Confederates made several attacks and, for a time, the battle trembled in the balance, but the assailants were finally repulsed. In the night the Union army withdrew to James River. — Map (db m14911) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — PA 195 — Seven Days Battles — Malvern Hill |
| | Across the road here stretched the Confederate line of battle, facing south, in the afternoon of July 1, 1862. Jackson commanded here, Magruder to the west. Longstreet and A. P. Hill were in reserve the battle lasted intermittently. From morning to night, reaching its crisis late in the afternoon. The disjointed Confederate attacks were repulsed with heavy loss. — Map (db m14920) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — PA 220 — Seven Days Battles — Malvern Hill |
| | Here from east to west, Berdan’s sharpshooters of Morell’s division were strung out in the afternoon of July 1, 1862. Their rapid and accurate fire harassed the Confederates as they emerged from the woods and charged up the hill. — Map (db m14931) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — PA 180 — Seven Days Battles — Malvern Hill |
| | Here Lee met Longstreet and Jackson in the morning of July 1, 1862. D. H. Hill reported the strength of the Union position on Malvern Hill; but Lee, having cause to believe the Unionists were weakening, prepared to attack. Jackson and D. H. Hill moved on this road southward to Malvern Hill. — Map (db m15076) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — PA 190 — Seven Days Battles — Glendale (Frayser’s Farm) |
| | This was the extreme left of the Union line at Glendale, and was held by Hooker’s Division. When McCall (just to the north) was broken, Hooker, supported by Burns’s brigade, drove the Confederates back. In the night the Union army marched southward. — Map (db m15077) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — PA 175 — Seven Days’ Battles — Glendale (Frayser’s Farm) |
| | Willis Church Road runs from here to Malvern Hill. A large part of Union Gen. George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac followed this road south toward the James River, four miles ahead, near the end of the Seven Days’ Battles in 1862. On 30 June, at the Battle of Glendale / Frayser’s Farm, seven Union infantry divisions stretched across a wide arc north and west of here to keep this road open. Although Confederate infantrymen pushed to within sight of the critical road, they could not sever . . . — Map (db m15061) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — The Battle of Malvern Hill — Stonewall Jackson’s Men Threaten the Union Right |
| | “There was no cessation or diminution yet of the enemy’s fire – musketry here – which swept the field to such an extent that it was difficult to believe anything could escape unhurt.” - Lt. McHenry Howard, Confederate staff officer The 15,000 men of Stonewall Jackson brought to the battlefield saw little action on July 1 before dusk. Responding then to calls for help from other hard-pressed Confederates, Jackson sent most of two divisions up the front slope of . . . — Map (db m14923) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — The Battle of Malvern Hill — Advance of the Excelsior Regiments |
| | “We reached the field; here were wounded men and the dead, but we heeded them not. We relieved the 7th New York Regiment and poured in a hot fire; still they kept the field, men falling all round, but our only thought was to fire as fast as possible.” - H. C. Ford, 72nd New York Infantry The earliest Confederate attacks on this part of the battlefield came from across Western Run, a stream located several hundred yards to the northeast. Men from Couch’s division stopped . . . — Map (db m14927) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — The Battle of Malvern Hill — Couch Defends the Union Right |
| | Although the best known fighting on July 1, 1862, occurred across the road to the west, half of the battlefield is situated here, in front of the West House. Union infantrymen of General Darius Couch’s division occupied the far forward slope of Malvern Hill in front of you. More than one dozen cannon posted here along this gentle crest cemented the position. Couch’s men outdistanced their artillery by several hundred yards in front, very near the Confederate lines. One New York regiment . . . — Map (db m15209) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — The Last Day — Malvern Hill – 1862 |
| | July 1, 1862 Porter positions artillery seemingly hub to hub across this half-mile crest. In front, fields slope down to woods and swamp – a tough place to form a charge. As Confederates launch disjointed assaults, Federal cannon like giant shotguns saturate the open ground with canister and grapeshot. ”Over five thousand dead and wounded men were on the ground,” a Union officer reported next dawn, ”but enough were alive and moving to give the field a singular crawling effect.” — Map (db m14922) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — The West House |
| | Sitting atop Malvern Hill only feet from the roaring line of Union cannon, the West House became an instant battlefield landmark. The original house dated from approximately 1831, but was rebuilt decades after the Civil War. The current structure is partly on the original brick foundation, and the entrance road is in its wartime location. The Wests owned a large farm and more than a dozen slaves to operate it. Chaplain Edward Neill from Minnesota left a vivid account of the house and its . . . — Map (db m15197) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — Twilight Action |
| | Stonewall Jackson’s wing of the Confederate army joined in the action just before darkness. Some of his infantry advanced on this side of the road, toward Malvern Hill’s crest. Broken and disoriented formations of Confederate infantry blocked their progress. In time, bits and pieces of several of Jackson’s brigades became engaged in this area, fighting until well after sunset. That evening several prominent Union generals argued in favor of a counterattack for the next morning. They believed . . . — Map (db m15199) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — Union Firepower |
| | Steep terrain on both flanks of the Union line funneled the Confederate attackers into the face of 29 Union cannon lining this ridge. Six 12-pounder Napoleon guns of Company A, 5th U.S. Artillery, fired from near this spot. During the afternoon of July 1, this battery fired 1,392 rounds of shell and canister. Most devastating was the canister - - shotgun-like blasts of iron balls fired at short range. The Confederate infantry lines melted away under the barrage. No Southerners reached the guns. — Map (db m15198) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — Union Reserves |
| | Around 15,000 men and the artillery of General Samuel Heintzelman’s Union Third Corps occupied this long stretch of open fields before you. They did not come under direct assault, but did supply reinforcements to the front line. The farm silo you can see in the distance is near the site of the Binford House. Fully two additional corps of infantry, some 25 to 30,000 men, lay in reserve beyond the Binford Farm. “I could hardly conceive any power that could overwhelm us,” . . . — Map (db m15206) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — 19 — Willis' Church |
| | This edifice, which gave its name to the road McClellan followed from Glendale in his withdrawal toward James River, was used as a field hospital by the Confederate troops after the Battle of Malvern Hill. July 1, 1862. — Map (db m14224) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Glendale — Willis Church Parsonage — The Confederates Move Toward Malvern Hill — Malvern Hill Battlefield – Richmond Nat'l Battlefield Park |
| | Frustrated by his failure at Glendale, Robert E. Lee gathered his army on July 1, 1862, for a final effort to destroy the Union army. But on this day, unlike his previous efforts during the Seven Days, Lee did not have a Union flank or a strung-out marching column to attack. Before him stood the powerful Union rear guard, arrayed on the plateau of Malvern Hill, about a half mile in front of you. The Willis Church parsonage (the ruins behind you) became an important landmark on July 1. Before . . . — Map (db m14916) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Granville — V 4 — Malvern Hill |
| | Nearby stood the Malvern Hill manor house built for Thomas Cocke in the 17th century. The Marquis de Lafayette camped here in July-August 1781, and elements of the Virginia militia encamped nearby during the War of 1812. During the Civil War, 1 July 1862, Gen. Robert E. Lee attacked Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Union Army of the Potomac here as it retreated to the James River from the gates of Richmond. Although he dealt Lee a bloody defeat, McClellan continued his withdrawal to Harrison's . . . — Map (db m9603) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Highland Springs — 10 — Grapevine Bridge |
| | Here stood Grapevine Bridge across which, on the night of June 27, 1862, part of McClellan's Army moved in changing base from the Pamunkey to the James after the Battle of Gaines' Mill. "Stonewall" Jackson pursued, June 29. — Map (db m15656) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Highland Springs — PA 105 — Seven Days Battles — Grape Vine Bridge |
| | Here Sumner crossed the river to reinforce the part of McClellan's army fighting at Fair Oaks, May 31, 1862. Here a part of Porter's force crossed in the night of June 27, 1862 after the battle of Gaines's Mill. Here Stonewall Jackson, rebuilding the bridges destroyed by the retreating Unionists, crossed in pursuit, June 29. — Map (db m15655) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Highland Springs — PA 125 — Seven Days Battles — Golding's Farm |
| | Half a mile northwest occurred the action of Golding's Farm at dusk on June 27, 1862, as the battle of Gaines's Mill, on the other side of the river, was ending. The Confederates, sallying from their defenses, attacked Hancock's brigade holding the right of the Union line south of the river. A severe fight followed that was ended by darkness. — Map (db m15657) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Highland Springs — 11 — The Trent House — McClellan's Headquarters |
| | In the residence of Dr. Peterfield Trent, situated about 500 yards from this road, General G.B. McClellan, U.S.A., had his headquarters in May-June, 1862. Here he planned the withdrawal to James River. — Map (db m14211) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Lakeside — E 51 — Battle of Yellow Tavern |
| | On 11 May, 1864, Confederate cavalry commanded by Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart chose ground just east of here to engage Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, who was advancing on Richmond by way of Mountain Road. Outnumbered three to one, Stuart’s troopers stubbornly resisted until vigorous attacks spearheaded by Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s Michigan brigade broke their line. As the Confederate cavalry retired east towards Telegraph Road, Sheridan’s men broke through and . . . — Map (db m3717) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Lakeside — Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart |
| | This monument, erected in memory of Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart, C.S.A., by his cavalrymen about thirty feet from the spot where he fell mortally wounded on May 11, 1864, was dedicated June 18, 1811, by the Governor of Virginia, Fitzhugh Lee, a former division commander in Stuart’s cavalry. Re-dedicated May 9, 1964 Henrico County Civil War Centennial Commission — Map (db m15501) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Lakeside — E9 — Stuart’s Mortal Wound |
| | One half mile to the to the east, on the old Telegraph Road, is a monument marking the field where General J.E.B. Stuart was mortally wounded on May 11, 1864. The monument was erected by veterans of Stuart’s Cavalry in 1888. — Map (db m3715) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Lakeside — E 9 — Stuart’s Mortal Wound |
| | Late in the afternoon of 11 May 1864, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, the famous Confederate cavalry commander, was mortally wounded just east of here on Old Telegraph Road while rallying the left of his line during the Battle of Yellow Tavern. As three Michigan regiments of Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s brigade fell back after an unsuccessful frontal charge, Pvt. John A. Huff, 5th Michigan Cavalry, fired the shot that struck Stuart in the abdomen. Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee assumed command of . . . — Map (db m3718) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Lakeside — Yellow Tavern — Stuart’s Last Battle — Lee Vs. Grant - The 1864 Campaign |
| | While Grant and Lee fought at Spotsylvania, Gen. Philip H. Sheridan took 12,000 Federal cavalry on a raid toward Richmond. After destroying a large Confederate supply depot at Beaver Dam Station, Sheridan’s troopers met 4,000 Southern cavalrymen under Gen. J.E.B. Stuart near here at Yellow Tavern on May 11, 1864. Union cavalry attacked from the west and in heavy hand-to-hand fighting drove Gen. Lunsford Lomax’s Brigade from Telegraph Road before pushing northward. Late in the day, while the . . . — Map (db m3713) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Mechanicsville — Z 147 — Hanover County / Henrico County |
| | Hanover County
Area 512 Square Miles
Formed in 1720 from New Kent, and named for the Electorate of Hanover. Patrick Henry and Henry Clay were born in this county. In it were fought the battles of Gaines's Mill, 1862, and Cold Harbor, 1864.
Henrico County
Area 280 Square Miles
An original shire formed in 1634. Named for Henrico Town, founded in 1611, which was named for Henry, Prince of Wales. The Battles of Seven Pines, Savage's Station, Glendale and Malvern Hill, 1862, took . . . — Map (db m15455) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — V 48 — Action at Osborne's |
| | On 27 April 1781, Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold led the British army's 76th and 80th Regiments, the Queen's Rangers, and some other units in an assault at Osborne's in Chesterfield County. The Americans posted a number of Virginia Navy ships near here in a line across the James River to oppose the advance. American militia also had positions in this region. Following the attack of the British by land and water, the Americans retreated. Several ships loaded with cargo fell into British hands while . . . — Map (db m9607) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — SA 30 — Ampthill |
| | A short distance south is Ampthill House, built by Henry Cary about 1730 on the south side of James River. It was the home of Colonel Archibald Cary, Revolutionary leader, and was removed to its present site by a member of the Cary family. — Map (db m20529) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Battle at Meadow Bridge — Forcing a Crossing |
| | On May 12, 1864, this crossing of the Chickahominy River was the scene of a sharp engagement between Union and Confederate cavalry The previous day, Gen. Philip Sheridan and his Union troopers fought and defeated Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and his Confederate cavalry near Yellow Tavern. Stuart was mortally wounded during that battle.
That evening, under cover of darkness and a heavy thunderstorm, Sheridan led his troopers south, through the outer defenses of Richmond and into a potentially dangerous . . . — Map (db m15217) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Battle of Darbytown Road — Lee’s Last Advance North of the James |
| | A massive two-pronged Union attack on September 29, 1864, captured New Market Heights and a section of Richmond’s outer defenses including Fort Harrison. Not wishing to concede a vital part of his line to the enemy, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee ordered a counterattack the next day. The assault failed miserably. Undaunted, Lee ordered a second attempt. On October 7, with cavalry and two divisions of infantry, Lee attempted to regain the lost fortifications around Fort Harrison. It would . . . — Map (db m3688) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Black Troops Attack at Chaffin’s Farm — Fort Gilmer – 1864 |
| | Confederate Fort Gilmer loomed as a major obstacle to any advance on Richmond. On the afternoon of September 29, 1864, several regiments of black troops stormed these works only to be driven back. A portion of the 7th United States Colored Troops, which was their official army designation, made the last of three bloody assaults and managed to reach the deep moat outside the fort’s outer wall. Nearly the entire command was killed, wounded, or captured. The fighting here was just one of several . . . — Map (db m15084) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Bombproof and Casemate — Fort Harrison – 1864 |
| | Bombproof Federal soldiers are standing at the entrance to a bombproof, built of earth-covered logs to shelter troops during bombardment. Magazines of similar construction stored powder and ammunition. Casemate This gun embrasure was heavily timbered and covered with earth to shield it from enemy mortar fire. The enclosed gun position was called a casemate. — Map (db m15487) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — E 4 — Brook Road |
| | According to tradition, the Marquis de Lafayette marched his colonial troops from the north into Richmond on portions of present-day Brook Road late in April 1781. Established in 1812, the Brook Turnpike Company constructed a turnpike along this route from Richmond to Dabney Williamson's tavern in the vicinity of present-day Solomons Store in Henrico County. It was one of the earliest toll roads in Virginia and it improved the transport of goods between Richmond and the northern region of . . . — Map (db m15847) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — V 16 — Campaign of 1781 |
| | The roads through Henrico County were important routes for the Revolutionary War campaign of 1781. To avoid British Gen. Charles Cornwallis's troops advancing from Petersburg, the Marquis de Lafayette left Richmond by 27 May and marched northward through Henrico. Cornwallis bivouacked at White Oak Swamp on the 27th, before continuing the pursuit of Lafayette. In mid June, Cornwallis joined Lt. Gen. Banastre Tarleton near Richmond, where they occupied the city by 16 June. The British troops left . . . — Map (db m15853) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — W 3 — Charles City Road |
| | This strategically important road ran from the Williamsburg Road southeast past White's Tavern, across White Oak Swamp, and into the Riddell's Shop intersection with the Long Bridge and Darbytown roads, eight miles distant. As Gen. Robert E. Lee's forces converged on Riddell's Shop on 29-30 June 1862 to cut off Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's retreating Union army, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Huger's Confederate division moved along the Charles City Road, which had been obstructed by felled trees. After . . . — Map (db m15923) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Chickahominy Bluff — Richmond Battlefield — Richmond Nat’l Battlefield Pk – 1862/64 |
| | On this ridge overlooking the Chickahominy River, General Lee, President Davis, and many other prominent Confederate officers gathered to await the start of the operations that came to be called the Seven Days Campaign. They expected “Stonewall” Jackson’s 20,000-man army to get behind the Union position near Mechanicsville, to force the Federal Fifth Corps out of its defenses. General A. P. Hill then would clear the river crossings, allowing the bulk of Lee’s army to unite with . . . — Map (db m14977) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Confederate Bulwark — Fort Johnson - 1864 |
| | Fort Johnson was perfectly situated to protect Richmond. From this commanding ridge the Confederate garrison looked out across the treeless landscape that offered an open field of fire for their guns. A deep ditch protected by sharpened stakes added to the defense. The test came on September 29, 1864. That morning Federal troops captured nearby Fort Harrison, then turned their attention to Fort Johnson. From here Confederate gunners opened fire at the massing blue lines. Just before the Union . . . — Map (db m15087) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Confederate Fortifications |
| | These northernmost fortifications along Brook Road operated as an early warning system for Confederate troops defending Richmond. Earthworks designed for artillery, located on each side of the road, blocked sudden enemy advances against the capital. A shallow trench line protecting infantrymen with rifles connected them. If necessary, both soldiers and cannons at this forward position could be withdrawn to the Intermediate Line. The walls, or parapets, of this battery position were originally . . . — Map (db m15945) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Counterattack — Fort Harrison – 1864 |
| | The day after Federals captured Fort Harrison, Robert E. Lee personally directed savage Confederate counterattacks against this section of earthworks. Union forces had already closed and strengthened the rear of the fort. Armed with new repeating rifles, the Union troops held their ground. In the space of three hours they repulsed three Confederate assaults. — Map (db m15485) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — V 3 — Curles Neck and Bremo |
| | Curles Neck may take its name from the curls of the river or a family of that name. Richard Cocke, the Immigrant, patented land along the James River on the eastern side of the neck in 1636. There he built Bremo, the seat of the Cocke family for six generations. A descendant, John Hartwell Cock, relocated the family seat to Upper Bremo, in Fluvanna County early in the 19th century. In 1674 Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., the Rebel, settled on Curles Neck. In 1676 Bacon led a rebellion against the royal . . . — Map (db m9243) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Dabbs House — Lee’s First Headquarters — 1862 Peninsula Campaign |
| | In May 1862, Gen. George McClellan’s Union army was poised on the outskirts of Richmond threatening the Confederate capital. Here, in the Dabbs House, Robert E. Lee, as new commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, opened his headquarters on June 1, 1862. Four days later, he had shaped the strategy that would free Richmond from the Army of the Potomac.
Two notable conferences occurred here. The first, on June 11, brought cavalryman Gen. J.E.B. Stuart to plan with Lee the famous ride around . . . — Map (db m15930) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — SA 31 — Dahlgren's Raid |
| | Col. Ulric Dahlgren's Union cavalry passed through this area late in the evening of 1 March 1864 before defeating the Richmond Armory Battalion at the Battle of Green's Farm, just south on Three Chopt Road. Dahlgren led his command toward Richmond on the Westham Plank Road (now Cary Street Road) for about half a mile. At Hicks's Farm, five miles from Capitol Square, about 420 of his cavalrymen encountered the local defense troops of the Departmental Battalion and the remnants of the Armory . . . — Map (db m16013) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — W 1 — Darbytown Road |
| | During the Seven Days' Campaign, Maj. Gen. James Longstreet's and Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill's Confederate divisions moved east along Darbytown Road toward its junction with the Long Bridge Road. This junction is about three miles southwest of Riddell's Shop. Late on the afternoon of 30 June 1862, Longstreet's and Hill's divisions moved up the Long Bridge Road and attacked Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's retreating Union army at Riddell's Shop (Glendale or Frayser's Farm) on Darbytown Road. — Map (db m15921) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — W 101 — Darbytown Road / Pioneer Baptist Church |
| | The Battle of Darbytown Road, 7 Oct. 1864, was the last large Confederate offensive north of the James River. Gen. Robert E. Lee personally supervised the operation. Attacking from the west astride the Darbytown Road, Lee’s infantry shattered the right flank of the Union army under Brig. Gen. August V. Kautz. Fleeing Union artillery batteries encountered the swampy headwaters of Four Mile Creek in the woods near Pioneer Baptist Church. The Confederates captured eight cannon there. Lee’s attack . . . — Map (db m16302) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Deep Bottom Landing — A Vital Link |
| | After the Battle of Cold Harbor in June 1864, Grant and Lee shifted their armies to Petersburg; but Grant did not wish to abandon the Richmond front entirely. He had Gen. Benjamin Butler position a small force from his Army of the James here at Deep Bottom Landing to protect the pontoon bridge which allowed Union forces to move back and forth across the James River. As part of an overall strategy to defeat Lee’s main army at Petersburg, Federal detachments launched attacks from here on July . . . — Map (db m15697) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Empty Victory — Fort Hoke – 1864 |
| | After capturing Fort Harrison on September 29, 1864, Union troops continued their attack against the Confederate lines that connected Fort Harrison to the James River. Here at Fort Hoke a small collection of Virginia artillerists tried valiantly to stop the Union advance. Their fire seriously wounded General E.O.C. Ord, the Union 18th Corps commander. Ord’s men overwhelmed the Confederate defenders, then occupied the fort until orders arrived to withdraw back to Fort Harrison. Fort Hoke then . . . — Map (db m15088) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — PA 240 — Engagement at Malvern Cliffs |
| | On 30 June 1862, as Gen. Robert E. Lee concentrated his troops to attack Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's retreating Union army at Glendale, Maj. Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes brigade of Confederate troops moved down New Market Road on Lee's right. Union forces on Malvern Hill noticed dust rising above the trees and suspected the movement of the Confederates on New Market Road. As he advanced, Holmes observed the Union troops atop Malvern Hill to the east and deployed his artillery and infantry. . . . — Map (db m9247) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Fort Harrison — Richmond Battlefield — Richmond Nat’l Battlefield Pk – 1862/64 |
| | Fort Harrison stood in 1864 as the most powerful fort in the extensive outer defenses of Richmond. Built on high, open ground, the fort and its surrounding entrenchments were built to protect the approaches to Richmond from the south. The Union army’s strongest probe toward Richmond from this direction occurred on September 29, when General Butler’s Army of the James crossed the river in two columns and struck the defenses here and at New Market Heights to the east. The Union troops captured . . . — Map (db m15491) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Fort Harrison Trail — Fort Harrison - 1862/1864 |
| | Both Federals and Confederates occupied this fort. Originally these earthworks were part of the 1862 Richmond line of defense. When Federal troops overran the fort in 1864, they built more than half the earthworks you will see on the tour, and defended them till the end of the war. — Map (db m15484) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Gabriel’s Insurrection |
| | Just to the north where Brook Road crosses Brook Run creek was the rendezvous point for the largest U.S. slave revolt ever planned. It was to be here on August 30, 1800, that Gabriel, a slave from nearby Brookfield Plantation, called for hundreds of followers from across Virginia to gather after slaying their masters for a march on Richmond. The plan called for killing the white population, capturing Governor James Monroe and seizing weapons at the state magazine.
The scheme collapsed when a . . . — Map (db m15944) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — E 102 — Gabriel's Rebellion |
| | Gabriel, a slave of Thomas Prosser of nearby Brookfield plantation, planned a slave insurrection against Richmond on 30 Aug. 1800. The slaves intended to kidnap Governor James Monroe and compel him to support political, social, and economic equality but intense rains delayed the insurgents' scheme. Mosby Sheppard, of Meadow Farm, informed of the plot by family slaves Tom and Pharaoh, dispatched a warning letter to the governor. Monroe called out the militia and Gabriel, his plans foiled, fled . . . — Map (db m15850) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — HC-14 — George Thorpe |
| | On April 3, 1620, The London Company hired George Thorpe to manage the land and tenants for the proposed "university and college" on 11,000 acres on the north bank of the James River above Henrico Town. The agricultural activities of the tenants supported the school, which was established to Christianize American Indian children and introduce them to English culture. Indian attackers killed Thorpe and 347 Virginia colonists on March 22, 1622 at the beginning of the Anglo-Powhatan War. The event . . . — Map (db m9606) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Guarding the River — Fort Brady – 1864 |
| | After capturing Fort Harrison in September 1864, Federal troops built Fort Brady as a defensive post on the James River. In January 1865, Confederate ships attempted to threaten the Federal supply base downriver at City Point. Passing Fort Brady in darkness, the ships returned Union fire, disabled a large Parrot rifle, killed three Union artillerists, and wounded many in the fort. The foray, known as the battle of Trent’s Reach, ended in failure when the Confederate ironclads ran ito artillery fire and low water south of Fort Brady. — Map (db m15480) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — V-29 — Henrico Town |
| | In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale established the second English settlement in Virginia called Henrico in honor of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, son of King James I. The town was located four miles southwest on a peninsula of high land on the James River. A ditch was constructed across the neck of land and a fence surrounded the town. "Henricus Citie" contained "three streets of well-framed houses, a handsome church, store houses, a hospital, and watchtowers." After the Anglo-Powhatan War began in . . . — Map (db m9612) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Inside Fort Brady — Fort Brady – 1864 |
| | From October 1864 to April 1865 the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery was stationed here. The air shimmered with the chance of a direct hit. Almost daily, Fort Brady engaged in artillery duels with Confederate ironclads and Richmond’s outer defenses. — Map (db m15482) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — E 2 — Intermediate Defenses |
| | Here ran, east and west, the intermediate line of Richmond defenses during the Civil War. Near this spot on 1 March 1864 Union Brig. Gen. H. Judson Kilpatrick halted his raid that was intended to free Union prisoners and lower morale in the Confederate capital. A detachment led by Col. Ulric Dahlgren was defeated to the west of the city. On 2 March Dahlgren was killed; Southern morale soared. — Map (db m16010) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — HC-22 — John Marshall's Farm |
| | Near this location stood Chickahominy Farm, the country residence of U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall. Spending weekends at the farm with his wife, Marshall wrote that farming provided many hours of "laborious relaxation." Born in 1775, Marshall fought in the Revolutionary War before studying law under George Wythe. As a Henrico County representative at the 1788 Virginia convention, Marshall voted for ratification of the U.S. Constitution. During his 34-year tenure as Chief Justice (1801-1835) . . . — Map (db m20730) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — EA 3 — Laurel Historic District |
| | Laurel, first named Hungary Station, was the location of a spur railroad line to the coal fields in western Henrico County. During the Civil War the station here was burned, and Colonel Ulrich Dahlgren's body was secretly buried here in March 1864 and later reinterred in Philadelphia. Nearby stood the first public school in Henrico County. In 1890 the Laurel Industrial School for Boys was established here as an alternative to imprisonment. Several nearby buildings served the institution, later . . . — Map (db m10650) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — V 32 — Nathaniel Bacon |
| | Bacon was born in 1647 in Suffolk, England, and was educated at Cambridge University. He came to Virginia in 1673 and settled near here on the north bank of the James River at Curles Neck. In 1676 Bacon led a force of citizen-soldiers against Indians on Virginia's frontier, contrary to the policy of Governor William Berkeley. After Bacon defeated several tribes, he and his followers, branded rebels by Berkeley, captured and burned Jamestown. Bacon's Rebellion collapsed after Bacon died of a fever in October 1676. — Map (db m9242) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — HC-11 — New Market Road |
| | Legend indicates that the road was once an Indian trail. In the early nineteenth century, a "new market" was established in Richmond to replace the old one in Williamsburg. This road was eventually referred to as New Market Road. The 1819 Wood's map of Henrico names a village called New Market near the current intersection of New Market and Kingsland Roads. Originally called River Road, the name changed to New Market Road prior to the printing of the 1853 Smith's map of Henrico County. In . . . — Map (db m9241) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — V 17 — Outer Defenses |
| | By 1864, a complex series of fortifications north of Richmond and the James River protected the capital of the Confederacy. The outer line of western defenses crossed the road (then called the Deep Run Turnpike) here. The intermediate defensive line stood about three miles southeast and the inner line a mile farther, well within the present-day limits of Richmond. On 1 March 1864, Union Col. Ulric Dahlgren briefly penetrated the outer line to the southwest on Three Chopt Road during his . . . — Map (db m16012) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — O 5 — Outer Fortifications |
| | On the hilltops here ran the outer line of Richmond fortifications, 1862-1865. — Map (db m14971) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — V-43 — Pleasants V. Pleasants |
| | John Pleasants, Sr., nearby landowner and Quaker, requested in his will that his slaves be freed when each became 30 years old. Pleasants died in 1771, but it was not until 1782 that some of his slaves gained freedom when the Virginia General Assembly approved private manumissions. His son, Robert Pleasants, and a few other heirs freed close to 100 slaves in multiple counties. Robert Pleasants attempted to get all of the family to honor the will's stipulations, which culminated in 1798 when the . . . — Map (db m9604) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — V 28 — Pocahontas |
| | Matoaka, nicknamed Pocahontas ("playful one"), the daughter of Powhatan, was born about 1595. At age eleven, she befriended Captain John Smith and later visited the English colonists. In 1613 Samuel Argall kidnapped Pocahontas to use her as a negotiating pawn. According to tradition, she was brought to Henrico Town and cared for by the Rev. Alexander Whitaker. She was baptized and renamed Rebecca, and on 5 April 1614 she married John Rolfe. In 1616, Rolfe and their son Thomas accompanied her to . . . — Map (db m9613) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — Powder Magazine — Fort Brady – 1864 |
| | Directly in front of you is the site of a powder magazine, where ammunition and gunpowder were stored. An explosion there could obliterate the fort. To bomb-proof the magazine, structural timbers were covered with a thick layer of earth. — Map (db m15483) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — V 49 — Powhatan |
| | In this vicinity is believed to be the birthplace of Wahunsunacock, better known as Powhatan. A village stood nearby that also bore the name Powhatan. By the time the English arrived in 1607, Powhatan was acknowledged as the paramount chief of about 30 districts, with more than 150 villages. His dominions, called Tsenacomoco, stretched approximately to the Potomac River in the north and to the fall line of the rivers to the west, and from just south of the James River eastward to the Atlantic . . . — Map (db m16300) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — V-30 — Proposed First University in English America |
| | A "University and College" was authorized by the Virginia Company charter of 1618 at Henrico Town but never opened. Some 10,000 acres on the James River upstream from the new town were to provide agricultural income for the school. The college's mission was to Christianize Indian children and train them in "true Religion moral virtue and Civility." The Anglo-Powhatan War that began in 1622, the revocation of the Virginia Company's charter in 1624, and the lack of royal support for the project . . . — Map (db m9610) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — 1 — Richmond Defences — Intermediate Line |
| | Here ran the intermediate line of Richmond defences. Built in 1862-64, these defences included 25 inner forts and batteries, beyond which this continuous earthwork encircled the city. The third or outer line was distant from the capitol 4 to 7 miles. Out this road the two divisions of D.H. Hill and of James Longstreet followed Gen. R.E. Lee on June 26, 1862, for the opening battle of the Seven Days' Campaign. — Map (db m14218) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — 35 — Richmond Defences — Kilpatrick’s Raid |
| | At this point, where the intermediate line of the Richmond defences crossed Brook Road, Confederate forces on March 1, 1864, repulsed Kilpatrick’s Raid, undertaken to release Federal prisoners in Richmond. On the same day, another column, under Col. Ulric Dahlgren was driven back on the Cary Street Road. — Map (db m14243) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — 48 — Richmond Defences — Intermediate Line |
| | At this point the Intermediate Line of the Confederate defences of Richmond crossed this, the Darbytown Road. This line was continuous around Richmond and lay between the outer defensive system and the inner forts. — Map (db m14257) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — 33 — Richmond Defences — The Outer Line |
| | Here the outer line of the Confederate defences of Richmond crossed Brook Road. This line, here distant five miles from the capitol, was built in 1862-64 and extended in a half-circle from the James River near the present University of Richmond to Chaffin’s Bluff on the same river, below the city. — Map (db m16007) |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Richmond — 34 — Richmond Defences — The Outer Line |
| | Here stood part of the outer line of the Confederate defences of Richmond, built in 1862-64. On the right the line crossed Brook Road and ran North and South along the ridge where Emmanuel church stands. On the left it extended four miles Westward, thence South to James River. — Map (db m16008) |
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