Chapman's Mill

Chapman's Mill. Heart of the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap. , When war broke out, the Confederate Subsistence Department used John Chapman's mill as a meat-curing and distribution center. On March 9, 1862, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston ordered stockpiles here destroyed when he evacuated northern Virginia to prevent their falling into Union hands. Two million pounds of meat went up in flames, but this chaotic scene was minor compared to what soon unfolded here.

The mill changed hands three times during the fierce fighting for Thoroughfare Gap on August 28, 1862. As the 9th Georgia and 13th Massachusetts Infantry battled for control of the mill, soldiers crawled over rocks, through ravines, and into quarries to gain some advantage. When the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry charged past you here, withering fire from the buildings and the heights above cut them to pieces. By the end of the day, Confederate Gen. James Longstreet's men had shoved Union Gen. James B. Rickett's smaller force out of the gap. This enabled Longstreet to connect with Gen Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's corps, leading to another Union defeat at the Second Battle of Manassas two days later.

Ruined economically, physically, and emotionally by the mill's destruction, John Chapman suffered a mental breakdown. Although "windowless," "floorless" and "deserted," the mill continued to attract partisan raids, skirmishes, and pickets. In 1864, Chapman's family committed him to Western Lunatic Asylum, where he died two years later.

"Some of the boys climbed up to the second story windows to get better shots." , Sgt. Austin C. Stearns, Co. K, 13th Massachusetts Infantry

[Sidebar:] , Jonathan Chapman and his son, Nathaniel, constructed the mill between 1737 and 1742. Its location between the fertile Shenandoah Valley and the ports of Georgetown and Alexandria was idea. Capitalizing on the construction of the Manassas Gap Railroad in the 1850s, John Chapman expanded the mill from three to seven stories, making it the tallest stack-stoned building in the country. The Beverly family restored the mill by 1878, and it remained in operation under successive owners until 1951. An arson fire in 1998 reduced it once more to ruins. Chapman's Mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and preservation efforts are ongoing. . This historical marker was erected by Virginia Civil War Trails; The Historic Chapman-Beverly Mill. It is Near Broad Run in Prince William County Virginia