Repeated Surprises

Repeated Surprises. Hartwood Presbyterian Church. As a frigid dawn broke on November 28, 1862, Hartwood Presbyterian Church was a barracks for sleeping Union cavalrymen wrapped in blankets. A few stirred outside, but most were asleep when suddenly galloping Confederate troopers rudely awakened them, capturing many of the Federals in a brief shoot-out while taking no casualties themselves. A squadron of Confederate Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalry had crossed the Rappahannock River, evaded or cpatured isolated pickets (also called videttes), and surprised the men here., It should not have happened. Capt. George Johnson, 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, had arrived here four days earlier with two squadrons and clear orders. Hartwood was on the edge of Union-held territory, one of several advanced cavalry picket posts to detect Confederate forces to the west and protect the main army camped closer to Fredericksburg from attack. Gen. William W. Averell, former commander of Johnson's regiment, had sent a messenger to alert him of Confederate activity nearby. Instead of ordering increased patrols, however, Johnson had spent his time drawing graffiti on the church's walls. After the debacle, Averell, outraged, had Johnson dismissed from the service., Confederate Gen. Fitzhugh Lee the 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry picket here on February 25, 1863, and captured many cavalrymen in what is called the "Battle of Hartwood Church." A counterattack drove Lee away with several casualties, however, unlike the earlier clash here. Other engagements occurred near here in August, October, and November 1863. ,
"[He] permitted his command to be surprised and a greater portion of it captured, bringing disgrace and shame upon his regiment and the brigade to which it belonged, and our cavalry service into disrepute. I ... request that ... Capt. George Johnson, Third Pennsylvania Cavalry, be dropped from the rolls, or, if an opportunity shall occur to bring him to trial, that it may be done." , Gen. William W. Averell, Nov. 29, 1862, (sidebar) , An Anglican chapel stood here by about 1767; by 1798 Presbyterians worshiped here. In 1825, the Presbyterian congregation was organized and built a frame church called the Yellow Chapel. The present Greek Revival-style church was constructed in 1858 using enslaved labor. Enslaved and free blacks used a separate entrance and sat in the gallery. During the Civil War, when Union troops occupied the church, the soldiers burned for firewood all the wooden parts, including doors, trim, and floors, leaving only the damaged walls. The congregation restored the building, except for the graffiti, by 1868., (captions) , The Vidette, 1901, N.C. Wyeth, private collection. , Courtesy Brandywine River Museum of Art , Lt. Col. Samuel W. Owen, 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, Aug. 1862, caught napping with a liquor bottle planted on his cot as a joke Library of Congress