Near Doswell in Hanover County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

The Ox Ford Road

May 23, 1864 11:00am - 8:00pm

— Gray Trail —

The Ox Ford Road Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 18, 2009

1. The Ox Ford Road Marker

Inscription.

The Ox Ford Road. May 23, 1864 11:00am - 8:00pm. At 11:00 a.m. six cannon of Major John Lane’s Georgia artillery battalion, followed closely by Brigadier General Edward A. Perry’s weakened 270-man Florida infantry brigade, moved down this road to cover the vital crossing of Ox Ford. As the Union army threatened to cross the North Anna, eleven cannon of Lieutenant Colonel David G. McIntosh’s artillery battalion, supported by Brigadier General Ambrose “Rans” Wright’s Georgia infantry brigade, raced along the Ox Ford Road to reinforce Lane and went into battery overlooking Ox Ford. By 8:00 p.m. these units, all of Brigadier General William H. Mahone’s Division, had taken positions on the bluffs overlooking the river. Their field of fire covered both the Telegraph Road bridge [Chesterfield bridge] and Ox Ford., In the exchange of cannon fire that evening Lieutenant Robert S. Pearce, commanding Clutter’s battery of McIntosh’s battalion, received a mortal wound., Union success at Jericho Mill and against Henagan’s redoubt on the Telegraph Road that same evening forced General Robert E. Lee to fall back to a new line anchored on the North Anna River at Ox Ford. After working through the night of May 23 and early morning of May 24, the Army of Northern Virginia, which Lee had positioned in an “inverted V” capable of splitting Grant’s army into three parts, again lay ready for the inevitable Union advance., General Lee rode these lines along the Ox Ford Road and proclaimed of his opponent, General Ulysses S. Grant, “If I can get one more pull at him, I will defeat him.”, (sidebar) , The interpretative work in this park has been made possible through the cooperative efforts of the American Battlefield Protection Program [NPS], State of Virginia, Hanover County Parks and Recreation department, and the members of the Blue and Gray Education Society. J. Michael Miller was the historical consultant. Mr. James W. Davis of Flushing, New York, generously replaced the ten original 1998 prints with reprints in 2004., (captions) , Brigadier General William H. Mahone , Telegraph Road Bridge following Federal capture

At 11:00 a.m. six cannon of Major John Lane’s Georgia artillery battalion, followed closely by Brigadier General Edward A. Perry’s weakened 270-man Florida infantry brigade, moved down this road to cover the vital crossing of Ox Ford. As the Union army threatened to cross the North Anna, eleven cannon of Lieutenant Colonel David G. McIntosh’s artillery battalion, supported by Brigadier General Ambrose “Rans” Wright’s Georgia infantry brigade, raced along the Ox Ford Road to reinforce Lane and went into battery overlooking Ox Ford. By 8:00 p.m. these units, all of Brigadier General William H. Mahone’s Division, had taken positions on the bluffs overlooking the river. Their field of fire covered both the Telegraph Road bridge [Chesterfield bridge] and Ox Ford.

In the exchange of cannon fire that evening Lieutenant Robert S. Pearce, commanding Clutter’s battery of McIntosh’s battalion, received a mortal wound.

Union success at Jericho Mill and against Henagan’s redoubt on the Telegraph Road that same evening forced General Robert E. Lee to fall back to a new line anchored on the North Anna River at Ox Ford. After working through the night of May 23 and early morning of May 24, the Army of Northern Virginia, which Lee had positioned in an “inverted V” capable of splitting Grant’s army into three parts, again lay ready

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for the inevitable Union advance.

General Lee rode these lines along the Ox Ford Road and proclaimed of his opponent, General Ulysses S. Grant, “If I can get one more pull at him, I will defeat him.”

(sidebar)
The interpretative work in this park has been made possible through the cooperative efforts of the American Battlefield Protection Program [NPS], State of Virginia, Hanover County Parks and Recreation department, and the members of the Blue and Gray Education Society. J. Michael Miller was the historical consultant. Mr. James W. Davis of Flushing, New York, generously replaced the ten original 1998 prints with reprints in 2004.

(captions)
Brigadier General William H. Mahone
Telegraph Road Bridge following Federal capture

Erected 1998 by Blue & Gray Education Society, Hanover County Parks and Recreation Department. (Marker Number Stop 1.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Roads & Vehicles • War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is May 23, 1864.

Location. 37° 53.035′ N, 77° 29.973′ W. Marker is near Doswell, Virginia, in Hanover County. It can be reached from Verndon Road (Virginia Route 684) 0.2 miles west of New Market Mill Road ( Route 685), on the right when traveling west.

Photographed by Blue & Gray Education Society

2. The Ox Ford Road Marker

Located along the "Gray Trail" in North Anna Battlefield Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 11576 Verdon Rd, Doswell VA 23047, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Central Virginia,

and in the Richmond Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Colonel Weisiger's Virginians (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Battle on the Skirmish Line (about 600 feet away); In Memory (about 800 feet away); One Brigade Alone (approx. 0.2 miles away); Dead of the North Anna Battlefield (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Fight for North Anna / The North Anna Battlefield (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Heart of Dixie (approx. ¼ mile away); Run for Safety (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Doswell.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. North Anna Battlefield Park "Gray Trail" Markers

Also see . . .
1. North Anna Battlefield Park. Hanover County Parks & Recreation (Submitted on July 3, 2014.)

2. The Battle of North Anna. Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park (Submitted on July 19, 2009.)

3. North Anna. American Battlefield Trust (Submitted on July 19, 2009.)

4. North Anna Battlefield Park Sign Project. Blue & Gray Education Society (Submitted on February 25, 2020.)

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 18, 2009

3. Stop 1 Map

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 18, 2009

4. Stop 1

The Ox Ford Road Trace image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 18, 2009

5. The Ox Ford Road Trace

Telegraph Road trace east of the park. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, April 9, 2009

6. Telegraph Road trace east of the park.

North Anna Battlefield Park Entrance (Verdon Rd) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 18, 2009

7. North Anna Battlefield Park Entrance (Verdon Rd)

North Anna Battlefield Park "Gray" Trail. image. Click for full size.

The General Crushed Stone Company

8. North Anna Battlefield Park "Gray" Trail.

Gen. William Mahone, C.S.A image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mathew Brady, circa 1865

9. Gen. William Mahone, C.S.A

National Archives Identifier 529228

Chesterfield Bridge, North Anna River, Va. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by T.H. O'Sullivan, circa May 1864

10. Chesterfield Bridge, North Anna River, Va.

Library of Congress [LC-USZ62-68631]

Credits. This page was last revised on August 14, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 19, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,515 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 19, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 2. submitted on February 25, 2020. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on July 19, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 9. submitted on February 25, 2020. 10. submitted on July 19, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.