Sangster's Station

Sangster's Station. "Tears And Love For The Blue - Love And Tears For The Grey". , During the Civil War, the Orange and Alexandria Railroad was strategically important to both the Union and the Confederate armies. Sangster's Station, located 1-3/4 miles to your right where Colchester Road crosses under the railroad tracks, was the site of at least two engagements., In March 1862, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston abandoned his northern Virginia lines and led his army south to defend Richmond. As the last of his forces neared the Rappahannock River on March 9, Union cavalrymen advancing from Alexandria encountered a Confederate rear guard at Sangster's Station. During the fight, Lt. Henry B. Hidden of the 1st New York (Lincoln) Cavalry was killed leading 14 dragoons in a charge. The Confederates continued to withdraw., On the evening of December 17, 1863, during a winter lightning storm, Sangster's came under attack for the second and last time. Confederate cavalry of the Laurel Brigade, with local soldiers of the Chinquapin Rangers as guides, captured a Union stockade fort guarding the railroad there. The Confederate raid, which began near Fredericksburg, ended in the Shenandoah Valley. En route, some of the troopers drowned crossing swollen waterways while others had soaked clothing freeze to their saddles as the cold rain turned to snow and sleet., [Sidebar:] , In 1849, Edward and Mary Sangster sold part of their land to the Orange and Alexandria Railroad Company. A station house was built nearby, and a post office was opened in March 1852. The county poor farm was located at Sangster's from 1842 to 1911.