Daniels Hill in Lynchburg, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Point of Honor

Spies in Lynchburg

— Hunter's Raid —

Point of Honor CWT Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, April 12, 2012

1. Point of Honor CWT Marker

Inscription.

Point of Honor. Spies in Lynchburg. (preface) On May 26, 1864, Union Gen. David Hunter marched south from Cedar Creek near Winchester to drive out Confederate forces, lay waste to the Shenandoah Valley, and destroy transportation facilities at Lynchburg. His raid was part of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s strategy to attack Confederates simultaneously throughout Virginia. After defeating Gen. William E. “Grumble” Jones at Piedmont on June 5, Hunter marched to Lexington, burned Virginia Military Institute, and headed to Lynchburg. Here, on June 17-18, Gen. Jubal A. Early repulsed Hunter and pursued him to West Virginia. Early then turned north in July to threaten Washington., Col. Robert Owen, president of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, owned Point of Honor during the war. This railroad, one of three that served Lynchburg, transported thousands of Confederate troops as well as wounded, supplies, prisoners of war, and refugees. It connected Lynchburg to Bristol, Tennessee, where it joined other southern railroads, and formed a strategically vital western supply lifeline for Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. The tracks here ran along Blackwater Creek in the va1ley west of this location., Owen’s wife, Narcissa, was the daughter of a Cherokee chief. She headed the local Soldiers Aid Society that made uniforms, knapsacks, and other items for Confederate soldiers. Before the Battle of Lynchburg, two men calling themselves Confederates appeared at Point of Honor asking for food. Narcissa Owen told them that there were 20,000 Confederates in the city to boost their morale, and that they would “give the Yanks fits” in the morning. The men, however, were really Union Gen. David Hunter’s spies, and her exaggeration may have helped convince Hunter to retreat on June 18. In Kansas after the war, Owen first learned from her housekeeper that the men were Union spies, one of them the housekeeper’s father., (sidebar) , Built by Dr. George Cabell, Sr., in 1815, this refined, Federal-style dwelling is stylistically linked to houses in Richmond. The source of the name is not known, but local legend suggests that duels were fought here. Cabell owned vast properties in Virginia, including this 737-acre plantation and a nearby tobacco warehouse where batteaux were loaded and goods shipped to Richmond on the James River. Point of Honor was restored and opened to the public in 1977 as part of the Lynchburg Museum System. All photographs are courtesy of Lynchburg Museum System, (captions) , Early photo of Point of Honor , Robert Owen , Narcissa Owen

(preface) On May 26, 1864, Union Gen. David Hunter marched south from Cedar Creek near Winchester to drive out Confederate forces, lay waste to the Shenandoah Valley, and destroy transportation facilities at Lynchburg. His raid was part of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s strategy to attack Confederates simultaneously throughout Virginia. After defeating Gen. William E. “Grumble” Jones at Piedmont on June 5, Hunter marched to Lexington, burned Virginia Military Institute, and headed to Lynchburg. Here, on June 17-18, Gen. Jubal A. Early repulsed Hunter and pursued him to West Virginia. Early then turned north in July to threaten Washington.

Col. Robert Owen, president of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, owned Point of Honor during the war. This railroad, one of three that served Lynchburg, transported thousands of Confederate troops as well as wounded, supplies, prisoners of war, and refugees. It connected Lynchburg to Bristol, Tennessee, where it joined other southern railroads, and formed a strategically vital western supply lifeline for Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. The tracks here ran along Blackwater Creek in the va1ley west of this location.

Owen’s wife, Narcissa, was the daughter of a Cherokee chief. She headed the local Soldiers Aid Society that made uniforms, knapsacks,

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and other items for Confederate soldiers. Before the Battle of Lynchburg, two men calling themselves Confederates appeared at Point of Honor asking for food. Narcissa Owen told them that there were 20,000 Confederates in the city to boost their morale, and that they would “give the Yanks fits” in the morning. The men, however, were really Union Gen. David Hunter’s spies, and her exaggeration may have helped convince Hunter to retreat on June 18. In Kansas after the war, Owen first learned from her housekeeper that the men were Union spies—one of them the housekeeper’s father.

(sidebar)
Built by Dr. George Cabell, Sr., in 1815, this refined, Federal-style dwelling is stylistically linked to houses in Richmond. The source of the name is not known, but local legend suggests that duels were fought here. Cabell owned vast properties in Virginia, including this 737-acre plantation and a nearby tobacco warehouse where batteaux were loaded and goods shipped to Richmond on the James River. Point of Honor was restored and opened to the public in 1977 as part of the Lynchburg Museum System. All photographs are courtesy of Lynchburg Museum System

(captions)
Early photo of Point of Honor
Robert Owen
Narcissa Owen

Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails.

Topics and series.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, April 12, 2012

2. Point of Honor CWT Marker

This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 17, 1864.

Location. 37° 25.243′ N, 79° 8.591′ W. Marker is in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is in Daniels Hill. It is at the intersection of Norwood Street and A Street, on the right when traveling north on Norwood Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 112 Cabell Street, Lynchburg VA 24504, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Virginia.

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: Point Of Honor (within shouting distance of this marker); Mary Virginia Ellet Cabell (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Allen Weir Freeman, M.D. (approx. 0.2 miles away); Douglas Southall Freeman (approx. 0.2 miles away); Lynchburg History (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Academy of Music (1905-1958) (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Ladies Relief Hospital (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named The Ladies Relief Hospital (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lynchburg.

Also see . . .
1. Southside Virginia Civil War - Lynchburg. Virginia Civil War Trails (Submitted on April 13, 2012.)

2. Point of Honor, Lynchburg, Virginia. (Submitted on April 13, 2012.)

Point of Honor image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, April 12, 2012

3. Point of Honor

3. Point of Honor. National Register of Historic Places (Submitted on November 9, 2021.)

Photographed by Bradley Owen, October 15, 2017

4. Point of Honor

Credits. This page was last revised on September 14, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 13, 2012, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,000 times since then and 21 times this year. Last updated on September 13, 2024, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 13, 2012, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 4. submitted on March 18, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia.