Rixeyville in Culpeper County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
The Little Fork Rangers Monument
Photographed By J. J. Prats, September 23, 2007
1. The Little Fork Rangers Monument
Affectionately dedicated to
The Little Fork Rangers
{Co. D, 4. Va. Cavalry.}
For heroic deeds, and
Patriotic devotion.
1865.
Firm as the firmest where duty led,
They hurried without falter;
Bold as the boldest they fought and bled,
The battled wore on, but the fields were red,
And the blood of their fresh young hearts was shed,
On their Country’s hallowed altar.
—Ryan
(West face is inscribed with four columns of names)
Erected 1904.
Topics. This historical marker and monument is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1861.
Location. 38° 35.992′ N, 77° 57.271′ W. Marker is in Rixeyville, Virginia, in Culpeper County. Marker is at the intersection of Oak Shade Road (County Route 624) and Little Fork Church Road (County Route 726) on Oak Shade Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Rixeyville VA 22737, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies.
this page online
More about this monument. Marker is on the front lawn of the Little Fork Episcopal Church which is half a mile east of Rixeyville Road (Va Route 229).
Regarding The Little Fork Rangers Monument. The Little Fork Church grounds were used as a drill field by the Little Fork Rangers, a cavalry company formed in 1860 in Culpeper County.
Also see . . . Little Fork Church National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form. "Little Fork's churchyard contains no graves but does possess a large marble monument erected in 1904 to the memory of the Little Fork Rangers, a Confederate company." (Submitted on September 26, 2007, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.)
Additional commentary.
Photographed By J. J. Prats, September 23, 2007
2. The Little Fork Rangers Monument
by Abram Joseph Ryan (1839–1886)
Stanza inscribed on monument is from this short poem by Father Ryan, published in 1880.
Young as the youngest who donned the Gray,
True as the truest that wore it,
Brave as the bravest he marched away,
(Hot tears on the cheeks of his mother lay)
Triumphant waved our flag one day—
He fell in the front before it.
Firm as the firmest, where duty led,
He hurried without a falter;
Bold as the boldest he fought and bled,
And the day was won—but the field was red—
And the blood of his fresh young heart was shed
On his country’s hallowed altar.
On the trampled breast of the battle plain
Where the foremost ranks had wrestled,
On his pale, pure face not a mark of pain,
(His mother dreams they will meet again)
The fairest form amid all the slain,
Like a child asleep he nestled.
In the solemn shades of the wood that swept
The field where his comrades found him,
They buried him there—and the big tears crept
Into strong men’s eyes that had seldom wept.
(His mother—God pity her—smiled and slept,
Dreaming her arms were around him.)
A grave in the woods with the grass o’ergrown,
Photographed By J. J. Prats, September 23, 2007
3. North Inscription at Rear of Monument
His clay in the one lies lifeless and lone;
There is not a name, there is not a stone,
And only the voice of the winds maketh moan
O’er the grave where never a flower is strewn
But—his memory lives in the other.
— Submitted September 24, 2007, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.
Photographed By J. J. Prats, September 23, 2007
4. Bas Relief on East Face of Base
Photographed By J. J. Prats, September 23, 2007
5. Roster of Names on West Face
Photographed By J. J. Prats, September 23, 2007
6. Statue on the Little Fork Rangers Monument
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on September 23, 2007, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,448 times since then and 266 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on September 26, 2007, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.
