North Newport News , Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Lee Hall

Siege Headquarters

— 1862 Peninsula Campaign —

Lee Hall Marker image. Click for full size.

By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), June 10, 2025

1. Lee Hall Marker

Inscription.

Lee Hall. Siege Headquarters. , The small redoubt in front of you is the only visual evidence of Lee Hall's military occupation by the Confederate army from March through May 1862. The antebellum mansion to your right served as a headquarters building for both Maj. Gen. John Bankhead Magruder, CSA, and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, during the Peninsula Campaign's Warwick-Yorktown Siege., Lee Hall was completed in 1859 for one of Warwick County's leading landowners, Richard d. Lee. Lee had risen to prominence by following Edmund Ruffin's concepts of "scientific farming" which had given new life to the tobacco-depleted soil and had provided him with the resources to build this avant-garde Italianate style mansion., When John Bankhead Magruder first came to the Peninsual in May 1861, it was R.D. Lee who showed him the Warwick River and how it would become the Confederate main line of defense. Magruder used Lee Hall as one of his headquarters buildings during his year-long command of the self-styled Army of the Peninsula., When the Peninsula Campaign's Warwick-Yorktown Siege entered into its second week, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and the main Confederate army was sent down the Peninsula to help block the Union army's advance. Johnston used Lee Hall as his temporary headquarters on April 12, when he surveyed Magruder's fortifications and once again on April 17, when he returned from a conference in Richmond. During his second day at Lee Hall, Johnston approved John Randolph Bryan's aerial observations of the Federal siege lines. A hot air balloon was sent aloft that day in front of the mansion to test the concept's feasibility., Once in command on the Peninsula, Joe Johnston reorganized the Confederate command structure. Magruder was basically demoted from army to divisional commander, in charge of the Confederate right wing from Dam No. 1 to Mulberry Island. Three other generals now outranked him on the Peninsula, which was particularly irksome to Prince John Magruder. No longer the lead actor, Magruder began to sulk in his re-established headquarters at lee Hall, criticizing the design and armament of the very defenses he had developed.

The small redoubt in front of you is the only visual evidence of Lee Hall's military occupation by the Confederate army from March through May 1862. The antebellum mansion to your right served as a headquarters building for both Maj. Gen. John Bankhead Magruder, CSA, and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, during the Peninsula Campaign's Warwick-Yorktown Siege.

Lee Hall was completed in 1859 for one of Warwick County's leading landowners, Richard d. Lee. Lee had risen to prominence by following Edmund Ruffin's concepts of "scientific farming" which had given new life to the tobacco-depleted soil and had provided him with the resources to build this avant-garde Italianate style mansion.

When John Bankhead Magruder first came to the Peninsual in May 1861, it was R.D. Lee who showed him the Warwick River and how it would become the Confederate main line of defense. Magruder used Lee Hall as one of his headquarters buildings during his year-long command of the self-styled Army of the Peninsula.

When the Peninsula Campaign's Warwick-Yorktown Siege entered into its second week, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and the main Confederate

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army was sent down the Peninsula to help block the Union army's advance. Johnston used Lee Hall as his temporary headquarters on April 12, when he surveyed Magruder's fortifications and once again on April 17, when he returned from a conference in Richmond. During his second day at Lee Hall, Johnston approved John Randolph Bryan's aerial observations of the Federal siege lines. A hot air balloon was sent aloft that day in front of the mansion to test the concept's feasibility.

Once in command on the Peninsula, Joe Johnston reorganized the Confederate command structure. Magruder was basically demoted from army to divisional commander, in charge of the Confederate right wing from Dam No. 1 to Mulberry Island. Three other generals now outranked him on the Peninsula, which was particularly irksome to Prince John Magruder. No longer the lead actor, Magruder began to sulk in his re-established headquarters at lee Hall, criticizing the design and armament of the very defenses he had developed.

Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Forts and Castles

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), June 10, 2025

2. Lee Hall Marker

• War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical date for this entry is April 12, 1862.

Location. 37° 11.993′ N, 76° 34.466′ W. Marker is in Newport News, Virginia. It is in North Newport News. It is on Yorktown Road (Virginia Route 238) north of Chelsea Place, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Newport News VA 23603, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Peninsula,

in Hampton Roads,

in Coastal Virginia,

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. 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:

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An Earthwork In Front (within shouting distance of this marker); Largest and Most Valuable Estate in the County (within shouting distance of this marker); Master and Slaves (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); A Large Brick Kitchen (about 400 feet away); a different marker also named Lee Hall (about 400 feet away); Homestead by the Main Road (about 400 feet away); Chessie System Caboose (approx. 0.4 miles away); a different marker also named Lee Hall (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Newport News.

Other markers no longer nearby. An Earthwork in Front (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named Lee Hall (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This marker has replaced the linked marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 19, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 152 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 19, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.