Randolph in Charlotte County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
The Confederate Trail
Photographed by Mike McKeown, October 12, 2025
1. The Confederate Trail Marker
In mid 1864, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's main army was besieged in the city of Petersburg. Union General Ulysses S. Grant focused his campaign on Lee's forces hoping to seal a Confederate defeat. The scene was set for a long and terrible siege.
Grant began destroying the Confederate railroad tracks and burning the depots. He knew that without the supplies that arrived by railroad, Lee had no chance of surviving the siege. The Richmond and Danville Railroad including the railroad bridge over the Staunton River became one of Grant's targets.
To stop the flow of supplies to Lee's army Grant had dispatched cavalry divisions under Brigadier Generals James H. Wilson and August V. Kautz to destroy the railroads west of Petersburg. Wilson's forces had been continually dogged by a smaller Confederate division led by General W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee, son of Robert E. Lee. Although Lee had managed to slow the enemy's progress, he could not keep them from reaching
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Upon hearing that the Federals were soon to arrive with over 5,000 men, Captain Benjamin L. Farinholt in command of the defenses at the Staunton River bridge made a desperate call for volunteers to join the 250 reserves in his change. While most able men of fighting age were stationed elsewhere Captain William B. Hurt and his group of Home Guards immediately responded to the call as did John Powell's Halifax Boys Academy. Old men and young boys from the area showed courage and southern spirit by volunteering. It became known locally as "as the day everybody went to the bridge to fight."
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Bridges & Viaducts • Railroads & Streetcars • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #18 Ulysses S. Grant series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 25, 1864.
Location. 36° 53.049′ N, 78° 42.308′ W. Marker is in Randolph, Virginia, in Charlotte County. It can be reached from Fort Hill Trail east of Black Walnut Road, on the left when traveling east. Along the walking trail
Photographed by Mike McKeown, October 12, 2025
2. The Confederate Trail Marker
Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont, in Southside Virginia, and specifically 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 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Guarding A Lifeline (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Battle of Staunton River Bridge (approx. Ό mile away); Wilsons orders were to destroy the Richmond and Danville Railroad to the greatest extent possible (approx. Ύ mile away); Roanoke Station (approx. 0.8 miles away); Wilson-Kautz Raid (approx. 0.8 miles away); Mulberry Hill
Library of Congress
3. Confederate Gen. W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee
Also see . . . Staunton River Battlefield State Park. (Submitted on December 3, 2025, by Mike McKeown of Baltimore, Maryland.)
Credits. This page was last revised on December 6, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 3, 2025, by Mike McKeown of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 84 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 3, 2025, by Mike McKeown of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
