Delaplane in Fauquier County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Death of 2d Lt. James "Big Yankee" Ames
Photographed by T. Elizabeth Renich, July 29, 2026
1. Death of 2d Lt. James “Big Yankee” Ames Marker
Sgt. James F. Ames of the 5th New York Cavalry deserted the Union army in Feb. 1863 and joined John S. Mosby's Partisan Rangers (later 43d Cavalry Battalion). Nicknamed "Big Yankee," Ames rose to the rank of 2d lieutenant. On the night of 8-9 Mar. 1863, he guided Mosby's Rangers on the Fairfax Court House raid in which Mosby captured Union Brig. Gen. Edwin Stoughton. On 9 Oct. 1864, when Mosby was in this area to disrupt railroad repairs, a Union scout shot and killed Ames northeast of here at a farm along the road from Delaplane to Upperville. Ranger Ludwell Lake Jr. then shot Ames's likely killer. Ames was buried near where he fell. Mosby wrote of Ames, "I never had a more faithful follower."
Erected 2025 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number B-40.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1863.
Location. 38° 55.102′ N, 77° 55.441′ W. Marker is in Delaplane, Virginia, in Fauquier County. It is on Winchester Road
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Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Northern Virginia. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in 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 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Delaplane (approx. ¼ mile away); Piedmont Station (approx. 0.3 miles away); Emmanuel Episcopal Church (approx. 1.4 miles away); John Marshall's Leeds Manor Rural Historic District (approx. 2.2 miles away); Oak Hill (approx. 2.3 miles away); Rectortown (approx. 3 miles away); Brig. Gen. Turner Ashby, C.S.A. (approx. 3.9 miles away); Lee’s Bivouac, Gettysburg Campaign (approx. 3.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Delaplane.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Death of 2d Lt. James “Big Yankee” Ames (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Credits. This page was last revised on October 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 22, 2026, by T. Elizabeth Renich of Winchester, Virginia. This page has been viewed 7 times since then. Photo 1. submitted on July 29, 2026, by T. Elizabeth Renich of Winchester, Virginia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. A wide shot of the marker in context. • Can you help?
