Delaplane in Fauquier County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Piedmont Station
By Train to Manassas
| — | First Manassas Campaign | — |
Photographed by J. J. Prats, October 18, 2006
1. Piedmont Station Marker
Here at Piedmont Station (now Delaplane) trains were used for the first time in history to move troops to impending battle. On July 19, 1861 the fields surrounding this stop on the Manassas Gap Railroad—which appeared then almost exactly as they do today—were filled with thousands of volunteer soldiers, members of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederate Army of the Shenandoah. A single steam locomotive was on hand to move the army to Manassas Junction, then threatened with Federal attack. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson’s 1st Brigade, ordered here from their bivouac in the meadows just south of Paris, were loaded onto freight and cattle cars for the first transport, which took eight hours to cover the 30 miles to Manassas.
Sunday morning. July 21, Jackson’s troops marched from Manassas Junction to Henry House Hill to participate in the first major battle of the Civil War. There Jackson would earn the immortal title “Stonewall.”
That same day the final brigade to leave this station was delayed en route when the train collided with an unspecified obstruction. Suspecting sabotage by railroad officials, the Confederates held a military trial, found the conductor guilty of bribery and intentionally wrecking the train, and executed him on the spot.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists:
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Location. 38° 54.89′ N, 77° 55.263′ W. Marker is in Delaplane, Virginia, in Fauquier County. It is at the intersection of Delaplane Grade Road and Winchester Road (U.S. 17), on the left when traveling east on Delaplane Grade Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Delaplane VA 20144, United States of America. Touch for directions.
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 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 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Delaplane (within shouting distance of this marker); Emmanuel Episcopal Church (approx. 1.1 miles away); Oak Hill (approx. 2 miles away); John Marshall's Leeds Manor Rural Historic District (approx. 2.1 miles away); Rectortown (approx. 2.8 miles away); The Rosenwald School in Rectortown, "No. 12" (approx. 4 miles away); Brig. Gen. Turner Ashby, C.S.A. (approx. 4 miles away); Lee’s Bivouac, Gettysburg Campaign (approx. 4 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
Photographed by J. J. Prats, October 18, 2006
2. Piedmont Station and Delaplane Markers
Also see . . . Too Few Trains: The Reinforcement of P. G. T. Beauregard at First Manassas. By Charles T. Harrell. (Submitted on October 22, 2006.)
Photographed by Craig Swain, June 16, 2007
3. Piedmont Railroad Station
Several buildings around the old station date to the Civil War. This building is currently an antique store.
Photographed by Bradley Owen, October 16, 2016
4. Piedmont Railroad Station
Credits. This page was last revised on November 3, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 22, 2006, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 7,489 times since then and 134 times this year. Last updated on April 12, 2011, by Jonathan Carruthers of Bealeton, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 22, 2006, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 3. submitted on June 17, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 4. submitted on February 10, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
