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Locust Grove in Orange County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

The Battle of Payne’s Farm

The Stonewall Brigade

 
 
The Battle of Payne’s Farm CWT Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, June 6, 2011
1. The Battle of Payne’s Farm CWT Marker
Inscription. “We soon struck the Yankee skirmishers and drove them back through the woods to an open field, where we ran into French’s entire corps and into about the hottest place that could be imagined.” — Capt. William B. Colston, 2nd Virginia Infantry, CSA

“Thousands of shots were fired at that lone hero [Pvt. Alexander T. Barclay, Stonewall Brigade]. ‘Shoot the man with the flag’ was heard all around. Hearing a sergeant near me give that command, I said: ‘Don’t shoot that man, he is too brave to kill.” — Sgt. John R. King, 6th Maryland Infantry, USA

After countermarching to the scene of the action, the famed Stonewall Brigade under Gen. James A. Walker formed a line of battle along the Raccoon Ford Road behind you. The 2nd Virginia Infantry advanced in a strong skirmish line and moved to your left, threatening the flank of Union Gen. Henry Prince’s division.

Union Gen. Joseph B. Carr’s division drove back the Virginians as well as other Confederate skirmishers. In the fighting, Lt. Col. Raleigh Colston, 2nd Virginia Infantry, was mortally wounded.

When Confederate Gen. Edward Johnson’s entire force had assembled and he ordered it forward, the Stonewall Brigade advanced through this area and into the open ground beyond, where it suffered heavily from
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flanking fire. The brigade wisely fell back and occupied this position at the edge of the woods. However, Pvt. Alexander T. Barclay, 4th Virginia Infantry, seized the regimental flag, walked calmly out into the open field, and planted the flag well in front of the rest of the line. Remaining in that position for some time, the brave soldier slowly faced about and returned unscathed to the safety of the woods despite the many shots fired at him.
 
Erected 2011 by The Civil War Trust and Virginia Civil War Trails.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails series list.
 
Location. 38° 20.116′ N, 77° 49.508′ W. Marker is in Locust Grove, Virginia, in Orange County. Marker can be reached from Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611) near Zoar School Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 31334 Zoar Road, Locust Grove VA 22508, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. A different marker also named The Battle of Payne’s Farm (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); a different marker also named The Battle of Payne’s Farm (about 500 feet away); a different marker also named The Battle of Payne’s Farm (about 500 feet away); a
Confederate Gen. James Alexander Walker image. Click for full size.
2. Confederate Gen. James Alexander Walker
different marker also named The Battle of Payne’s Farm (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named The Battle of Payne’s Farm (approx. ¼ mile away); The Mine Run Campaign (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named The Mine Run Campaign (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named The Battle of Payne’s Farm (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Locust Grove.
 
More about this marker. In the center is a portrait with the caption, "Confederate Gen. James Alexander Walker was known as a brave and desperate fighter—a quality most desirable for one in command of the famed Stonewall Brigade. At Payne’s Farm and elsewhere, his command was in the thickest of the fight. Miller’s Photographic History of the Civil War (1911)"

On the right is a map of the battlefield with the caption, "After skirmishing in this area earlier in the day, the Stonewall Brigade charged into the open field in front of you but fell back under severe flanking fire. It held its position here as other Confederate brigades advanced from right to left across the open field in
Position of the Stonewall Brigade image. Click for full size.
3. Position of the Stonewall Brigade
front of you."

On the lower right are two photographs with the caption, "Two men who lived to tell the tale, Joseph Edmunds Timberlake and Thomas W. Timberlake, both enlisted in the 2nd Virginia at age nineteen. Both were wounded at Payne’s Farm, both recuperated at Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, and both were again wounded the following year. Confederate Veteran Magazine (1914; 1923)"
 
Also see . . .
1. Mine Run (Payne's Farm). American Battlefield Trust (Submitted on June 6, 2011.) 

2. The Mine Run Campaign by James K. Bryant II. Essential Civil War Curriculum, Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech (Submitted on June 6, 2011.) 
 
Veterans of the Battle of Payne's Farm image. Click for full size.
4. Veterans of the Battle of Payne's Farm
The Battle of Payne’s Farm Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Benjamin Harrison Allen, November 26, 2021
5. The Battle of Payne’s Farm Marker
A new version of the marker has been installed.
South edge of the open fields on Payne's Farm image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, June 6, 2011
6. South edge of the open fields on Payne's Farm
On the trail nearby. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, June 6, 2011
7. On the trail nearby.
Payne’s Farm Battlefield image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher
8. Payne’s Farm Battlefield
Union troops were positioned in the near treeline (left), while Confederate forces advanced from the distant Payne Farm Lane (far right).
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 24, 2022. It was originally submitted on June 6, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,064 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 6, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.   5. submitted on February 23, 2022, by Benjamin Harrison Allen of Amissville, Virginia.   6, 7, 8. submitted on June 6, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.

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Mar. 28, 2024