Riverside in Lynchburg, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Packet Boat Marshall
Bringing Stonewall Jackson Home
On Wednesday, May 13, the train bearing Jackson’s remains pulled into Lynchburg’s Orange and Alexandria Railroad station at 6:30 P.M. Businesses were closed, church bells tolled, and cannons fired as large crowds gathered to pay their respects. An evening service was held in First Presbyterian Church. The coffin was then placed aboard the Marshall, and mules connected to the vessel by towlines pulled it slowly upriver. The boat, which also bore Jackson’s widow, Anna Morrison Jackson, reached Lexington the next morning. On Friday, May 15, Stonewall Jackson was laid to rest.
The packet boat Marshall was damaged in Lexington in June 1864 during Union Gen. David Hunter’s raid. Repaired the next year, it continued in service until 1880, when the canal company went out of business and the old towpath became a railroad bed. The Marshall was docked near Early Street and served as the home of Corbin Spencer and his sister. In 1913, a flood buried the vessel in mud. The iron hull was excavated in 1936 and placed in Riverside Park. In 2006, the Lynchburg Historical Foundation restored the hull and placed it in this protective structure.
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The packet boat Marshall was commissioned in August 1861 to carry mail and passengers on the James River and Kanawha Canal. It was 90 feet long, 14 feet wide, and with a handmade 3/16-inch-thick iron hull. The cabin interior, paneled with Dominican mahogany, had staterooms for male and female passengers, and a dining salon in which hung canvas sleeping berths at night.
Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: War, US Civil • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1925.
Location. 37° 26.365′ N, 79° 9.785′ W. Marker is in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is in Riverside. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Riverside Street and Rivermont Avenue. Located in Riverside Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lynchburg VA 24503, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Hull of the Packet Boat Marshall (a few steps from this marker); Troubled to Healing Waters (within shouting distance of this marker); The Long View (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Fink Deck Truss (about 700 feet away); Miller-Claytor House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Safe Haven in Lynchburg: Project Y (approx. 0.3 miles away); Pearl S. Buck (approx. 0.6 miles away); Randolph-Macon Woman's College (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lynchburg.
More about this marker. On the upper left is a photo of "Gen. Thomas J. Jackson" Courtesy Library of Congress.
On the right are two photos with the captions, "The Marshall under tow in its heyday." and "The Marshall, beached, in its later years before 1913." Courtesy Blackwell Press & Lynchburg Historical Foundation, Inc.
Also see . . . Southside Virginia Civil War - Lynchburg. Virginia Civil War Trails (Submitted on April 13, 2012.)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 13, 2012, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,427 times since then and 66 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 13, 2012, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 5. submitted on March 20, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia.