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On General Johnston Place, on the right when traveling west.
In the fall of 1861, after their July defeat at Manassas (Bull Run), Union forces retreated to Washington, D.C. to organize and retrain. Confederate forces concentrated in Centreville to bolster their defense of Northern Virginia and protect access . . . — — Map (db m8028) HM
On Braddock Road (Virginia Route 620) at Mt Gilead Road, on the left when traveling west on Braddock Road.
Tavern Landscape
Archaeologists explored the tavern lot and discovered the tavern foundation, an outbuilding’s stone foundation, a small brick foundation, the privy foundation, and a number of trash pits. The tavern’s cellar foundation was . . . — — Map (db m71321) HM
On Battery Ridge Lane, on the right when traveling east.
Located 40 ft. south of this location is the Flagler and Forsyth Family Cemetery, 1866.
Located 80 ft. to the north is a Civil War Fortification, 1861-1862. This was a part of a large military complex that extended from Centreville to . . . — — Map (db m15004) HM
On Centreville Road (Virginia Route 28), on the right when traveling south. Reported permanently removed.
On July 18, 1861, Gen. Irvin McDowell, the Union army commander, learned that the Confederate army had withdrawn from its Centreville earthworks to a strong defensive position behind Bull Run. McDowell ordered Gen. Daniel Tyler to reconnoiter the . . . — — Map (db m42643) HM
On Centreville Road (Virginia Route 28), on the right when traveling south.
By the early summer of 1861, Americans in both the North and South greeted the outbreak of war with patriotism and expectations of a quick decisive battle to end the conflict. In the North, the public clamored for immediate invasion to crush the . . . — — Map (db m42644) HM
On Centreville Road (Virginia Route 28) 1.3 miles south of Ordway Road (Virginia Route 658), on the right when traveling south.
On July 18, 1861, Gen. Irvin McDowell, the Union army commander, learned that the Confederate army had withdrawn from its Centreville earthworks to a strong defensive position behind Bull Run. McDowell ordered Gen. Daniel Tyler to reconnoiter the . . . — — Map (db m173364) HM
On Machen Road at U.S. 29, on the right when traveling south on Machen Road.
Seven miles south is Manassas, where Jackson, on his turning movement around Pope, destroyed vast quantities of supplies, August 26–27, 1862. Hill and Ewell of Jackson's force, coming from Manassas, reached Centreville on their way to Jackson's . . . — — Map (db m411) HM
On Braddock Road (Virginia Route 620) north of Mt Gilead Road, on the left when traveling north.
Destroyed during the Civil War. Rebuilt 1870. This Marker Presented in Memory of Martha Elliott Saunders by Her Children Otto Frank and Martha 1939
The Edifice Became the Anglican Church of the Ascension on December 23, 1973. — — Map (db m117176) HM
On Pickwick Road north of U.S. 29, on the right when traveling north.
In October 1861, nearly 40,000 troops of the Confederate Army encamped at Centreville. Over the winter they constructed approximately 17 miles of forts, trenches, rifle pits and batteries along the ridge from Centreville to Union Mills and . . . — — Map (db m531) HM
In the winter of 1861-1862, Centreville was the linchpin of extensive fortifications erected by Confederate troops to protect their winter quarters and block anticipated Union advances. The earthworks stretched nearly eight miles south and west of . . . — — Map (db m679) HM
On Bull Run Drive, 0.1 miles south of Bull Run Drive, on the left when traveling south.
During the American Civil War (1861-1865), soldiers from both the Union North and the Confederate South built huts known as "winter quarters" to live in during the winter months when fighting and troop movements were usually minimal.
The Bull . . . — — Map (db m152386) HM
On Machen Road at U.S. 29, on the right when traveling south on Machen Road.
Here while the Confederate army camped at Centreville, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston built strong fortifications in the winter of 1861–1862. In Feb. 1862, President Jefferson Davis ordered Johnston to evacuate them and move his army closer to Richmond, . . . — — Map (db m412) HM
On Braddock Road (Virginia Route 620) at Mt Gilead Road, on the left when traveling west on Braddock Road.
Naming of Newgate Before the town of Centreville was created in 1792, the area was named after places in London. Newgate Tavern may have been named after the infamous Newgate Prison. A property adjacent to the tavern was called Wapping after a . . . — — Map (db m71304) HM
On U.S. 29 west of Bull Run Post Office Road (County Route 609), on the right when traveling west.
Fairfax County. Area 417 square miles. Formed in 1742 from Prince William and Loudoun, and named for Lord Fairfax, Proprietor of the Northern Neck. Mount Vernon, George Washington's home, is in this county.
Prince William . . . — — Map (db m166336) HM
On Machen Road at U.S. 29, on the right when traveling south on Machen Road. Reported permanently removed.
McDowell gathered his forces here, July 18, 1861, to attack Beauregard, who lay west of Bull Run. From here a part of the Union army moved north to cross Bull Run and turn the Confederate left wing, July 21, 1861. This movement brought on the battle. — — Map (db m40320) HM
Near Saint Germain Drive at Machen Road, on the right when traveling west.
Union Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell and his 35,000-man army left Washington, D.C., on 16 July 1861 and moved toward Manassas Junction, a strategically important railroad intersection defended by Confederate Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard. the Union . . . — — Map (db m168076) HM
In the afternoon of 21 July 1861, after Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's and Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard's Confederates defeated Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell's Union army, the bridge over Cub Run was jammed with retreating Federal soldiers as well as . . . — — Map (db m413) HM
On Braddock Road (Virginia Route 620) at Mt Gilead Road, on the left when traveling north on Braddock Road.
This house was owned by a married woman
That isn’t remarkable today, but it was in 1875 Virginia. In fact, Virginia Harrison had a male trustee help make the purchase for her. Why didn’t Virginia’s husband join her in buying this house? . . . — — Map (db m191574) HM
On Mount Gilead Road, 0.1 miles north of Braddock Road, on the right when traveling north.
Centreville had its beginnings as a humble crossroads community known as Newgate. When a town was established here, the name was changed to Centreville to reflect its central location on several strategic travel routes. Centreville's location was . . . — — Map (db m218372) HM
Tranquil today, these woods were once filled with the rhythmic sound of wooden gears, grinding stones, sawing blades and hissing steam.
Around 1760, James Lane, Jr. and his son William, members of the enterprising Lane family, built a mill to . . . — — Map (db m182504) HM
The roadbed of the Independent Line of the Manassas Gap Railroad ran through this area. Conceived to extend the Manassas Gap Railroad from Gainesville to Alexandria, grading on this part of the line began in September 1854. The nearby stone bridge . . . — — Map (db m655) HM
On Centreville Road (Virginia Route 28) south of New Braddock Road, on the right when traveling south.
Half a mile west is the terminus of the Centreville Military Railroad, the first railroad in the world constructed exclusively for military purposes. Built by the Confederate army late in 1861 because of impassable roads, it supplied the soldiers in . . . — — Map (db m887) HM
Near Braddock Road (Virginia Route 620) north of Mt Gilead Road, on the right when traveling north.
In Memory of
Minnie Minter Carter Saunders
A resident of Centreville area from 1884 to 1983. This building was constructed in 1937 using stone from Four Chimney House, also know as Grigsby House, believed to have been built by James . . . — — Map (db m114076) HM
On Mount Gilead Road at General Johnston Place, on the right when traveling south on Mount Gilead Road.
Built by Joel Beach and operated as a tavern until 1789.
Later owned by the Adams family and for almost 100 years by the Jamesson family.
Both Confederate and and Union troops used the house during the Civil War. Earthworks built by . . . — — Map (db m173368) HM
On Mt. Gilead Road at General Johnston Place, on the left when traveling west on Mt. Gilead Road.
Mount Gilead, built in the second half of the 18th century, is the sole survivor of Newgate village, a colonial settlement and trading center, renamed Centreville in 1792, when an act of the Virginia assembly gave it town status. Presenting an . . . — — Map (db m529) HM
On Fort Drive north of Upperridge Road, on the right when traveling north.
In June 1994, a well-preserved male skeleton was found buried in a then-wooded area a few yards in front of you and reported to authorities. Remnants of a woolen uniform jacket with military-style brass buttons covered the upper half of the remains. . . . — — Map (db m134315) HM
On Braddock Road (Virginia Route 620) at Mt Gilead Road, on the left when traveling west on Braddock Road.
The Tavern
William Carr Lane established the Newgate Tavern ca. 1768 on what was then a main route to the west. In the early 1800s, the tavern (renamed the Eagle Tavern) had a hallway and four spacious rooms on the first floor and large . . . — — Map (db m69038) HM
On Braddock Road west of U.S. 29, on the left when traveling west.
Here, where the Warrenton Turnpike turned west from Braddock Road, the Union army marched from Centreville to meet Confederate forces in the first great battle of the Civil War on July 21, 1861. The afternoon, Union soldiers passed by here again, . . . — — Map (db m173378) HM
On Lawrence Mill Lane at Wharton Lane, on the right when traveling south on Lawrence Mill Lane.
Confederate forces constructed this defense bunker in the winter of 1861. The bunker site was chosen due to the relatively high elevation of the Centreville area and it's excellent vantage. Confederate forces held the bunker from the time of its . . . — — Map (db m15301) HM
Near U.S. 29 west of Prince Way, on the right when traveling south. Reported missing.
Following the disastrous defeat at the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861, the Union army retreated toward Centreville late in the afternoon with Confederate forces in pursuit. Thousands of Federal soldiers converged simultaneously at the . . . — — Map (db m75727) HM
Near U.S. 29 at Prince Way, on the right when traveling south.
Following its disastrous defeat at the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861, the Union Army retreated toward Centreville late in the afternoon with Confederate forces in pursuit. Thousands of Union soldiers converged simultaneously at the . . . — — Map (db m224638) HM
On Machen Road at U.S. 29, on the right when traveling south on Machen Road. Reported permanently removed.
Here Pope gathered his forces, August 30–31, 1862. From this point he detached troops to check Jackson at Ox Hill while the Union army retreated to the defenses at Alexandria. — — Map (db m410) HM
Near Saint Germain Drive at Machen Road, on the right when traveling west.
After the Second Battle of Manassas, fought about six miles west of here on 28-30 Aug. 1862, Union Maj. Gen. John Pope and his defeated Army of Virginia withdrew to Centreville. From here Pope sent troops to block an attempt by Confederate Maj. Gen. . . . — — Map (db m168078) HM
Passing armies occupied and fortified Centreville, positioned between Washington, D.C., and Manassas Junction, beginning in July 1861 when Confederate and Union forces met during the war's first significant campaign. As American and British . . . — — Map (db m57135) HM
On Mount Gilead Road, 0.1 miles south of Wharton Lane, on the right when traveling north.
During the Civil War, 40,000 troops wintered here. After being burned in 1863, the church was rebuilt in 1867 on the same foundation, and then consecrated in 1872. All these years, the parishioners have cherished St. John's Church through its . . . — — Map (db m173367) HM
On U.S. 29, 0.1 miles west of Paddington Lane, on the right when traveling west.
A War-Torn Landmark
As the scene of the opening shots of the First Battle of Manassas and the retreat of Federals from the Second Battle of Manassas, the Stone Bridge witnessed the ebb and flow of Union fortune and misfortune in the two . . . — — Map (db m152390) HM
On Compton Road (Virginia Route 658) just east of Richard Simpson Lane, on the left when traveling east.
These are the remains of the Centreville Confederate Military Railroad built in the fall and early winter of 1861 for the purpose of transporting supplies to the field armies of Generals Pierre G. T. Beauregard and Joseph Johnston. The railroad ran . . . — — Map (db m42608) HM
On U.S. 29 west of Bull Run Post Office Road (County Route 609), on the right when traveling west.
Originally built of native sandstone in 1825, the turnpike bridge over Bull Run became an important landmark in the Civil War battles at Manassas. Union Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler's division feigned an attack on Col. Nathan G. Evans's brigade guarding . . . — — Map (db m420) HM
Near U.S. 29, 0.1 miles west of Paddington Lane, on the right when traveling west.
Under cover of darkness, the defeated Union army withdrew toward Centreville, four miles to the east. The troops crossed Bull Run on a makeshift wooden span, constructed several months earlier by Union engineers using the remaining bridge abutments. . . . — — Map (db m88720) HM
On Creek Trail south of Ridge Trail, on the left when traveling south.
On the side of the trail, do you see the hill that curves around the path?
By connecting the man made walls on the right side of the trail to the natural hillside on your left, the Machens created an ice pond in the winter of 1853. The . . . — — Map (db m198309) HM
Near Lee Highway (Virginia Route 29) 0.1 miles west of Paddington Lane, on the right when traveling west.
Originally constructed in 1825, the Stone Bridge carried the Warrenton Turnpike across Bull Run. Its ability to carry traffic across the steep-sided stream, even at times of high water, gave the bridge a key role in the Civil War. Both sides . . . — — Map (db m194383) HM