On Long Street (Bypass U.S. 250) north of High Street (Business U.S. 250), on the right when traveling west.
The site was patented by William Taylor in 1737. The town was established by law in 1762, and was named for Queen Charlotte, wife of George III. Burgoyne’s army, captured at Saratoga in 1777, was long quartered near here. The legislature was in . . . — — Map (db m19844) HM
On Watson Avenue just east of Park Street, on the left when traveling east.
Built ca. 1859 in the Greek Revival style. Enderly was the home of William F. Gordon Jr. during the 1860s. Gordon served as clerk of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1859 to 1865. He was temporary secretary of the convention that met in Richmond . . . — — Map (db m170656) HM
Near Hill-Ewell Drive, 0.1 miles south of Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20), on the left when traveling south.
The arrival of Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's Confederate Second Corps here along the Orange Turnpike on the morning of May 5 challenged the Union march through the Wilderness. At midday more than 6,000 troops of the Union Fifth Corps moved forward on . . . — — Map (db m155685) HM
Near Hill-Ewell Drive at Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20), on the left when traveling south.
The arrival of Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s Second Corps here along the Orange Turnpike on the morning of May 5 challenged the Union march through the Wilderness. The Federals responded with a massive attack. At midday more than 12,000 Federal . . . — — Map (db m155684) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20) 1 mile west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the left when traveling west.
Here, in the Jones family cemetery, lie the remains of “Stonewall” Jackson’s left arm. The Confederate general lost the limb during the Battle of Chancellorsville, where he was mistakenly shot by his own troops. Surgeons removed the . . . — — Map (db m157352) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20) 1 mile west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the left when traveling west.
Here, in the Jones family cemetery, lie the remains of “Stonewall” Jackson’s left arm. The Confederate general lost the limb during the Battle of Chancellorsville, where he was mistakenly shot by his own troops. Surgeons removed the . . . — — Map (db m157417) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20) 0.6 miles south of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the right when traveling north.
You are now standing in what was commonly referred to as "the yard," that part of the plantation where many of the slaves lived and did their daily chores. Depending on the time of year, you might have seen slaves here boiling soiled laundry in a . . . — — Map (db m179566) HM
Near Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the left when traveling west.
As one of the few large open areas in the Wilderness, the broad fields north and east of Ellwood assumed instant importance during the battle here. While fighting raged a miles to the west, the fields around Ellwood filled with artillery and . . . — — Map (db m12947) HM
Near Constitution Highway (State Highway 20) 0.6 miles west of Plank Road (State Route 3), on the left when traveling west.
As one of the few large open areas in the Wilderness, the broad fields north and east of Ellwood assumed instant importance during the battle here. While fighting raged a miles to the west, the fields around Ellwood filled with artillery and . . . — — Map (db m179916) HM
Near Hill-Ewell Drive, on the right when traveling south.
On the morning of May 6, General A.P. Hill stretched his battle lines across the Chewning farm, closing a dangerous gap in the Confederate line. Before Hill's troops arrived, a Union regiment broke into the clearing from the east, startling the . . . — — Map (db m19162) HM
On College Drive (Virginia Route 375) 0.2 miles west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the right when traveling west.
"Then I came to Germanna. This famous town consists of Col. Spotswood's enchanted castle on one side of the street, and a baker's dozen of ruinous tenements on the other, where so many German families had dwelt some years ago." . . . — — Map (db m171395) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20), on the right when traveling west.
At the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House, Grant would not only struggle against Lee’s army, but also against the conservative, sometimes timid, methods of the Union Army of the Potomac. George G. Meade, commander of that . . . — — Map (db m6026) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling north.
The National Park Service acquired Ellwood in 1977. Since then, archeologists have conducted three studies of the site: test excavations around the base of the house (1978) and in the cellar (1979), and a geophysical survey of the grounds (1984). . . . — — Map (db m12948) HM
On Hill-Ewell Drive at Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20), on the left when traveling south on Hill-Ewell Drive.
Here May 5, 6, 1864, 70,000 Confederates under Lee defeated 120,000 Federals under Grant. Confederate loss 11,500. Federal 18,000. This battle, fought with conspicuous bravery, in a Wilderness on fire, will take it’s place among the great battles of . . . — — Map (db m6007) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
The Armies The Army of the Potomac Throughout the winter of 1863-1864, the armies rested and refitted on opposite sides of the Rapidan River. The ranks of the Union army swelled with thousands of new draftees and recruits - soldiers whose . . . — — Map (db m155689) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west. Reported missing.
Ewell's Corps, the left wing of Lee's Army, moving down this road from Orange, came into conflict near here with Warren's Corps of Grant's Army, May 5, 1864. The fight moved to and fro until Ewell finally drove Warren back and entrenched here. Late . . . — — Map (db m5450) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
The Battle of the Wilderness On May 5, 1864, Lee moved swiftly eastward through Orange County and struck the Federals along two roads - the Orange Plank Road and the Orange Turnpike. Two bloody, largely separate battles exploded. They would . . . — — Map (db m7392) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
Collision of Giants By 1864 the war had become not just a clash of armies, but of ideas. To be resolved on the fields of Virginia and Georgia that year was not only the fate of the Union, but also the fate of Southern society. The armies on both . . . — — Map (db m6077) HM
On Germanna Highway (State Highway 3), on the right when traveling west.
Culpeper County. Area 384 Square Miles. Formed in 1748 from Orange and named for Lord Culpeper, Governor of Virginia, 1680-1683. The Battle of Cedar Mountain, 1862, was fought in this county.
Orange County. Area 359 . . . — — Map (db m4322) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20), on the left when traveling west.
“The house stands on Wilderness Run, in a lonely place about half a mile south of the Culpeper plank road; it is a good-sized farmhouse, built of wood, square, with two porticos and painted a dove color. From the apex of the roof a . . . — — Map (db m6121) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20) near Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3).
Today only the main house remains, but Ellwood once stood at the center of a plantation that sprawled across 5,000 acres—one of the largest in the region. Outbuildings stood clustered around the main house: a kitchen, smokehouse, dairy, barns, and . . . — — Map (db m179567) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20) at Gold Dale Road (County Route 611), on the right when traveling east on Constitution Highway. Reported unreadable.
"Men, there is no use denying it, but three-quarters of you are to be left in that marsh with your toes turned up; but remember the Fourteenth never quailed yet, and I'll shoot the first man who does it now." Lt. Col. Samuel Moore to the men . . . — — Map (db m116470) HM
Near Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
Confederate General Leroy A. Stafford of Louisiana fell mortally wounded in this vicinity during the afternoon fighting. General Ewell, however, continued to reinforce this line, extending it farther to the north, your left. When the Federals . . . — — Map (db m7382) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
"The regiment melted away like snow. Men disappeared as if the earth had swallowed them." -Captain Porter Parley 140th New York Infantry Shortly after noon on May 5, the battleline of the 140th New York burst from the woods to your right-rear . . . — — Map (db m6022) HM
On College Drive (Virginia Route 375) 0.2 miles west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the right when traveling west.
"In order to supply that part [of the frontier] which was to have been covered by the Tuscarora, I have placed here a number of Protestant Germans, built them a fort, and finished it with two pieces of cannon and some ammunition, . . . — — Map (db m193348) HM
On College Drive (Virginia Route 375) 0.2 miles west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the right when traveling west.
The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, Inc., known as the Germanna Foundation, was organized in 1956 by a group of descendants from the original Germanna colonies who had taken great interest in their Germanna genealogy and . . . — — Map (db m171396) HM
Near Church Lane east of Lakeview Parkway when traveling east.
“My total loss at the Wilderness was 1,250 killed and wounded. The burial parties from two divisions reported interring over 1,100 of the enemy. The third, and largest made no report. When we moved probably one-third or more were still . . . — — Map (db m171624) HM
On Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3) at College Drive (Virginia Road 375), on the right when traveling east on Germanna Highway.
Here Governor Alexander Spotswood established a colony of Germans in 1714. At that time the Rapidan River was the frontier of Virginia. On August 29, 1716, Spotswood left from this place with the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe on his exploring . . . — — Map (db m171387) HM
On Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3) at the Germanna Community College Entrance (Virginia Route 375), on the right when traveling south on Germanna Highway. Reported permanently removed.
In March 1864, President Abraham Lincoln placed Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in charge of the Union’s overall military effort. Grant’s strategy was simple: attack the Confederates simultaneously on all fronts, overwhelming them by sheer force of numbers. . . . — — Map (db m3587) HM
On Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3) north of the Germanna Community College Entrance (Virginia Route 375), on the right when traveling south. Reported permanently removed.
When the 1864 Overland Campaign started, Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia held the upper fords of the Rapidan River, blocking the Union army's route to Richmond. Rather than attack Lee head on, Grant chose to cross here at Germanna . . . — — Map (db m3588) HM
On College Drive (Virginia Route 375) 0.2 miles west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the right when traveling east.
At dawn on May 4, 1864, the 3rd Indiana Cavalry splashed across the river here at Germanna Ford and scattered the handful of Confederate pickets to secure the passage. Upon engineers quickly threw down two pontoon bridges and the army began . . . — — Map (db m171388) HM
On Germanna Highway, 0.1 miles west of College Drive (Virginia Route 375), on the right when traveling east.
Germanna Ford, a natural crossing of the Rapidan River, has made this area an important transportation corridor for centuries. A ferry and road were established here in the 1720s. During the Civil War, portions of the Union Army of the Potomac moved . . . — — Map (db m171385) HM
On Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3) north of Spotswood Drive (County Route 760), on the right when traveling south. Reported permanently removed.
One of the principal crossings of the Rapidan River from colonial times. Here a part of the Army of the Potomac crossed the river, April 30, 1863, preceding the Battle of Chancellorsville. Here a part of Meade’s army crossed on the way to Mine Run, . . . — — Map (db m116528) HM
Near College Road (Virginia Route 375) 0.3 miles west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the right when traveling west.
In honor of Giuseppe Oddenino, Italian immigrant & Civil War Veteran, 5th Regt. N.Y. Heavy Artillery, whose artwork adorns the Hebron Lutheran Church and whose son Louis married Mary Delph, a Germanna descendant. — — Map (db m171398) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
In this field and its surrounding woods fell nearly one-third of the men killed or wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness. The two-mile Gordon Flank Attack Trail tracks the Battle of the Wilderness in all its horrible forms: the open-field Union . . . — — Map (db m7378) HM
Near Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
Union reinforcements rushed to the sound of fighting as twilight turned to darkness in these gloomy woods. The Confederates lost direction and momentum in the smoky gloaming, and eventually the firing died away. Gordon's attack had achieved only a . . . — — Map (db m7389) HM
Near Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
The right flank of the Union line rested here in the early evening of May 6. Two Union brigades occupied this area with the benefit of neither strong works nor substantial artillery support. Suddenly, the Rebel yell echoed through the forest. North . . . — — Map (db m7388) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
This short trail leads to "Grant's Knoll." For three days Gen. Ulysses S. Grant made his headquarters here, issuing orders that would determine the fate of armies and men. President Abraham Lincoln had recently appointed Grant general-in-chief over . . . — — Map (db m7403) HM
On College Drive (Virginia Route 375) 0.2 miles west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the right when traveling west.
President Abraham Lincoln placed Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in charge of the Union's overall strategy in March 1864. The new commander brought fresh energy to the Federal war effort, and developed a strategy whereby Union armies would . . . — — Map (db m171416) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20), on the right when traveling west.
On May 5, 1864, this knoll was bordered by a second growth of scraggly pines and scrub oak. From here Grant and Meade could see little of the battle. Instead, they relied on subordinates to keep them apprised of the situation at the front. In the . . . — — Map (db m6024) HM
Near Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
On the morning of May 6, Confederate General John B. Gordon occupied the far Confederate left, in this vicinity, with his brigade of Georgians. Gordon reconnoitered to his left and front and discovered the Union right flank to be vulnerable to an . . . — — Map (db m7384) HM
Near Hill-Ewell Drive, on the right when traveling south.
The fighting in the Wilderness centered on two thoroughfares: the Orange Turnpike and the Orange Plank Road. Between them yawned a gaping void of dense trees and brush, broken only by a few fields and the track of the Parker's Store Road, still . . . — — Map (db m19164) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20) at Gold Dale Road (County Route 611), on the right when traveling east on Constitution Highway. Reported unreadable.
Amidst numbing cold and stinging rain, in late 1863 Union General George G. Meade and his Army of the Potomac attempted a year-end stroke against Robert E. Lee. This effort climaxed along Mine Run, two miles in front of you. Since . . . — — Map (db m173937) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west on Constitution Highway. Reported missing.
Meade, advancing south from the Rapidan River to attack Lee, found him in an entrenched position here on November 28, 1863. Heavy skirmishing went on until December 1. Then Meade, thinking Lee's lines too strong to assault, retired across the . . . — — Map (db m162667) HM
On Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20) at Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611), on the right when traveling west on Constitution Highway.
Union Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan River on 26 Nov. 1863 in a last effort to strike Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia before winter. The next day, fighting erupted near here at . . . — — Map (db m162668) HM
Near Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
On the morning of May 6, the main focus of the battle shifted more than two miles south, to the Orange Plank Road. Here, north of the Orange Turnpike, both armies planned early morning attacks as diversions to prevent the enemy from detaching more . . . — — Map (db m7383) HM
On Germanna Highway (State Highway 3) at Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west on Germanna Highway.
Orange County. Formed from Spotsylvania County in 1734, Orange County, a pastoral Piedmont county, was probably named in honor of William IV, the Dutch prince of Orange, who married Anne, the Princess Royal, daughter of George II of England, . . . — — Map (db m159382) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20) at Gold Dale Road (County Route 611), on the right when traveling west on Constitution Highway.
Near here stood ancient Robinson's Tavern. Here Meade wished to concentrate his army in the Mine Run Campaign, November 1863, but one corps, coming up late, disarranged his plans. Here Ewell, moving east from Orange in the Wilderness Campaign, . . . — — Map (db m126046) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
"The last crop of the old field had been corn and among its stubble that day were sown the seeds of glory." Morris Schaff, USA Staff Tucked away in the Wilderness's trackless forest were several small clearings, where families with names . . . — — Map (db m155690) HM
Near College Road (Virginia Route 375) 0.3 miles west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the right when traveling west.
Here at Germanna in 1714 the first permanent German Reformed Congregation in America located with their pastor, Rev. Henry Hager. They were a colony of thirteen families from Nassau Siegen Germany who were welcomed to Virginia by Governor . . . — — Map (db m171401) HM
Near College Road (Virginia Route 375) 0.3 miles west of Germanna Highway, on the right when traveling west.
John Spotswood
1724 - 1758
Married Mary Dandridge in 1745
Son of Lt. Gov.
Alexander Spotswood
1676 - 1740
and his wife
Lady Anne Butler Brayne
1686 - Circa 1751
Father of General
Alexander Spotswood
Oct. 16, 1746 - Dec. . . . — — Map (db m171406) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
Crisis at the Crossroads Crises followed one after another on May 5. No sooner had Grant and Meade learned about Ewell's approach on the Orange Turnpike than they discovered General A.P. Hill's corps moving up the Orange Plank road. If Hill . . . — — Map (db m7394) HM
Near Gordon Farm Road, 0.3 miles west of Spotswood Drive (Virginia Road 760).
Home of Colonial Governor Alexander Spotswood
and formerly the site of
Fort Germanna, 1714
Archaeological excavation by
Mary Washington College,
Center for Historic Preservation — — Map (db m64139) HM
Near Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611) east of Indiantown Road (Virginia Route 603).
“We gained a slight rise in the land behind an old worm fence. The enemy had fallen back under cover of a piece of woods well in our front. Soon they came out in splendid battle array, with waving banners, and charged our position. It was a . . . — — Map (db m43165) HM
Near Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611) near Zoar School Road.
“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 . . . — — Map (db m43167) HM
Near Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611) near Zoar School Road.
“Several efforts were made to charge the hostile line, but as these attempts were made by single brigades, without proper deliberation and without co-operation on the part of the other forces to the right and left, they naturally resulted in . . . — — Map (db m43168) HM
Near Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611) near Zoar School Road.
“In the fight of Johnson’s Division on last Friday I was under as warm a musketry fire as I have experienced for a good while—certainly worse than I have been in since Sharpsburg.” — Lt. Col. Alexander S. “Sandie” Pendleton, CSA
“One . . . — — Map (db m43170) HM
Near Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611) near Indiantown Road (Virginia Route 603).
“There was a sudden commotion in the train ahead and several of the ambulances turned and came back in confusion. General [George H.] Steuart promptly ordered them back to their places, faced the brigade into line to the left and deployed . . . — — Map (db m116476) HM
Near Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611) east of Indiantown Road (Virginia Route 603).
“Gen. [Edward] Johnson … cheered us on to the fight with ‘Hurrah for North Carolina, go it North Carolina—give it to them boys!’ … The Federals were as thick as black birds in our front.” — Capt. Thomas Boone, 1st . . . — — Map (db m116478) HM
Near Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611) east of Indiantown Road (Virginia Route 603).
“[It was] … as warm a contest as this regiment was ever engaged in. … It seemed as if the enemy was throwing minie-balls upon us by the bucket-full, when the battle got fairly under way.” — Member of the 3rd North Carolina Infantry, CSA . . . — — Map (db m116530) HM
On Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611) at Zoar School Road, on the right when traveling north on Zoar Road.
“The ground in my front for about 500 yards was thickly wooded and brushy, and beyond that was a cleared field owned by a man named Payne.”—Gen. Edward Johnson, CSA
“On account of the density of the undergrowth in the woods and the . . . — — Map (db m181505) HM
On Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20) 1.7 miles west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the right when traveling west.
On no American battlefield did the landscape do more to intensify the horror of combat. One soldier called the Wilderness "a wild, weird, region... [a] dense and trackless forest." For decades loggers had cut and re-cut these forests to fuel nearby . . . — — Map (db m155691) HM
On Constitution Hwy (U.S. 20) at Brigadiers Way (Virginia Route 720), on the left when traveling south on Constitution Hwy.
In the campaign of 1781, the Marquis de Lafayette marched through the Wilderness to rendezvous with Brig. Gen. "Mad Anthony" Wayne. On 3 June 1781, Lafayette's army camped to the south of the Wilderness Bridge across Wilderness Run from Ellwood. The . . . — — Map (db m25877) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20) 1.7 miles west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the right when traveling west.
The May 5 fighting in Saunders Field was waxing hot when Captain George B. Winslow received orders to rush two guns of Battery D, 1st New York Artillery, to the front to support Union attacks here. Dashing down the turnpike at a trot, Winslow's men . . . — — Map (db m155692) HM
Near Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
Confederate troops commanded by General Richard S. Ewell arrived on this ridge line on the morning of May 5. Ordered by General Lee not to initiate a battle, Ewell placed 10,000 men along this high ground on either side of the Orange Turnpike . . . — — Map (db m155698) HM
On Hill-Ewell Drive, on the left when traveling south.
Dick Ewell was raring for a fight. When a subordinate approached him early on May 5, 1864, and asked Ewell about his orders, the balding, pop-eyed general piped up cheerily: "... Just the orders I like - to go right down the [turnpike] and strike . . . — — Map (db m72886) HM
Near Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
The road trace in front of you is the Culpeper Mine Road, typical of the woods trails that composed the primitive transportation network in the Wilderness. Even a path like this possessed military significance, and Confederate troops from the famous . . . — — Map (db m7380) HM
Near Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
In front of you are the remains of trenches manned by the Union army on May 5-6, 1864. When Gordon attacked these works from the north, your left, the Federals abandoned them and fell back to a new position one mile to your front and right. The . . . — — Map (db m7391) HM
On Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west.
Stalemate Two days of bitter fighting had left the bleak Wilderness landscape charred and smoking from fire. Corpses littered the contested ground, now scarred by miles of earth-and-log entrenchments. Unwilling to attack Lee's strong position, . . . — — Map (db m7397) HM
On Hill-Ewell Drive, on the right when traveling east.
Before you are the fields of the Higgerson Farm, one of only a few major clearings on the Wilderness Battlefield. On the afternoon of May 5, Union troops swept across this open space, bound for bewildering combat in the thickets to the north and . . . — — Map (db m155696) HM
Near College Road (Virginia Route 375) 0.3 miles west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3), on the right when traveling west.
Twenty German families from the Upper Rhine Valley mostly Lutherans settled near this site in 1717, and were promptly followed by others some of them, indebted to Governor Spotswood for money he had advanced for their passage discharged the debt . . . — — Map (db m171400) HM
On Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611) at Zoar School Road, on the left when traveling north on Zoar Road.
“The promptness with which this unexpected attack was met and repulsed reflects great credit upon General Johnson and the officers and men of his division.” — Gen. Robert E. Lee, CSA
“The delay in the movements of the Third Corps, . . . — — Map (db m42085) HM
On Zoar Road (Virginia Route 611) at Zoar School Road, on the left when traveling north on Zoar Road.
“The brave officers and men of this division, attacked by a greatly superior force from an admirable position, turned upon him and drove him from the field, which he left strewn with arms, artillery and infantry ammunition, his dead and . . . — — Map (db m42089) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20) 1.7 miles west of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3).
Marker Front: The Wilderness of today looks little like the tangled landscape soldiers found here in 1864. For decades before the war, loggers had cut and recut these forests to fuel nearby iron furnaces, leaving behind an impenetrable . . . — — Map (db m59518) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20) 0.6 miles south of Germanna Highway (Virginia Route 3).
You are now standing in what was commonly referred to as "the yard," that part of the plantation where enslaved workers not working the fields performed their daily chores. Depending on the time of year, you might have seen them washing soiled . . . — — Map (db m179561) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20) 0.7 miles west of Brigadiers Way (Virginia Route 720), on the left when traveling west.
The veneer of elegance at Ellwood (and most plantations) obscured the harsh world beyond the main house. Before the Civil War, dozens of enslaved people spent their energy every day to provide comfort (and profit) to the owners and elegant . . . — — Map (db m179578) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20), on the left when traveling west.
Ellwood stood in the midst of the Wilderness, a dark, forbidding forest characterized by stunted trees and densely tangled undergrowth. When the Confederates challenged General Ulysses S. Grant’s advance through the Wilderness on May 5, 1864, the . . . — — Map (db m155694) HM
Near Constitution Highway (Virginia Route 20) 0.6 miles west of Plank Road, on the left when traveling west.
Ellwood stood in the midst of the Wilderness, a dark, forbidding forest characterized by stunted trees and densely tangled undergrowth. When the Confederates challenged General Ulysses S. Grant’s advance through the Wilderness on May 5, 1864, the . . . — — Map (db m179978) HM
Near Orange Plank Road (County Route 621) 0.5 miles west of Hill-Ewell Drive, on the right when traveling west.
On the morning of May 6, 1864, Confederate troops of General A.P. Hill's corps flew out of the woods to your left into the Tapp field, some of them in abject panic. They fled the thunderous advance of more than 20,000 Union troops. Wrote one man: . . . — — Map (db m112425) HM
On Orange Plank Road (County Route 621), on the right when traveling west. Reported permanently removed.
Longstreet’s troops began erecting these infantry entrenchments after fighting on the evening of May 6 and improved them the following day. This was a reserve line, the main Confederate position being a few hundred yards in font of you along modern . . . — — Map (db m6089) HM
Near Orange Plank Road (County Route 621), on the right when traveling west. Reported missing.
A celebrated battlefield episode of the Civil War happened here at the Widow Tapp Field on the morning of May 6, 1864. The Army of Northern Virginia and its commander, R.E. Lee, faced disaster on the Orange Plank Road as a powerful Union attack . . . — — Map (db m112324) HM
On Orange Plank Road (County Route 621) at Parker Road (County Route 611) on Orange Plank Road. Reported missing.
A mile south is the unmarked grave of Gaspar Tochman (1797-1880), a major in the Polish army who participated in the failed 1830 revolt against Russia. Exiled, in 1837 he immigrated to the United States, where he practiced law, wrote, and lectured. . . . — — Map (db m5456) HM
Near Orange Plank Road (County Route 621), on the right when traveling west.
As Union battle lines surged into the forest across the Orange Plank Road on your right, and poised in the trees at the far end of the Tapp Field, grayclad figures loped into view from behind you. The leading Confederate units peeled right into the . . . — — Map (db m155890) HM
On Orange Plank Road (County Route 621) 0.5 miles west of Hill-Ewell Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Here, for a few moments on the bright spring morning of May 6, 1864, Robert E. Lee faced disaster for his army. The woods to your right and the fields in front of you swarmed with Union troops. The artillery behind you stood as the only organized . . . — — Map (db m155891) HM
Near Orange Plank Road (County Route 621) 0.5 miles west of Hill-Ewell Drive, on the right when traveling west.
On May 6, 1864, General Robert E. Lee faced one of the greatest crises of his career. A dawn assault by the Union army had routed A.P. Hill's corps and threatened the destruction of the entire Confederate army. Just when all seemed lost, a body of . . . — — Map (db m112424) HM
Near Orange Plank Road (Virginia Route 621), on the right when traveling west.
Many accounts relate the story of General Lee’s personal attempt to lead the charge of the Texas Brigade. No two versions entirely agree and we may never know which details belong to history and which belong to mythology. Colonel Charles S. . . . — — Map (db m6093) HM
On Orange Plank Road (County Route 621), on the right when traveling west.
Remembers the valor and devotion of her sons who served at the Wilderness May 6, 1864 From near this spot the Texas Brigade pleaded with General Lee not to expose himself to Federal fire and then after seeing him to safety, launched a vigorous . . . — — Map (db m155889) HM
On Orange Plank Road (County Route 621), on the right when traveling west. Reported permanently removed.
Brigadier General John Gregg formed his four Confederate regiments near the far edge of the Tapp Field behind you and advanced them about 400 yards toward the Union battle line, which stood near here. The Southerners moved diagonally across the . . . — — Map (db m6088) HM
Near Orange Plank Road (County Route 621), on the right when traveling west.
May 6, 1864, Hancock's Federal soldiers opened the second day of battle about 5 a.m. Hill's Confederates were driven westward to this vicinity, the small clearing of the Widow Tapp Farm where Lee had his headquarters. As Col. William T. Poague's . . . — — Map (db m7490) HM
