This past weekend I attended the Army of the Potomac’s Winter Encampment Tour with Clark “Bud” Hall. The tour was organized by Susan Ralston- Culpeper Battlefield Tours. It took place over two days, and we visited 6 main sites each day. Day 1 will be covered below. Most of the stops were on private property such as Beverly Ford, Welford’s Ford, Meade’s Headquarters site, Farley, Rose Hill, Struan, Greenville and Clark Mountain, all of which were on my Culpeper County Civil War bucket list. Others such as Buford’s Knoll and Fleetwood Hill are part of the Brandy Station Battlefield but were also sites where the Army of the Potomac camped in the winter of 1863-1864, shown in the map below.
Hansborough Ridge is a limited access site and this was the second time it was opened for a public tour. Salubria managed by the Germanna Foundation was also involved in both the Battle of Bandy Station and the Winter Encampment. The Brandy Station Battlefield and Hansborough Ridge would not exist for us to enjoy today if not for the preservation efforts of Mr. Hall and his colleagues. His role in their preservation cannot be overstated. Thanks to the relationships Bud has developed in the community we were also able to meet Cita Smalley Suratgar, owner of Farley, and Dr. John Ashby Covington, owner of Rose Hill. The pride each expressed in the preservation of their properties was inspiring to see. Each of them welcomed us into their historic homes, which was completely unexpected.
Any tour with Bud is a must attend event for me personally and Susan Ralston (Culpeper Battlefield Tours) makes you feel like a member of the family. Bud’s stories told along the way regarding the details of the encampment, the Battle of Brandy Station snd their preservation were priceless. It was great to see old friends and make new ones as well. I’ll divide this post into two parts- Day 1- (Buford’s Knoll, Beverly Ford, Meade’s Headquarters, Farley, Welford’s Ford and Fleetwood Hill) and Day 2 (Hansborough Ridge, Salubria, Struan, Greenville, and Clark Mountain) so that I can include a few more pictures and videos. I’ll add links to past posts where appropriate. Many of these sites will also be covered in more detail in a future series on the Battle of Brandy Station.
Buford’s Knoll– This was the knoll from which John Buford watched the initial stages of the Battle of Brandy Station and was a sight of intense fighting. The Union VI Corps camped here during the winter encampment.
In the image below Bud is pointing out Yew Ridge, also an area of intense fighting during the Battle of Brandy Station. The VI Corps was also camped there during the Winter Encampment.
Beverly Ford– The next stop was Beverly Ford. Beverly Ford is located just downstream from where the Hazel River joins the Rappahannock River. The Federals crossed this ford to initiate the Battle of Brandy Station on June 9, 1863, marking the start of the Gettysburg Campaign. On August 29, 1863, it was also the site of the execution of five deserters from the 118th PA Infantry. Among them was George Kuhne, whose case gained national attention at the time as the result of an unsuccessful personal appeal made by Rabbi Benjamin Szold to President Lincoln. All five deserters were foreign-born substitutes who spoke very little English and had been caught “bounty-jumping”. The other four men were: John Folaney, age 26, from Italy; Charles Walter, age 28, from Prussia; Gion Rionese, age 20, from Italy; and Emil Lai, age 30, from Prussia. A detailed account of the execution is contained in the 118th PA regimental history (link), pages 295-302. Those pages are included at the end of this post as an appendix. I also believe that in addition to the start of the Gettysburg Campaign that the Culpepper Battlefields State Park can also lay claim that they are also the site of the start of the Chancellorsville Campaign. On August 14th and 15th, 1863, Stoneman launched a series of failed assaults along Rappahannock and Hazel River fords (Kelly’s Ford, Ox Ford, the Orange and Alexandria Railroad bridge at Rappahannock Station, Beverly Ford, Freeman’s Ford and Welford’s Ford), which in my opinion was the start of the Chancellorsville campaign. Stoneman’s 1863 Chancellorsville Series will begin in six weeks.
The road to the ford
A short video on the way to the ford is shown below. We are not far from the Culpeper Regional Airport runway, which is why a low flying plane interfered with part of the audio in the clip.
Just before Beverly Ford we stopped at a dam site that was part of a canal system on the Rappahannock River. In the video below, Bud points out the features of the canal system. The Rappahannock and Hazel Rivers had canal systems that were constructed before the war. They made the Rappahannock River navigable to Waterloo and the Hazel River to Castle Mills.
A video of Beverly Ford appears below. The banks of the river on the Culpeper side were much too steep to walk down to the river and as a result vegetation somewhat obscures the view. The steep bank is the result of post war erosion on the Culpeper side.
Images from the ford
General Meade’s Headquarters– General Meade’s headquarters hut was located here. This is the site where Generals Grant and Meade first met after Grant’s appointment as Lieutenant General.
Bud and the group are standing on the headquarters site.
Bud describes the headquarters site in this video.
Another image of the site.
Culpeper Battlefields State Park Park Manager Drew Gruber comparing the wartime image of the Guard Mount camp of the 114th PA to the modern-day terrain.
The Provost Marshall’s headquarters, General Marsena Patrick, was at the bottom of the hill
This wartime image was taken from the bottom of the hill. General Patrick with the gray beard is in the center. General Meade’s headquarters is in the distance at the top of the hill.
Farley– Farley was originally built by William Champe Carter. Mr. Carter died in June 1834 and is buried in a small cemetery located on private property not far from Farley. In 1863 during the Battle of Brandy Station heavy fighting occurred on the property. General Stuart used the house as his headquarters after the battle. During the winter of 1863-1864 Union Major General John Sedgwick headquartered here with his VI Corps. In 1983 when Farley was purchased by Cita and C.D. Ward the home was in a significant state of disrepair with no running water or electricity. The home was meticulously restored over the years by Cita and was awarded a Great American Home Award for craftsmanship from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1992. The property is listed on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. It is owned by Cita Suratgar. She graciously allowed us to enter her home and eat lunch there.
Wartime photos taken at Farley, VI Corps headquarters, are shown below alongside modern-day photos taken on the tour. In the first picture General Sedgwick’s hut was in the front of the house on the left. Although he headquartered here, he did not sleep in the house. In the second wartime picture General Sedgwick is on the center of the second step with his staff.
General Sedgwick did use this room, the Plantation Room, as an office.
A dinner was held for General Grant in this room. Bud told the story of how General Grant apparently did not impress the Army of the Potomac’s officers that were present as he forgot to remove his hat during the dinner and kept his lit cigar on his plate.
Welford’s/Wellford’s Ford– was named after Dr. William Wellford and is located on the Hazel River (known as the Aestham River in Colonial times). The ford was crossed by Longstreet’s Corps and Stuart Cavalry during the Gettysburg Campaign. The Army of Northern Virginia also crossed here at the start of the Second Manassas Campaign. The primary responsibility of the VI Corps during the winter encampment was to guard the ford. We parked not far from the area of where the photo below was taken. The LOC lists this image as taken by Timothy O’Sullivan during the winter encampment. It is stated to be of the VI Corps wagon park.
The next two images are a modern-day view of the site.
Road to the ford
The ford
Welford’s Ford has been crossed by many famous people including John Buford, George Meade, John Sedgwick, Emory Upton, Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, J.E.B. Stuart and A. P. Hill. Now we can add the names of Eric Atkisson and William Treuting to that list. Two brave men crossing the ford without proper river shoes.
A Wartime image of Welford’s Ford from the left bank. Here one can see the relationship between the ford, the mill and the dam. The pontoon bridge can be seen in the distance just beyond the dam.
As seen in the wartime images below there were several structures in this area. From upstream to downstream they included: a pontoon bridge; the dam; a mill; and Welford’s Ford. The first wartime image below of the area is from the right bank. This was the side of the Hazel River I was standing on for all of the modern-day images that appear below.
The wartime image below was taken from the opposite bank, the left bank, the soldiers are sitting on a small area that juts out into the river located just upstream of the pontoon bridge.
I am standing slightly upstream from the dam in the photo below. Welford’s Ford is off the screen to the right and the pontoon bridge area is off the screen to my left.
Looking upstream at the area of the pontoon bridge. The bridge was located across the river just in front of the small area of land to the left of center.
The area below near the tree just to the left of center is where the soldiers were sitting just upstream of the pontoon bridge.
Fleetwood Hill– The III Corps headquarters was located here on Fleetwood Hill. The Henry Miller House, also known as the Fleetwood House, can be seen through the trees on the right in the wartime image. The wartime house is no longer standing on the hill.
This is what the area looks like today. Tomorrow’s first stop, Hansborough Ridge, is located off in the distance just to the left of the tree. The ridge was our first stop on day 2.
To be continued- Day 2
Appendix
