Stafford Civil War Park Map

Other places to Visit – There are many complementary sites to the Stafford Civil War Park The Stafford Civil War Park contains an Army that focus on unique stories from the Civil War. of the Potomac winter camp; three large artillery batteries; segments of two corduroy roads; and a late 1700’s sand Stafford Visitor Center located on the grounds of Gari Melchers’ Home and Studio. stone quarry. The majority of sites in the Park are linked 224 Washington Street, Falmouth, VA 22405 (Open Daily) to the Union Army of the Potomac’s 11th Corps’ 1st and Aquia Landing, the location of the first naval engagement of the Civil War, the supply line 3rd Divisions. The 11th Corps is most often associated used to rebuild the Union forces and a vital stop along the Trail to Freedom for more than with soldiers and regiments made up of native German 10,000 self-emancipating enslaved people. speakers, however, many of its regiments also were non- 2846 Brooke Road, Stafford, VA 22554 (Open Daily) immigrant U.S. soldiers from NY, OH, CT, PA, WI, and White Oak Museum, noted as one of the best ways to understand the full impact of the Civil MA. War in the region. 985 White Oak Road, Falmouth, VA 22405 Outnumbered 15 to 1 by Union soldiers the (Wed – Sun 10 a.m. – 5 p.m); small admission fee. winter of 1862-1863 brought suffering to Stafford’s civilians Chatham Manor, the Regional HQ (once the HQ of General Ambrose as well. Homes became hospitals or headquarters. Half Burnside during the ). of Stafford’s historical records were taken as souvenirs or 120 Chatham Lane, Falmouth, VA 22405 (Open Daily) destroyed when Stafford’s Courthouse was looted and later partially burned. Miles of fences, thousands of acres, and many farm houses or outbuildings were used to construct camps or feed thousands of Union campfires, that burned 24 hours a day. It took more than 60 years for Stafford’s population and economy to again reach its pre-war levels.

Special thanks to Friends of Stafford Civil War Sites for their significant efforts to preserve and construct Stafford Civil War Park: FSCWS.org Relic hunting and ATVs are strictly prohibited. Park Historical Sites

Little imagination is required when standing in Union Batteries – The Park contains three artillery the fortifications, or among the winter hut sites, batteries with parapets (walls) nearly 300 feet long STAFFORD to envision the impressive Civil War camp sites of and 30 feet thick. One battery has two intact gun Stafford. shelves with reconstructed gun platforms displaying replica 3-inch ordnance rifles (cannon). Battery 1 has Civil War Park a Cremailliere or zigzag trench, and Batteries 2 and 3 contain the remains of blockhouse foundations. This black and white photo shows a typical Civil War artillery battery.

Historic Park Roads – The Park contains two The Stafford Civil War Park tells the story of the sections of corduroy roads. One was built over a road over 135,000 Union soldiers camped throughout Winter Camp – During the winter of 1862- bed that dates to the mid-1660s. The other is a dual Stafford during the winter of 1862-1863 and the 1863 the 11th Corps’ 1st and 3rd Division soldiers track corduroy road built by the 11th Corps soldiers more than 3,500 Union soldiers who died in encamped in and around the Park. The woods still and Army engineers in 1863. These roads were raised Stafford County. contain many visible remains of a Union Army above the water and “corduroyed” by laying logs infantry camp, including depressions in the ground across stringers that once supported small huts made of rows of 400 Mt. Hope Church Road which were Park Hours: small logs topped by canvas or wooden roofs. There Stafford, VA 22554 then packed 8AM - 5:30PM November - Mid-March are also “tent mounds” at the Park where dirt was with dirt and 8AM - 8PM Mid-March - October allocated to keep water out of tents. Numerous pieces brush, making of sandstone once part of camp chimneys, fire boxes for a sturdier 540-685-4872 and other structures remain throughout the camp. road. A report by Lt. Col. B.W. Alexander in the For more on Stafford Civil War Park, StaffordParks.com On the perimeter, overlooking Accokeek Creek, are Official Records dated Nov 7th, 1862 noted that please visit: rifle pits where Union soldiers once stood guard. “... each man can make 15 inches of road per day.” StaffordParks.com