The 1836 courthouse, located at the corner of North George and East Washington Sts., was shelled during the war and rebuilt, but the courtroom used during Brown’s trial survived intact. Open weekdays. Guided tours on weekend afternoons. For information phone 304-725-9761.
The Jefferson County Museum, North Samuel and East Washington Sts., houses Brown memorabilia, including the wagon that transported him to his execution. Open April through November, daily except Sunday, 10:00-4:00. Admission is free. For information phone 304-725-8628. Hours vary. Phone first.
The Carriage Inn
Charles Town, West Virginia
On September 17, 1864, Ulysses S. Grant and Philip Sheridan met in this house to plan Sheridan’s devastating Valley Campaign. Neither the generals nor their aides suspected that hidden beneath the hearth in the Rose Room was the flag of Stonewall Jackson’s Corps, which had been commissioned by Thomas Rutherford, the owner of the house. The flag now hangs in the Virginia Military Institute museum.
The 1836 house now is an inn owned and operated by Al and Kay Standish. It is three blocks from the courthouse where abolitionist John Brown was tried, and a similar distance from where he was hanged. Civil War mementos and books are in the West Parlor, and guests breakfast in the East Parlor, where the Yankee generals met.
Address: 417 East Washington St., Charles Town, WV 25414; tel: 304-728-8003 or 800-867-9830; E-mail: [email protected].
Accommodations: Six bedrooms with queen-size beds, all with private baths.
Amenities: Air-conditioning, off-street parking; five of the bedrooms have working fireplaces. TV in common room.
Rates: $$-$$$. Visa, MasterCard, and personal checks.
Restrictions: No children under ten, no pets, restricted smoking.
Washington House Inn
Charles Town, West Virginia
Near the courthouse where John Brown stood trial for his raid on Harpers Ferry is a stately Queen Anne Victorian, built at the turn of the century by descendants of George Washington’s brothers, John Augustine and Samuel. George Washington had surveyed the area earlier, and the town was named after another brother, Charles.
The inn has seven fireplaces with carved oak mantels, and is furnished with antiques and period reproductions. Innkeepers Mel and Nina Vogel will help you plan your stay in Charles Town. The sites within walking distance include the Jefferson County Museum, which displays Civil War and John Brown memorabilia, including the wagon in which he rode to his death, and the site of the gallows where the abolitionist was hanged.
Charles Town was a pocket of pro-Confederacy sentiment when West Virginia voted to leave Virginia and become a state of its own. The town was heavily shelled during fighting in the area. Charles Town is a fifteen-minute drive from Harpers Ferry.
Address: 216 South George St., Charles Town, WV 25414;
tel: 304-725-7923 or 800-297-6957.
Accommodations: Six guest rooms, all with full baths.
Amenities: Air-conditioning, off-street parking, TV, coffee and tea always available, complimentary fresh fruit and cookies.
Rates: $$-$$$. All major credit cards, and personal checks.
Restrictions: No children under ten, no pets, no smoking.
VIRGINIA
The Morrison House
Alexandria, Virginia
Robert E. Lee grew up in this town on the Potomac. He lived with his mother in the Federal-style house at 614 Oronoco St., attended services at Christ Church, 118 Washington St., and his home from his marriage until the war was the Custis Mansion in nearby Arlington. While he shopped in the Stabler Leadbeater Apothecary, 105 South Fairfax St., he received orders to go to Harpers Ferry to put down John Brown’s raid.
Alexandria’s best inn, the Morrison House, looks as if it were built in colonial days, but actually the five-story Federal-style building was constructed in 1985. The owner then, Robert E. Morrison, had a Smithsonian curator make sure the inn was authentic to the last luxurious detail.
Antiques at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware were models for many of the furnishings, including sofas upholstered in silk brocade, oversized mahogany canopy beds, and gilt-framed mirrors.
The inn has two restaurants: the award-winning Elysium, which features contemporary upscale American cuisine, and the club-like Grill, which has a piano bar.
Address: 116 South Alfred St., Alexandria, VA 22314;
tel: 703-838-8000 or 800-367-0800; fax: 703-684-6283. Accommodations: Forty-five guest rooms, including three suites.
Amenities: Air-conditioning, parking garage for an additional fee, cable TV in rooms, afternoon tea (extra charge), nightly turndown, health club privileges, butler service, easy walk to historic landmarks.
Rates: $$$, including continental breakfast. All major credit cards except Discover.
Restrictions: No pets, restricted smoking.
Arlington House
Arlington, Virginia
Robert E. Lee loved Arlington House, his mansion on a hill overlooking Washington from across the Potomac. It was built by George Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of Martha Washington by her first marriage, and the father of Mary Anna Randolph Custis, whom Lee married two years after graduating from West Point.
Although the Lees spent much of their married life traveling between army posts, this was home to them for thirty years. Six of their seven children were born here. After Virginia seceded from the Union, it was at Arlington House that Lee made his decision to resign his commission in the U.S. Army rather than bear arms against his native state.
The mansion later became the headquarters of officers supervising the defense of Washington. Later still it was confiscated for back taxes. A two-hundred-acre section of the estate was set aside as an army cemetery, the beginning of Arlington National Cemetery.
Arlington House can be reached from Washington and Alexandria on the Metro trains (Blue Line). Parking is available at the Arlington Cemetery Visitor Center. It is open daily, 9:30-4:30. Admission is free. For information phone 703-557-0613.
Appomattox Court House
Appomattox, Virginia
The end of the line for Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia came on Palm Sunday 1865, in this sleepy village, ninety-two miles west of Richmond. His surrender to Ulysses S. Grant did not end the war, but it might as well have. Richmond had fallen, Jefferson Davis and his cabinet were on the run, and William T. Sherman was closing in on Joseph E. Johnston’s army.
On April 9, 1865, Lee was waiting in the parlor of the Wilmer McLean house when Grant rode up. They quickly agreed on the terms of the surrender. After the surrender, Union batteries began to fire salutes, but Grant ordered them stopped. “The war is over,” he said. “The rebels are our countrymen again.”
A formal ceremony was held three days later, during which Lee’s men surrendered their arms and battle flags. As they marched by, Joshua Chamberlain, who was accepting the surrender for Grant, ordered his men to present arms. The Confederates returned the salute, a soldier’s farewell.
Appomattox Court House is open daily, except Federal holidays in the winter; June through August, 9:00-5:30; rest of year, 8:30-5:00. Admission is $2 for adults, children under sixteen free. The national historical park is on VA 24, three miles northeast of Appomattox. For information phone 804-352-8987.
The Bailiwick Inn
Fairfax, Virginia
In a skirmish fought across the front lawn of this inn, June 1, 1861, Captain John Quincy Marr, commander of the Warrenton Rifles, became the first Confederate casualty of the Civil War in this area. Governor William “Extra-Billy” Smith, who was in the house at the time, took over command from Marr, thus beginning his military career at the age of sixty-four.
The first major battle of the war was fought five miles away at Manassas in 1861. In 1863, the house was searched by John Mosby’s Raiders during their midnight raid on Fairfax.
One of the first houses built in Fairfax, the house is in the National Register of Histo
ric Places. The guest rooms, all unique, are furnished with antiques and period reproductions, feather beds, and goose-down pillows, upon which guests will find a chocolate when they turn in.
Innkeepers Bob and Annette Bradley make sure that fresh-cut flowers brighten the foyer, cheery fires burn in fireplaces in book-lined parlors, and silver and crystal grace the breakfast table.
Address: 4023 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030; tel: 703-691-2266 or 800-366-7666; fax: 703-934-2112.
Accommodations: Fourteen guest rooms, all named after famous Virginians, all with private baths.
Amenities: Air-conditioning, off-street parking, afternoon tea, candlelight dinner with advance notice (and extra charge), fireplaces.
Rates: $$$. American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and personal checks.
Restrictions: No pets, restricted smoking.
Manassas Battlefield
Manassas, Virginia
The two battles that took place here in 1861 and 1862 are known in the North as First and Second Bull Run, after a creek that runs through the battlefield; in the South they are called First and Second Manassas, after the nearby town.
The 1861 clash was the first major battle of the war, the one in which Thomas J. Jackson won the nickname “Stonewall.” The fighting was confused. Troops on both sides were green, and some of the Confederates wore blue and some of the Federals wore gray. Fresh rebel reserves arrived in the late afternoon, and the Federals retreated.
The retreat turned into a rout, but the tired rebels were not able to press their advantage. The victory gave the South a false sense of confidence, and convinced the North that the war would not be won easily. It also cost General Irvin McDowell command of the Union army.
The second battle began August 26, 1862, after Stonewall Jackson’s corps reached Union supplies stockpiled at Manassas, took what they could, and retreated a few miles west to a system of ditches that had been dug for a railroad.
General John Pope attacked Jackson, believing the rebels were in retreat. But he found them well entrenched and spoiling for a fight. When Pope’s attack stalled, General James Longstreet struck the Union flank with devastating effect. The fighting that day ended at Henry House Hill, where the Federals were able to halt the Confederates.
The next day Pope, having suffered heavy losses, pulled his army back to Washington. Encouraged by the victory, Lee soon embarked on the invasion of Maryland that culminated in the Battle of Antietam.
Manassas National Battlefield Park, 6511 Sudly Rd., Manassas, VA 20109, is open daily except Christmas, dawn to dusk, the Visitor Center, 8:30-5:00. Admission is $2 for adults, children under seventeen free. The park, which commemorates both battles, is twenty-six miles southwest of Washington, DC. For information phone 703-361-1339.
Belle Boyd Cottage
Front Royal, Virginia
Belle Boyd was an attractive young lady who spied for Stonewall Jackson, while operating out of her father’s hotel in Front Royal. She rode her horse across the field where the Battle of Front Royal was being fought to give Jackson details about the size and disposition of the Federal forces. In gratitude, he made her an honorary captain in his regiment.
Sometime later, betrayed by her lover, she was arrested and held in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington. Exchanged after a month, she went back to spying and was imprisoned again in June 1863. Paroled on her promise to leave the country, she was on a blockade runner that was captured by a Union navy vessel. She and the captain fell in love and were married.
The Belle Boyd Cottage, 101 Chester St., Front Royal, VA 22630, is a typical 1860 middle-class house, furnished in the period. It has been restored as a living history museum depicting Warren County during the war. The guided tour includes interesting stories of Belle and her clandestine activities. Open Monday-Friday, 11:00-4:00, and weekends by appointment. Admission is $2 for adults, $1 for children. On the Saturday nearest May 23, the Battle of Front Royal is reenacted nearby. To reach the cottage follow Rte. 522 (Commerce St.) into Front Royal. For information phone 540-636-1446.
Chester House
Front Royal, Virginia
In the historical district of Front Royal, near the Belle Boyd Cottage, is a stately Georgian mansion, a 1905 updating of a house built in 1848. The house is a treasure, with intricate woodwork, elaborate dentil molding, crystal chandeliers, Oriental rugs, and family antiques and artwork. The attractive bedrooms overlook an Old English garden with brick paths, a fountain, and statuary. A carriage house has a family suite.
Now an inn, the Chester House has been awarded three stars by the Mobil Guide and three diamonds by the AAA. A half-block from the inn is the Warren Rifles Confederate Museum, which has a collection of flags, arms, uniforms, relics, and personal memorabilia. On U.S. 522 just north of town is a marker noting where Custer executed several of Mosby’s Raiders in 1864. (Two months later, Mosby executed an equal number of Custer’s men near Berryville.)
Address: 43 Chester St., Front Royal, VA 22630; tel: 540-635-3937 or 800-621-0441; fax: 540-636-8695; Web page: www.chesterhouse.com.
Accommodations: Six double rooms, four with private baths.
Amenities: Air-conditioning, off-street parking, complimentary refreshments, lawn games.
Rates: $$ (carriage house $$$), including continental breakfast. All major credit cards, and personal checks.
Restrictions: No children under twelve, no pets, restricted smoking.
Fredericksburg Battlefields
Fredericksburg, Virginia
When Lincoln approved Ambrose Burnside’s plan to drive to Richmond through Fredericksburg, he cautioned the general, “It will succeed if you move rapidly; otherwise not.” Burnside didn’t heed Lincoln’s warning and met with disaster.
In the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 13, 1862) Burnside launched two attacks: one struck the Confederate left at Prospect Hill, the second was aimed at the heart of Lee’s defenses on Marye’s Heights directly behind Fredericksburg. Union soldiers were slaughtered by artillery on the heights, near the mansion Brompton, and by Confederate infantry firing from behind a stone wall at the foot of the hill. By the end of the day Lee had won his most one-sided victory of the war.
The Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1-4, 1863) was another triumph for Lee, this time against General Joseph Hooker. Outnumbered, the defeated Hooker retired across the Rappahannock, and Lee prepared his second invasion of the North. It was during this battle that Stonewall Jackson was mistakenly wounded by his own men; he died eight days later.
The Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-7, 1864) was the first encounter between Lee and General Ulysses S. Grant. When the bloody fighting reached a stalemate, Grant elected to go around Lee and march toward Richmond.
Savage fighting started up again two days later in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (May 7-20, 1864), and again the battle produced no clear-cut victory. Grant sidestepped and moved closer to Richmond. The relentless attrition of these battles and those that followed finally destroyed the offensive capabilities of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
The Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park is situated on approximately eight thousand acres and includes parts of all four battlefields. There are other important sites well worth visiting: the museum in the Fredericksburg Visitor Center, at Lafayette Blvd. and Sunken Road; the Fredericksburg National Cemetery, where lie sixteen thousand Federal soldiers, nearly thirteen thousand of them unknown; Chatham Manor, a mansion used as Union headquarters during two of the battles, and later as a field hospital where Clara Barton and Walt Whitman nursed the wounded; and the Stonewall Jackson Shrine (twelve miles south on I-95 to Thornburg exit, then five miles east on VA 606 to Guinea), the plantation office where on May 10, 1863, Jackson died. All these sites are open daily, 9:00-5:00, and 8:30-6:30 during the summer. Admission is $3 for adults, free for children under seventeen. For information phone 540-371-0802.
SURPRISE THE BLUECOATS WITH JACKSON
> Lee, badly outnumbered at Chancellorsville, gambled and won, sending Jackson’s corps on a risky twelve-mile forced march around Hooker’s Union army. Jackson took the Union by surprise and carried the day. You can follow in Jackson’s footsteps along a gravel road for the first eight miles. The final miles are along a modern highway. Depending on your physical condition, the hike should take from three to four hours. (Be sure to have someone pick you up when you reach the highway, or it will be a long hike indeed.) Get directions and additional information at the Chancellorsville Visitor Center, 120 Chatham Lane, Fredericksburg, VA, open daily, 9:00-5:00. For information phone 540-786-2880.
Chatham Manor
Fredericksburg, Virginia
While the owner of this magnificent mansion was away serving as a Confederate staff officer, the Federal army used it at various times as an artillery position; a communications center; the headquarters of several generals, including Irwin McDowell, Ambrose Burnside, Edwin Sumner, and John Gibbon; and a field hospital with the help of Clara Barton, Walt Whitman, and Dr. Mary Walker, the only woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Lincoln dined with General McDowell at Chatham while visiting Fredericksburg during the Peninsular Campaign. Yankee soldiers treated the place roughly, using the original paneling as firewood, drawing graffiti on exposed plaster, and riding horses through the first floor.
Chatham was built in 1767-1768 by William Fitzhugh, a staunch supporter of the American cause in the Revolution, and George Washington was a frequent guest. Some historians believe that it was here that Robert E. Lee met his bride to be, Mary Custis, the daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of Martha Washington and the adopted son of George Washington.
Chatham Manor, now part of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, is open daily, 9:00-5:00, except Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is $3 for adults, free for children under seventeen. Five of the ten rooms are open to the public. To reach the property from Fredericksburg take Rte. 3 across the Chatham Bridge, turn left at the first light, then take the next left to Chatham. For information phone 540-371-0802.
Chuck Lawliss Page 4
