Charlottesville General Hospital

Marker No. Q-23
City of Charlottesville
Albemarle County, VA

Marker Text: During the Civil War, the Rotunda at the University of Virginia, the Charlottesville town hall and the courthouse, as well as nearby homes and hotels were converted into a makeshift hospital complex called the Charlottesville General Hospital. It treated more than 22,000 wounded soldiers between 1861 and 1865. The first of the wounded arrived by train within hours of the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) in July 1861. One of the facilities, known as the Mudwall or Delevan Hospital, received wounded soldiers as they arrived at the adjacent railroad depot.

Location: At the intersection of West Main Street (Business U.S. 250) and 13th Street and near Jefferson Park Avenue between the University Medical Center and the campus of the University of Virginia. Erected by the Department of Historic Resources in 2000.

  Traveling throughout Virginia, you will find countless markers and monuments dedicated to the American Civil War and most of these markers are related to some battle or military engagement which occurred at the location. Virginia had more military actions within its borders than any other state. You will also come across other markers related to the Civil War, but not just about battles. These markers told other stories about the Civil War, such as, about hospitals, (like today's markers), churches that served as hospitals, cemeteries, camps, and other locations related to some aspect of the war.

  Following the First Battle of Manassas or Bull Run occurring during July, 1861 the need for hospitals for the Confederate Army were needed and Charlottesville was a logical location. Charlottesville was connected to Manassas Junction by railroad and made the transportation of wounded soldiers easier and would get them far enough outside the field of action.

Delaplane (Formerly Piedmont Station)

Fauquier County, VA
Marker No. B-21

Marker Text: On July 19, 1861 Stonewall Jackson's brigade of General Joseph E. Johnston's corps marched to this station from Winchester. They crowded into freight and cattle cars and travelled to the 1st Battle of Manassas. The use of a railroad to carry more than ten thousand troops to the Manassas battlefield gave striking demonstration of the arrival of a new era in military transport and contributed significantly to the Confederate victory there.

Location: At the intersection of Route 17 (Winchester Road) and Route 623 (Rokeby Road) next to railroad tracks. Erected by the Piedmont Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1981.

Photo taken looking east on Route 623 (Rokeby Road) in Delaplane.  Less than a mile north of Interstate 66. Click any photo to enlarge.

  In my last post on “Jackson's Bivouac” at Paris, VA located about seven miles north of this marker, Jackson's Army stopped overnight to rest from their march from Winchester before marching here to Delaplane or Piedmont Station to board trains to travel to the First Battle of Manassas.

  Gen. Joseph E. Johnston commander of the Confederate Army of the Shenandoah rode ahead of the army while they rested and went to Piedmont Station to arrange the trains to transport his men. Johnston knew that his group of inexperienced volunteer soldiers would mostly likely be unable to make the march on foot to Manassas in time to help Beauregard's troops already positioned along Bull Run protecting the Manassas Rail Junction.

Jackson's Bivouac

Fauquier County, VA
Marker No. B-20

Marker Text: After a day's march from Winchester on 19-20 July 1861, Brig. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson halted his lead brigade of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Valley army near here. At 2:00 A.M. his 2,500 men sank down to rest. When told that no sentries had been posted, Jackson stated, "Let the poor boys sleep. I will guard the camp myself." Relieved of his duty an hour before daybreak, Jackson slept briefly, rising at dawn to march to Piedmont Station (now Delaplane), where railcars waited to transport the 11,000-man army to Manassas Junction. There, nearly 30,000 Confederates faced 35,000 Federals at the First Battle of Manassas.

Location: On U.S. Route 50 (John Mosby Highway), west of the intersection with U.S. Route 17, near Paris, VA. Erected by the Department of Historic Resources in 1996.

  At first glance this lone marker on U.S. Route 50, near the small village of Paris, VA appears to simply mark the site where Thomas J. Jackson's brigade spent the night. Much more lies just below the surface. Jackson had only been promoted to Brig. Gen. two days before he marched his brigade under the command of Joseph E. Johnston's Army of the Shenandoah from Winchester, VA to aid General P. G. T. Beauregard in what was to become the First Battle of Manassas or Bull Run. Jackson's troops were about to make history by being the first troops transported to a battle by the railroad. The marker calls Jackson, “Stonewall” Jackson, but at this point he would not gain this nickname until July 21 during the Battle of First Manassas.

Photo taken looking east on U.S. Route 50 with the intersection for U.S. Route 17 in background, where you would turn right or south to go to Piedmont Station.

  An earlier marker that was replaced with the current marker with the same number and title from the late 1920s or 1930s. The text of that marker read “Near here Jackson’s men, going to First Manassas, sank down to rest, July 19, 1861, without placing pickets. Jackson said ‘Let the poor fellows sleep, I will guard the camp myself.’”