» Fauquier's Civil War Trails Markers map (148K jpeg)
» www.mosbyheritagearea.org
Mount Bleak Farm
Mount Bleak resident Dr. Thomas Settle was present at the 1859 execution of abolitionist John Brown. Called to feel for Brown's pulse, Dr. Settle heard him mutter: "The sins of this guilty land can only be purged with blood." (Marker at Sky Meadows State Park.)

Upperville
Visitors have a clear view of the road, stone walls and fields where 10,000 cavalry and infantry clashed in the Battle of Upperville, along the present-day Route 50. The cemetery includes several graves of soldiers killed in that battle. (Marker on Route 50 in Upperville Park across from cemetery.)

Rectortown
Col. John Mosby used what is now a farm equipment warehouse as his headquarters. In retaliation for the execution of seven Union rangers, Mosby ordered the same for an equal number of Federal prisoners. He ordered a lottery to choose among the 27 prisoners. Three eventually hanged. (Marker on Route 713.)

The Plains
The first Union camp in Fauquier County (1862) set up nearby. Also here, Confederates hanged Union spy Jack Sterry for the murder of a Southern soldier. Nearly 75 years later, highway workers on Route 55 found remains believed to be those of the spy and his victim. (Marker at Routes 245 and 55.)

Thoroughfare Gap
Sharpshooters from both sides would use the five-story Beverly's Mill (then Chapman's Mill) to attack or defend the pass. His building all but destroyed, owner John Chapman sued the government for damages. He lost and his business never recovered. Mr. Chapman's family committed him to an asylum in 1864. (Marker on Route 55 across from Broad Run Post Office.)

Buckland Races
Confederate Gens. J.E.B. Stuart and Fitzhugh Lee sprang trap on Federal troops. The ensuing retreat by Gen. Judson Kilpatrick's Union Cavalry resembled a steeplechase race and was dubbed "the Buckland Races." (Marker at Route 29 commuter parking lot north of Warrenton.)

Catlett's Station
Village resident Susan Emeline Caldwell described in a letter Stuart's cavalry capture of 200 Union prisoners and $25,000. The Rebels also nabbed Union Gen. John Pope's personal items, including his dispatch book. Intelligence from the book enabled Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson to develop a strategy that lead to victory at Second Manassas a week later. (Marker at Catlett Station Antiques on Old Catlett Road.)

Kelly's Ford
On St. Patrick's Day 1863, troops led by two friends and former West Point classmates battled for nearly 12 hours. Union Gen. William Averell and Confederate Gen. Fitzhugh Lee exchanged coffee and tobacco along with gunfire that day -- a common ritual between the armies. (Marker on Culpeper side of Kelly's Ford Bridge.)

Rappahannock Station
Near the Rappahannock River, the village (now Remington) stood as a strategic battleground for control of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad. On Nov. 7, 1863 Union soldiers launched a "rare night attack . . . (resulting in) the capture of more than 1,600 (Confederates)." The battle marked the Confederates' last defense of the upper Rappahannock River in the war. (Marker on James Madison Highway in Remington.)

Warrenton
In front of the Old Jail Museum, the marker includes information about John Singleton Mosby, the "gray ghost of the Confederacy." The marker has a map showing other points of interest in Warrenton.

Salem
Col. Mosby's Raiders roamed this area (now known as Marshall) extensively. Gen. Robert E. Lee on Aug. 26, 1862, spent the evening at the nearby home of Mrs. John Marshall's home, a daughter-in-law of the famous chief justice. (Marker at Old Salem Meetinghouse on Route 17.)

Piedmont Station
Stonewall Jackson's troops on July 19, 1861, became the first in history to be transported by railroad. The troops two days later fought in Manassas, the first major battle of the war. Many of the buildings at the site date back to the Civil War. (Marker at the Delaplane Store & Antique Center just off Route 713.)

Goose Creek Historic Bridge
Constructed during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, the bridge became part of the strategic struggle between Northern and Southern forces. Searching for General Robert E. Leešs build up across the Blue Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley, Union General Alfred Pleasanton engaged in battle with Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart on June 21, 1863. The Confederate forces successfully delayed the Union troops there. The bridge carried vehicular traffic from covered wagons to automobile traffic until 1957.