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In March and April 1862, Confederate forces ended Stafford’s “Confederate Year” as they withdrew from Stafford and Prince William Counties and occupied positions in and below the Rappahannock in Fredericksburg.

Civil War Stafford County found itself between the Federal capital in Washington and the Confederate capital in Richmond. Its status as a transportation center – a gateway to Tidewater Virginia and the Central Virginia Piedmont regions — before the war condemned it to almost continuous and devastating occupation by the forces of both armies. In…

During their winter of 1862-1863, the Union Army of the Potomac’s camps and defenses stretched for over 150 square miles in Stafford County. In addition to keeping watch over Lee’s Confederate Army across the Rappahannock River, they prepared for the spring campaigns with major reorganizations, reforms and intensive training and picket duty during that difficult…

In Colonial times the most common mode of land transportation in Stafford County was horse, wagon or stagecoach. If one wished to travel north it was a long journey which depended upon the weather, as the eastern Chopawamsic Creek area in northern Stafford became a swampy, muddy bog after rain and impeded traffic for weeks.…

During the Civil War, in 1862 and 1863, Lincoln visited Stafford six different times for a total of fourteen days. Each time he came to the area, he followed the same routine. He would leave the White House and travel by carriage to the Washington Navy Yard. Then he would catch a steamer and head…

From my mother’s side of the family comes a gentle story of the Christmas of 1862. My great-grandmother, Elizabeth Manning, lived on a farm near the present location of the Falmouth Elementary School. The farm was crossed by the RF&P Railroad lines, of which the Union was making limited use to get supplies from Aquia…

Thomas Ludwell Lee (1730-1778)—was born at Stratford Hall and was the son of Thomas Lee (1690-1750) and Hannah Ludwell (1701-1750). His brothers were Francis Lightfoot Lee (1743-1797) and Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794), signers of the Declaration of Independence. 1759-1761 Thomas Ludwell Lee represented Stafford County in the House of Burgesses. He also represented Stafford in…

General Count Donatien de Rochambeau and French Troops traveled through Stafford in mid-September 1781. In fact, French Army troops of Rochambeau twice used Falmouth ford. General George Washington, in New York, planned use of the 5,000-man French expeditionary force. When he became aware the French fleet was headed for the Chesapeake from the West Indies,…

Stafford’s American Revolution cohort consisted of 66 men in the Continental Army and 489 whose approved Revolutionary War Public Service Claims are on file in the Virginia State Library. Perhaps as many as 1,000 Staffordians were involved in the Revolution at one time or another. Through April 2000, due to research by Mike and Marty…

John Strode (c.1735-c.1820)—a Quaker from Chester County, Pennsylvania. Around 1764 he came to work at James Hunter’s iron works near Falmouth. Here he built a new dam and many of the mills and factories. Strode was responsible for converting Hunters works from a supplier of domestic needs to a maker of all manner of military…

James Hunter (1721-1784)—born near Glasgow, Scotland, he was from a well-established mercantile family that was involved in the tobacco trade between America and England. James frequently visited Virginia on his father’s ships but settled her permanently around 1746 for the purpose of helping his ailing Uncle William Hunter manage his store in Fredericksburg. After William’s…

Iron Why Iron Was Important: Tools, cooking pots, hardware, nails, farm implements, and many other essential everyday items were made of iron. Design of the Iron Furnace: Iron was smelted in a stone or brick furnace 25 to 28 feet tall and about 24 feet square at the base. If possible, iron furnaces were built…