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The scene shows Belle Plain with a wagon train (note unit markings for the Cavalry Corps) and U.S. Sanitary Commission and U.S. Christian Commission workers in the rear. (Close-ups reveal they are holding apples for the troops.)

Hooker’s second greatest reform was the creation of the “Bureau of Military Information.” It became the first all-source intelligence organization in use by the U.S. Army.  The bureau, led by Colonel George H. Sharpe, organized and analyzed combat intelligence from cavalry, spies and scouts, reconnaissance balloons, intercepted signals, prisoner interrogations, and civilian debriefings.

The Union Army’s secondary logistical base was at Belle Plain Landing on Potomac Creek.

Walt Whitman, the famous American poet and author, visited Stafford after the Battle of Fredericksburg, as he was trying to find his brother who was injured.  He found him near the Lacy House in good condition. Whitman’s writings describe the house which was being used as a hospital:  “The large mansion is quite crowded, upstairs…

Captain Porter Farley, 140th New York Infantry, provided an account which shows a genuine “tenderness of heart even to his enemies in time of trouble” – an incident which occurred in front of the Stafford outposts of his regiment: “On Tuesday, March 24th, our regiment went out again on picket duty, proceeding this time to…

“Concord,” one of Stafford’s oldest houses, was contemporary with George Washington’s boyhood home. Originally a Waller family home, in 1859 it was sold to the MacGregors, who fortuitously remained during the First and Second Federal occupations. Because of their presence, Lieutenant E. D. Muhlenburg, Battery F, 4th U.S. Artillery, purchased wood by a government promissory…

Aquia Landing had many large warehouses like these.  Notice how the railroad tracks go right by the structures.

This Union captain is sitting on one of the many hard tack ration boxes at Aquia Landing.  Each box of hard tack weighed 50 pounds. Troops were pleased after General Hooker took over from General Burnside when bakeries were built in Stafford County.  They appreciated having fresh (soft) bread instead of hard tack.

Lincoln walked over the famous “Beanpoles and Cornstalks Bridge” over Potomac Creek May 23, 1862.  By the time Lincoln returned on April 5, 1863, that one was replaced with this sturdier bridge using pre-stressed arches.  During this visit Lincoln was accompanied by his wife, Mary Todd, and his son Tad. RF&P Railroad over Potomac Creek…

During reviews in Stafford, Lincoln would salute to officers by touching his tall silk hat when they marched by.  However, when enlisted men passed by, Lincoln would remove his stove pipe hat. Lincoln had the common touch as he moved among the troops.  He communicated his empathy and concern for them. His compassion, as he…

Grand reviews of all cavalry and infantry units were an important culmination of the “Valley Forge” period. It provided one final opportunity for the commander-in-chief and his principal army to see one another. The reviews were “practice battles” in which the mass of the army could be marshaled, moved and maneuvered. At the individual level,…

Picket duty was an important component of the Union Army’s “Valley Forge.” The infantry picket line extended around the AOP’s 200-square-mile defensive perimeter. To the west and east there were also cavalry picket lines, outposts, and videttes (mounted sentries). Picket duty was rotated regularly and regiments normally served for fixed time periods. Reserves in echeloned…