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A variety of soldier huts were employed during the winter of 1863. These generally housed four soldiers who lived, cooked, and ate together and found as much comfort as possible in the crude structures. A particular problem was the inability to control the smoke from the rudimentary chimneys. White Oak Civil War Museum, has examples…

This camp of the 110th Pennsylvania Infantry in the winter of 1863 shows a typical camp and the general condition of the once forested Stafford County.

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.

The Potomac Creek Bridge was constructed in May 1862 by the United States Military Railroad Construction Corps. Built in an astonishing 40 hours under the direction of Union engineer Herman Haupt, the massive wooden trestle carried the United States Military Railroad supply line supporting the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign. Rising roughly…

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…