"Twice Baptized"

The Civil War transformed this area. Between 1861 and 1865, thousands of both Federal and Confederate soldiers passed through this region. local road networks allowed soldiers to march rapidly in either direction. While the roads were important, the Orange and Alexandria Railroad proved to be the crucial artery that allowed thousands of soldiers to operate here. The village of Bristoe Station grew where the Valley Road met the railroad.

Since the roads were little more than dirt paths, the railroad transported men and the supplies they needed much more efficiently. Starting in August 1861, the first camp sprang up around Bristoe Station as the Confederate soldiers established what they called "Camp Jones." Nearly 1,000 soldiers died during this period and were buried nearby. While the Confederates departed within a few months, Federal soldiers built numerous camps between 1862 and 1864.

The railroad also brought two battles here as well as the camps. On August 26-27, 1862, Confederate forces under Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson raided the railroad and fought off Federal forces under Gen. John Pope at the Battle of Kettle Run. On October 14, 1863, the last major battle in Northern Virginia was fought here as Confederate soldiers attacked the rear of the withdrawing Union army. The Battle of Bristoe Station proved



to be Gen. Robert E. Lee's last operational offensive of the Civil War.

"Twice baptized in blood for Liberty's sake, it will be a place to which in after times pilgrimages will be made by those who revere the glorious, though suffering, past." — Rev. Joseph Hopkins Twitchell, 71st NY Infantry

The Bristoe Station Battlefield area consists of 1,000 acres. Today, the Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park preserves 170 acres of the battlefield. The park is located nearby, south of here on Bristow Road.

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