The Battle of the Wilderness

"The house stands on Wilderness Run, in a lonely place about half a mile south of the Culpeper plank road; it is a good-sized farmhouse, built of wood, square, with two porticos and painted a dove color. From the apex of the roof a hospital flag still flutters in the cold November wind."
- George M. Neese, Chew's Virginia Battery November 11, 1863

Ellwood was a typical Virginia farm. The 1790s dwelling looked out over rolling farmland planted in corn, wheat, and clover. Outbuildings, including a kitchen, smokehouse, and dairy, surrounded the house. As many as one hundred slaves, their cabins scattered north and west of the main building, provided the farm with most of its labor.

The Civil War shattered Ellwood's dull routine. In May 1863, the Confederate army established a hospital in the building, and seven months later Union soldiers looted the house. Worse was yet to come. In May 1864, Northern and Southern soldiers engaged in a deadly struggle little more than a mile from Ellwood. Overnight the once quiet farm became a bustling military encampment.

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Show me all markers in:  Locust Grove, VA  |  Orange County  |  22508  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

Archeology at Ellwood
A Busy Place
Union Headquarters
A Military Scene
"Stonewall" Jackson's Arm
Arm of Stonewall Jackson
The Campaign of 1781
Grant Comes to Virginia
Grant's Headquarters
An Uneasy Partnership

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