Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 10/08/1991
NRHP Reference Number 91002042
Sometimes known as the “Union’s Valley Forge,” the Army of the Potomac’s 1863-64 winter encampment in Culpeper and Fauquier counties was the largest and most important encampment of the Civil War. Under the command of Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, and with new leadership from Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the army of veterans and recruits that broke camp on May 4, 1864, was larger, more purposeful, and more professional than ever before. This was the army that would compel the surrender of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Part of the army, which was spread over some sixty miles, occupied Hansborough Ridge, a promontory two and a half miles long that dominates the southern approach to Brandy Station. From a distance, the ridge appears about as heavily forested today as it was before the winter encampment. Piles of stone mark the soldiers’ hut sites in Culpeper County.
[VLR Listed Only; Federal Determination of Eligibility: 2/6/1992]
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: June 6, 2022
