The Stone House, Manassas National Battlefield Park
Encyclopedia
The Stone House, Manassas National Battlefield Park, is a two-story, stone structure in Prince William County
, Virginia. It was built as a stop on the Fauquier and Alexandria Turnpike in 1848, but it achieved its main significance during the American Civil War
, when it served as a hospital during the First and Second Battles of Manassas. Today it is owned by the National Park Service
as a contributing property
to the Manassas National Battlefield Park
, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
, Virginia, compete with Fredericksburg
, Virginia, for trade with Fauquier Court House. Six toll gates were located along the route, each about five miles apart. Once the construction began in 1812, it would take a total of sixteen years for the road to reach all the way to Fauquier Court House, which by then was known as Warrenton.
It was soon realized that stops along the Warrenton Turnpike would be needed. Wormeley's son Thomas Otway Carter inherited the tract but there is little indication he added anything to it. The first record of the existence of a structure on the property appeared on a tax return for the year 1830, after Thomas Carter had sold 148 acres of land and the house on it to John Lee in 1828. Although no physical descriptions of the Stone House as it appeared at this point exist, it is known that a woman named Mary "Polly" Clark operated a wagon stand at the toll gate there. Travelers who stopped at the Stone House would have been required to pay a toll, and likely also were able to receive food, drink, and possibly lodging.
As the century progressed, the Fauquier and Alexandria Turnpike Company’s fortune began to dwindle. John Lee died in 1848 and land was bequeathed to Thomas O. Clark, son of Polly Clark. Tax records in 1849 show a significant jump in the value of Clark’s property to $500, suggesting the construction of a substantial house. This, coupled with an authoritative statement by Arthur Lee Henry identifying Thomas O. Carter as the builder of the Stone House, indicates the Stone House was built in 1848. In 1850 the Clarke family sold the property to Henry P. Matthew, who intended to farm the land since it was being used less and less as a stop on the turnpike each year due to competition from the railroads. For the next decade Matthews and his family would live in the Stone House and harvest its land.
commander Irvin McDowell
planned to flank the Confederate position along Bull Run, which would bring the fighting extremely close to the vicinity of the Stone House. As the battle progressed, a Confederate force that had taken position on Matthews Hill, north of Stone House, was driven back by advancing Federals. The Union force that captured the Stone House area, though, quickly came under fire from Confederate artillery, and coupled with the fact that they were outnumbered by nearby Confederates, the Union troops had to fall back from the house. As the battle wore, on, however, the Stone House came under Union control once again.
Between 10 AM and 12 noon, ten Union and six Confederate regiments clashed in the vicinity of the Stone House. As a result 1,054 men were wounded during those two hours of fighting. Although the battle eventually shifted away from the Stone House, the property’s importance did not diminish. Surgeons and Northern soldiers soon began to seek refuge inside the house. Because the building had strong stone walls, a well in the yard, and was close to the main road back to the hospitals of Washington, D.C, it was an ideal site for a hospital. The Stone House began to fill quickly with soldiers seeking a reprise from the fight. One Union officer noted the muddy dirt floor of the cellar was covered with soldiers. Colonel John S. Slocum, wounded mortally as he led the Second Rhode Island Infantry, was carried to the house and treated by Surgeon James Harris of the First Rhode Island. Dr. Harris remained on duty at the Stone House after the retreat and was found there with twenty-one wounded Union Soldiers. The next day, according to an informant, the scene there remained a grisly one: “In this building were thirty-two wounded, many of them dreadfully mangled by cannon shot. There was but a single surgeon, and he was young and apparently inefficient. Men lay on the floor with their clotted wounds still undressed. Some had died and not been removed…”
Throughout the rest of the day, the house was constantly under fire as the battle raged on nearby, with some projectiles entering the house and supposedly further wounding a few soldiers. Two flags were place in the windows of the house to try and identify it as a hospital, but this did not slow down the fire that constantly peppered the structure. The well outside the Stone House served as a continuous comfort to soldiers on both sides as the fight wore on. As the Union line crumbled toward the end of the battle and the Northern Army found itself retreating from the area, the house came under Confederate control once again, and continued to serve as a hospital throughout the rest of the afternoon. After Confederate forces recaptured the house, they found a large number of wounded Union troops, some dead, and thirty six men, who surrendered as prisoners. Around one hundred arms were also found in the house.
After the end of fighting, the Stone House continued to be a scene of continued activity. Since it was one of the few buildings on the battlefield located on a major road, it was a busy hospital. A traveler passing by the house commented that the filth inside was so disgusting that he was not capable of staying long. Other visitors to the building noted there were men who had still not been attended to even many days after the battle ended. Eventually, the wounded inside the house were likely taken to Richmond as prisoners of war. Confederate forces continued to occupy the house until March 1862. It is not known whether Henry Matthews and his wife returned to their home before it was caught in a maelstrom once again.
, with his army of about 65,000, was massed in the area of the Stone House and the Dogan House. Once the fighting began, the Stone House was quickly converted to a hospital once again. As one unit charged passed the Stone House toward Matthews Hill, they found many wounded and dead, as well as thirty-six men who had sought safety behind the massive stone walls. Federal surgeons marked the building with a flag and treated the wounded throughout the first day of the battle.
On the second day of battle the house continued to serve as a hospital. Some Union troops also buried their men in the yard of the Stone House. Two members of the 5th New York Infantry, Private Charles E. Brehm, age 21, and Eugene P. Geer, age 18, arrived at the Stone House after being wounded late in the battle, and were taken to an upstairs room. At some point during their stay, both men carved their names into the floorboards of the room they were in. Brehm’s carving appears as “Brehm Aug 30”, and Greer, unable to complete his last name, left the carving “E.P. Ge.” Brehm survived the war and lived until 1909; Geer did not live to see the end of 1862. The carvings can still be seen to this day
Like the previous battle, the Stone House was under Confederate control at the battle's conclusion, but unlike the previous year, the captured Union troops in the house were not taken prisoner, but instead paroled. Many of the other Union prisoners on various parts of the battlefield were also taken to the Stone house to be paroled. Five days after the battle began, on September 2, the last ambulance left the Stone House, and the building had seen its last action of the war.
In 1902, following the death of Pridemore, the property was sold to Henry. J. Ayres. In 1904 Ayers added a kitchen and a large back porch to the house. Twentieth century visitors to the battlefield often remember George Ayers as a bright eyed, slender man, usually dressed in riding boots and breeches. Ayers loved horses and dogs, especially colts and bloodhounds. For 45 years he was able to look from the Stone House at the long northwest slope that soldiers had charged on July 21, 1861. Following the death of Ayers, the house passed into the possession of his son, George, in 1912. Photographic evidence indicates that artillery shells were put into the exterior walls sometime after 1912. Presumably, the artillery shells were placed where the masonry had been damaged during the Civil War. It is likely that George Ayers placed the projectiles in the house. In 1949, the Stone House was sold to the United States Government. Two major renovation projects took place since then, including re-roofing the structure and installing new electrical and plumbing systems.
Prince William County, Virginia
-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...
, Virginia. It was built as a stop on the Fauquier and Alexandria Turnpike in 1848, but it achieved its main significance during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, when it served as a hospital during the First and Second Battles of Manassas. Today it is owned by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
as a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the Manassas National Battlefield Park
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Manassas National Battlefield Park, located north of Manassas, in Prince William County, Virginia preserves the site of two major American Civil War battles: the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, and the Second Battle of Bull Run which was fought between August 28 and August 30, 1862...
, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
The Early Years
The land on which the Stone House was built was settled during the latter half of the eighteenth century. Wormeley Carter, of Virginia, received the land that would become the Stone House tract from his father in 1801, but by the time of his death in 1805, he had sold off much of his land, which by that point had been reduced to just over 1,900 acres. The Fauquier and Alexandria Turnpike Company was formed in 1808 with the hope of constructing a road that would stretch 28 miles from Fairfax Court House to Fauquier Court House, both in Virginia. The Company hoped the road would help AlexandriaAlexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, Virginia, compete with Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
, Virginia, for trade with Fauquier Court House. Six toll gates were located along the route, each about five miles apart. Once the construction began in 1812, it would take a total of sixteen years for the road to reach all the way to Fauquier Court House, which by then was known as Warrenton.
It was soon realized that stops along the Warrenton Turnpike would be needed. Wormeley's son Thomas Otway Carter inherited the tract but there is little indication he added anything to it. The first record of the existence of a structure on the property appeared on a tax return for the year 1830, after Thomas Carter had sold 148 acres of land and the house on it to John Lee in 1828. Although no physical descriptions of the Stone House as it appeared at this point exist, it is known that a woman named Mary "Polly" Clark operated a wagon stand at the toll gate there. Travelers who stopped at the Stone House would have been required to pay a toll, and likely also were able to receive food, drink, and possibly lodging.
As the century progressed, the Fauquier and Alexandria Turnpike Company’s fortune began to dwindle. John Lee died in 1848 and land was bequeathed to Thomas O. Clark, son of Polly Clark. Tax records in 1849 show a significant jump in the value of Clark’s property to $500, suggesting the construction of a substantial house. This, coupled with an authoritative statement by Arthur Lee Henry identifying Thomas O. Carter as the builder of the Stone House, indicates the Stone House was built in 1848. In 1850 the Clarke family sold the property to Henry P. Matthew, who intended to farm the land since it was being used less and less as a stop on the turnpike each year due to competition from the railroads. For the next decade Matthews and his family would live in the Stone House and harvest its land.
The First Battle of Manassas
During the Battle of First Manassas, which occurred on July 21, 1861, UnionUnion Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
commander Irvin McDowell
Irvin McDowell
Irvin McDowell was a career American army officer. He is best known for his defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War.-Early life:...
planned to flank the Confederate position along Bull Run, which would bring the fighting extremely close to the vicinity of the Stone House. As the battle progressed, a Confederate force that had taken position on Matthews Hill, north of Stone House, was driven back by advancing Federals. The Union force that captured the Stone House area, though, quickly came under fire from Confederate artillery, and coupled with the fact that they were outnumbered by nearby Confederates, the Union troops had to fall back from the house. As the battle wore, on, however, the Stone House came under Union control once again.
Between 10 AM and 12 noon, ten Union and six Confederate regiments clashed in the vicinity of the Stone House. As a result 1,054 men were wounded during those two hours of fighting. Although the battle eventually shifted away from the Stone House, the property’s importance did not diminish. Surgeons and Northern soldiers soon began to seek refuge inside the house. Because the building had strong stone walls, a well in the yard, and was close to the main road back to the hospitals of Washington, D.C, it was an ideal site for a hospital. The Stone House began to fill quickly with soldiers seeking a reprise from the fight. One Union officer noted the muddy dirt floor of the cellar was covered with soldiers. Colonel John S. Slocum, wounded mortally as he led the Second Rhode Island Infantry, was carried to the house and treated by Surgeon James Harris of the First Rhode Island. Dr. Harris remained on duty at the Stone House after the retreat and was found there with twenty-one wounded Union Soldiers. The next day, according to an informant, the scene there remained a grisly one: “In this building were thirty-two wounded, many of them dreadfully mangled by cannon shot. There was but a single surgeon, and he was young and apparently inefficient. Men lay on the floor with their clotted wounds still undressed. Some had died and not been removed…”
Throughout the rest of the day, the house was constantly under fire as the battle raged on nearby, with some projectiles entering the house and supposedly further wounding a few soldiers. Two flags were place in the windows of the house to try and identify it as a hospital, but this did not slow down the fire that constantly peppered the structure. The well outside the Stone House served as a continuous comfort to soldiers on both sides as the fight wore on. As the Union line crumbled toward the end of the battle and the Northern Army found itself retreating from the area, the house came under Confederate control once again, and continued to serve as a hospital throughout the rest of the afternoon. After Confederate forces recaptured the house, they found a large number of wounded Union troops, some dead, and thirty six men, who surrendered as prisoners. Around one hundred arms were also found in the house.
After the end of fighting, the Stone House continued to be a scene of continued activity. Since it was one of the few buildings on the battlefield located on a major road, it was a busy hospital. A traveler passing by the house commented that the filth inside was so disgusting that he was not capable of staying long. Other visitors to the building noted there were men who had still not been attended to even many days after the battle ended. Eventually, the wounded inside the house were likely taken to Richmond as prisoners of war. Confederate forces continued to occupy the house until March 1862. It is not known whether Henry Matthews and his wife returned to their home before it was caught in a maelstrom once again.
The Second Battle of Manassas
In the days leading up to the Second Battle of Manassas, which took between September 28 and 30, 1862, passing troops would have seen the house as they took their positions on the old and new battlefield. On the 30th of August, Union General PopeJohn Pope (military officer)
John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the East.Pope was a graduate of the United States Military Academy in...
, with his army of about 65,000, was massed in the area of the Stone House and the Dogan House. Once the fighting began, the Stone House was quickly converted to a hospital once again. As one unit charged passed the Stone House toward Matthews Hill, they found many wounded and dead, as well as thirty-six men who had sought safety behind the massive stone walls. Federal surgeons marked the building with a flag and treated the wounded throughout the first day of the battle.
On the second day of battle the house continued to serve as a hospital. Some Union troops also buried their men in the yard of the Stone House. Two members of the 5th New York Infantry, Private Charles E. Brehm, age 21, and Eugene P. Geer, age 18, arrived at the Stone House after being wounded late in the battle, and were taken to an upstairs room. At some point during their stay, both men carved their names into the floorboards of the room they were in. Brehm’s carving appears as “Brehm Aug 30”, and Greer, unable to complete his last name, left the carving “E.P. Ge.” Brehm survived the war and lived until 1909; Geer did not live to see the end of 1862. The carvings can still be seen to this day
Like the previous battle, the Stone House was under Confederate control at the battle's conclusion, but unlike the previous year, the captured Union troops in the house were not taken prisoner, but instead paroled. Many of the other Union prisoners on various parts of the battlefield were also taken to the Stone house to be paroled. Five days after the battle began, on September 2, the last ambulance left the Stone House, and the building had seen its last action of the war.
After the War
It is unsure when the Matthews family returned to their home, but in October 1865, it and the adjacent land were sold to Mary Starbuck. After the Civil War, the tolls from the travelling public provided revenue for its maintenance and the profits of its owners. In 1879 the land was deeded to George Starbuck and his wife Meribah. Two years later the house was sold to Benson Pridemore. The Pridemores partitioned some upper rooms to make room for their children. This was the first major structural change made to the Stone House. Mr. Pridemore also added a front porch, a picket fence, and a barn to the property.In 1902, following the death of Pridemore, the property was sold to Henry. J. Ayres. In 1904 Ayers added a kitchen and a large back porch to the house. Twentieth century visitors to the battlefield often remember George Ayers as a bright eyed, slender man, usually dressed in riding boots and breeches. Ayers loved horses and dogs, especially colts and bloodhounds. For 45 years he was able to look from the Stone House at the long northwest slope that soldiers had charged on July 21, 1861. Following the death of Ayers, the house passed into the possession of his son, George, in 1912. Photographic evidence indicates that artillery shells were put into the exterior walls sometime after 1912. Presumably, the artillery shells were placed where the masonry had been damaged during the Civil War. It is likely that George Ayers placed the projectiles in the house. In 1949, the Stone House was sold to the United States Government. Two major renovation projects took place since then, including re-roofing the structure and installing new electrical and plumbing systems.