Historic Perspectives ■ Summer 2021 ■ 1

Visitors to Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park and to battlefields across

the United States often ask a common question: where are all the dead from these battles buried? While some battlefields have adjoining cemeteries—some are national cemeteries—others are simply open fields without headstones to mark the graves of the fallen. The 10th Alabama Cemetery is marked at Bristoe Station Battlefield, but most of the soldiers buried here died from disease in 1861 before opposing armies descended upon Bristoe Station. So, where are the dead of the battles of Kettle Run (August 27, 1862) and Bristoe Station (October 14, 1863) buried today?

On Monday, October 26, 1863, following the conclusion of both battles, Chaplain Joseph Hopkins

Twichell of the 71st New York Infantry visited Bristoe Station. “I found the graves of my boys that fell there” in August 1862, Twichell wrote. He discovered the graves “trampled by a drove of grazing horses.” “I straightened up the headboards and wrote the names over again, where they were growing dim.” Twichell’s deed for the dead kept “their resting-place from being nameless a little while longer.”

Around the same time as Twichell’s visit, Brig. Gen. Alex-ander Hays noted the state of the Confederate graves. “Long lines of pits marked the last resting places of those who were no lon-ger our enemies.” Elsewhere, “the ground is literally covered with the carcasses of dead horses.” The dead of both armies from both battles—301 in total—were buried

Where Are The Dead Buried?

LOC

Graves on Bull Run battlefield

Prince William County Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Historic Preservation Division17674 Main Street Dumfries, VA 22026Phone (703) 792-4754 Fax (703) 221-7504

Contact us at: historicpreservation@pwcgov.org

Visit our website at: www.pwcgov.org/history

For Historic Property Rentals call: (703) 792-5546

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NEWSLETTER STAFFEditor in Chief: Robert Orrison

Editors: Dan Goldstein

Contributors: Jessica Alicea, Bill Backus, Paige Gibbons Backus, David Born, Kevin Pawlak, Lance Russell, Warwick Steer

Guest Contributor: André B. Sobocinski

Copyright © 2021

Summer 2021 Contents1 | Where Are The Dead Buried?3 | Collections Corner:

Bristow Station Post Office Desk

4 | Image Spotlight: Blackburn Grave

5 | Summer Programs and Events6 | History Corner:

Admiral Byrd’s Third Expedition7 | HPD News7 | Foundation Update

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near where they fell on the field.Shortly after the war’s end,

United States Army Quartermas-ter General Montgomery Meigs determined to create a monu-ment to the war’s Federal dead in Arlington National Cemetery. In 1866, Meigs began a second effort for a tomb of unknown sol-diers in Arlington. The Civil War Unknowns Monument contains the remains of 2,111 unknown Fed-eral soldiers who died on the Bull Run battlefield and the many bat-tles along the Orange and Alexan-dria Railroad.

The creation of this mass grave was an immense under-taking. Colonel Marshall Luding-ton supervised the removal of remains to Arlington. Ultimately, 1,791 remains came from the Bull Run battlefields; the remaining 320 were brought from other bat-tlefields, including Bristoe Station, along the railroad. It is unclear how many of that 320 came from Bristoe Station, but Federal battle deaths during the two engage-ments equaled 130.

The unknowns’ tomb was sealed in September 1866. “They were dropping fragmentary skel-etons into this receptacle almost daily,” noted the National Intelli-gencer in anticipation of the proj-

ect’s completion. Today, the Civil War Unknowns Monument can still be visited in Arlington Nation-al Cemetery.

Most of the Federal dead from Bristoe Station no longer rest on the battlefield thanks to Meigs’ and Ludington’s work. How-ever, they only reinterred the remains of Union soldiers, not Confederates. No evidence has been uncovered to indicate the remains of the Confederate dead were ever removed from Bristoe Station; they likely remain there today. No doubt, not every set

of Federal remains was found in 1866, meaning some still lay unmarked in the fields adjacent to the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. Some of the Union and Confederate dead may still lay in the same spots where Twichell and Hays observed them in late October 1863. Bristoe Station Bat-tlefield Heritage Park is not only hallowed ground because of what happened there, but also because of the remains that rest there today.

Kevin PawlekBristoe Station Battlefield Site Manager

Wikipedia

Civil War Unknowns Monument

Register Online Today for Summer

Programs and Events

pwcparks.org/historicprograms

An inconspicuously look-ing desk in Prince William County’s permanent collec-

tion was important to many peo-ple living in central Prince William County. Although looking like a normal clerk’s desk, this example is from the old Bristow Station Post Office that was originally next to the railroad. Before the rise of wireless mass communica-tions and social media in the 20th and 21st centuries, the post office was an incredibly important place in many communities.

The post office in rural America became a community center. Prior to the creation of the Rural Free Delivery in the late 1800s, mail was not delivered to homes. Instead, people were required to travel to their nearby post office to pick up mail. Since many Prince William remained rural up to the mid-20th century, the county required numerous post offices ensuring that residents did not have to trav-el considerable distances to get their mail. The arrival of the rail-road in the 1850s soon transformed little Bristow into a buzz. Since it was easier and cheaper to trans-port mail along the railroad, soon a post office was set up in Bristow Station to service citizens in cen-tral Prince William County.

A popular item at rural post offices were newspapers. Since most national and regional papers did not contract deliveries, people had to have their subscriptions delivered via the mail. During

a time in which every city had multiple broadsheet and tabloid newspapers, often rural residents decided to subscribe to just one. While at the post office neigh-bors may have asked to borrow a newspaper to read the news or opinions from a paper that they did not subscribe to. This sharing of news allowed even small com-munities to remain tuned in to state, regional, national, and even international developments.

Although telephones start-ed to appear in the late 1800s, they were so expensive that they remained in more urban areas into the 20th century. Letters remained the main source of people communicating to anoth-er over long distances. Personal correspondence could involve people in neighboring counties or cities, or it could include people living in other states or countries. Since the beginning of the 1800s,

large numbers of Prince William County residents continued to move out of the county to oth-er parts of the state, or nation. While travel became cheaper, for many it was still too expensive to travel home to Prince William to see family members. The mail often was the only way that family members remained in touch with one another.

The Bristow Station Post Office desk is like a clerk’s desk of the time. Coves in the top allowed for easy storage of letters and news-papers for people who had yet to receive their mail. While the post office in Bristow never perma-nently closed, the introduction of the Rural Free Delivery in the early 20th century made traveling to the post office necessary since mail was now delivered directly to people’s home addresses.

Bill BackusCurator

Bristow Station Post Office Desk

Historic Perspectives ■ Summer 2021 ■ 3

4 ■ Historic Perspectives ■ Summer 2021

Blackburn Grave

Image SpotlightImage Spotlight

Rippon Lodge was first ren-dered as a water color in the 1790s. After a gap of 130

years it once again was recorded, this time by photographs! This interesting photo was taken in the early 1920s at the Blackburn fam-ily graves at about this time. From left to right are: Unknown (possi-bly Emma Atkinson), Thomas and Augustus “Gus” Marron, Dessie Ellis, Wade Ellis, and Luella Chase. We do not know why this group gathered around the graves of Richard and Mary Blackburn, though it is a rare picture taken around the time the property changed hands in 1924.

Richard Blackburn died in 1757

while Mary lived until 1775. Son in law Judge John Bayliss had Rich-ard’s stone slab engraved, while Mary’s stone was likely engraved, but the inscription was worn away sometime in the distant past. A bronze tablet was added by Admiral Richard Black replicat-ing Richard Blackburn’s epitaph. Mary’s grave is also now marked with a modern plaque. Several of their children and grandchildren were buried around them, though only the two stones survive. Today, there are approximately 42 unmarked graves in the ceme-tery area. In this picture, Mr. Ellis seems to be standing on Richard Blackburn’s marker while the pho-

tographer is on or near Mary’s.Mr. and Mrs. Ellis bought

the property from the Marron brothers in 1924, including the graveyard. Miss Atkinson’s par-ents, grandparents, and siblings were buried in a different part of the cemetery. They owned Rip-pon Lodge from 1811 to 1911. The cemetery area was cleaned and restored in the 1930s by caretaker Edward Hawkins, who also placed additional uninscribed markers where they thought additional graves were located. Today, these oldest graves are still there for visitors to see.

Nate McDonaldPreservation Specialist

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Jul 2 First Friday Night Fires At Ben Lomond: Parks And PreservationJul 7 Wednesday Walks At Bristoe Station BattlefieldJul 10 On These Walls: Graffiti At Ben LomondJul 10 WWII Campfire At Rippon LodgeJul 10-11 Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park ToursJul 10-11 WWII Days At Rippon LodgeJul 12 Museum Kid Monday!Jul 16 Walking Tour Of Historic Prince William Towns: NokesvilleJul 24 Ben Lomond Civil War Hospital Anniversary WeekendJul 24 Crime And Punishment At Brentville CourthouseJul 24 Crime And Punishment At Brentville CourthouseJul 24 Candlelight Tours Of The Hospital At Ben LomondJul 24-25 Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park ToursJul 25 Ben Lomond Civil War Hospital Anniversary Weekend

Aug 4 Wednesday Walks At Bristoe Station BattlefieldAug 6 First Friday Night Fires At Ben Lomond: Parks And PreservationAug 9 Museum Kid Monday!Aug 14 Bee EncounterAug 14 Brentsville Bluegrass Concert SeriesAug 14-15 Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park ToursAug 20 Walking Tour Of Historic Prince William Towns: HaymarketAug 21 Rippon Lodge Car DisplayAug 21 African-American History Trail Car Caravan TourAug 27 A Real-Time Walking Tour Of The Battle Of Kettle RunAug 28 Battle Of Kettle Run Anniversary WeekendAug 28 Native American CampfireAug 28-29 Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park ToursAug 29 Battle Of Kettle Run Anniversary Weekend

Sep 1 Wednesday Walks At Bristoe Station BattlefieldSep 11 Brentsville Bluegrass Concert Series

Register for these online at: www.pwcparks.org/historicprograms

Summer Programs and Events

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Richard Blackburn Black accompanied Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd on three

Antarctic expeditions. For the first journey, as the story goes, a letter, written by Black to Byrd about joining his next voyage led to this mutually respectful work-ing and exploration relationship.

Planning for the Byrd’s Third Expedition began in 1937-1938 at the same time as the onset of World War II. Japan had steadily invaded China, while Hitler’s army seized Austria. Furthermore, Nazi Germany sent an expedition to Antarctica in 1938 to 1939. During the first year, led by Captain Ritscher, it successfully explored over 130,000 square miles of land and sea and claimed over 200,000 of the territory for Germany. These actions made several west-ern countries, who invested time and had bases on the continent, nervous. Some protested dip-lomatically and politically, a few invoking the Monroe Doctrine to keep foreign interest out of the Western hemisphere.

President Franklin Delano Roo-sevelt learned that Admiral Byrd planned to fund the third expedi-tion privately. He proposed to his cabinet that a government spon-sored expedition should occur instead. The State Department had informed the President of the Byrd plans, and in fact Richard Black was asked to investigate the requirements of the govern-

ment in November of 1937. The President wanted to know what it would take to create a permanent base on the continent. On May 5, 1938, Black released plans for the U.S. Antarctic Service Expedition. The President later invited Rear Admiral Byrd to the White House for lunch to discuss the plans of establishing two or three bases, if the government funding the task. Byrd said yes. He only had months to put his plan into action.

President Roosevelt designated him as Commanding Officer of the US Antarctic Service in July 1939. Roosevelt issued an execu-tive order authorizing the expe-dition on Nov. 25, 1939. There would be two separate teams; one led by Byrd himself, the oth-er by Norwegian born explorer Finn Ronne and Richard Black. In fact, two ships were in route before the executive order was finalized. They were the USS Bear (AG-29) and the North Star. The vessels reached Antarctica and established West Base in January

1940. The expedition consisted of 53 men, 130 dogs, three aircraft, two light army tanks, two light tractors, and a snow cruiser. Rear Admiral Byrd remained on the Bear as East Base was being con-structed and returned stateside before the expedition was over.

Byrd commanded West Base until Dr. Paul Siple took command, while Richard Blackburn com-manded East Base. There, Black’s team carried out meteorological observations and exploration of uncharted areas. All this work came to a halt in a little over a year later, as tensions in Europe and Asia increased. East Base was evac-uated in May 1941. Richard Black later reported it took two flights off the Northeast Glacier to leave. Black was called to active duty with the Navy and sent back to Hawaii in August 1941, a few months before the Japanese bombing raid on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7.

Jessica AliceaRippon Lodge Site Manager

Admiral Byrd’s Third Expedition

RBB Notes

Black Coast Map

Historic Perspectives ■ Summer 2021 ■ 7

Summer Interns This summer we are welcom-

ing 2 interns that will be working with Bill Backus and Paige Gib-bons Backus.

Paige will be working with Max Kim and he will be a rising senior at William and Mary. He will be helping with creating budgeting plans for the historic buildings in Brentsville.

Bill will be working with Sophia Hernandez Tragesser, the Prince William

Historical Commission’s Uni-versity of Virginia internship. Ms. Tragesser is pursuing multiple advanced degrees with the Uni-versity of Virginia. The Historical Commission has selected her to research the history of poor relief

in Prince William County from the colonial period to the mid-20th century.

6th Annual Prince William County/Manassas

History SymposiumOn May 1, 2021, the Sixth

Annual Prince William/Manas-sas History Symposium was held at Brentsville Historic Centre. A wonderful crowd of our patrons enjoyed presentations from five different historians including our own HP staff members Bill Backus and Paige Gibbons Backus. The weather was spectacular, and everyone enjoyed seeing the arti-facts brought by our symposium partner Manassas Museum Cura-tor Mary Helen Dellinger.

Brentsville Jail Grand Opening

On May 15, 2021, the Brentsville Jail held its grand opening for the public. A small crowd enjoyed seeing the final product after years of research and restoration. Visitors toured through the jail and read about the inhabitants and prisoners that lived in the jail during the 19th century. The ribbon cutting was attended by Brentsville District Supervisor Jeanine Lawson.

New Guide Pamphlets and Tablets for Visitors

with DisabilitiesThis summer we will be debut-

ing new foreign language guide pamphlets for county historic sites. The guides will be available in the following languages, Span-ish, Chinese, French, and German.

We are putting the finishing touches on our new tablets that will allow visitors with disabili-ties to be able to view rooms and spaces that they normally would not be able to access for one reason or another in our historic sites. These tablets will contain 360-degree views with narration of the rooms by HP staff.

Dan GoldsteinPreservation Specialist

Foundation UpdateThe Prince William Historic

Preservation Foundation would like to send a fond farewell to two recent board members. After over a decade serving on

HPD

School groups began to return at the end of the Spring and we were happy to welcome them back to our historic sites.

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the Board, including time as President, Mr. Mark Trbovich will be retiring to Alabama. Ms. Janet Gorn has recently been elected to leadership levels in other organizations. We will miss the service of both Mr. Trbovich and Ms. Gorn.

The Foundation is planning for an upcoming gala at Rippon Lodge Historic Site for October 9th. Make sure to mark your cal-endars for a can’t miss event!

The Prince William Historic Preservation Foundation is work-ing on many projects for the ben-efit of all County owned historic sites. To keep abreast of news, and how you can get involved check out our website at www. preservepw. org. Donations allow us to preserve history for future generations. Please consider donating or joining the Founda-tion today!

Bill BackusCurator

HPD

For Saturday’s event renaming Mine Road back to Batestown Road, the Office of Historic Preservation partnered with local historians for a pop up display on this historic community.

HPD

Mine Road renamed to Batestown Road ceremony on June 19th, 2021

Stay Connected & Informed

For up to date information about our programs and events check our online calendar: www.pwcparks.org/HistoricCalendar

Subscribe to our monthly email calendar which will highlight what we are offering each month.

Sign up on: www.pwcparks.org/subscribe

Learn about the Division’s many events throughout the year, see candid photos, get up to the minute accounts through Facebook Live and Twitter as well as find out interesting facts about Prince William County history.

PWHistoric @PWHPF PWC History Prince William Historic Preservation Division