The Graffiti House in Brandy Station, Virginia

"He smells a Rebel." It was hidden for 130 years, those signatures, drawings and comments by soldiers during the American Civil War. First Confederate and then Union soldiers wrote on the white plaster walls of what was then a pretty new building, using charcoal from the the fireplace as they recuperated from injuries or did admin duty.

Now dubbed the “Graffiti House”, the two-story frame building is a treasure trove of wartime graffiti and it’s open to visitors on weekends year-round. Lying five miles north of Culpeper, Virginia, the house was built around 1858 on the railroad tracks near what was soon to become significant events. The 1863 Battle of Brandy Station for one went down in history as the nation’s largest cavalry engagement with 17,000 of them doing battle leading into the Gettysburg campaign.

Confederates and Federals

Confederates used the building as a hospital for this and other local battles. Then the Federal forces came in and used the building as a headquarters during their winter encampment of 1863-64. Soldiers from both sides left their mark on the walls with inscriptions, signatures, drawings and messages to the other side.

After the war, the graffiti was covered with paint, layers of it over the years, and even wallpaper. It was discovered during a renovation in 1993. The Brandy Station Foundation purchased the property in 2002 and has since turned it into a tourist destination. Brandy Station’s Graffiti House is on the National Registry of Historic Places and is a Virginia Historic Landmark.

The Graffiti House is located at 19484 Brandy Road and is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday from April through October and Friday and Saturday in the colder months. There is an exhibit and gift shop on the first floor and tour guides knowledgeable in the building’s history staff the information center.

Calvary led charge for re-enactment events in Spotsylvania

Hundreds of Civil War re-enactors descended on Spotsylvania this past weekend for the Battles of Spotsylvania, 2011 Civil War Reenactment. Pictured above is a U.S. Park Ranger ahead of leading tours of Bloody Angle where thousands died in arm to arm combat.

A cavalry skirmish was the the first fighting event for the weekend. The battle cries began at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Following that was a dinner of white beans and cornbread, then period music by the 2^nd South Carolina String Band (famous for providing background music on the movie soundtrack for “Gods and Generals”). There was dancing like it was in the 1860s and a guided battlefield tour. Saturday’s events concluded with stories around the campfire.

YMCA Races

The local YMCA hosted three runs earlier on Saturday -- the Battlefield 5K, the Cannonball 1M and the Little Skirmish Tot Trot. These races get underway at 7:30 a.m.

Sunday was packed with events. The day opened with a non-denominational period church service followed by a cannon salute to veterans and men and women currently serving in the Armed Forces. 

The weekend’s main battle began at 1:00 p.m. when re-enactors, horses, cannons and guns converged near the Spotsylvania Courthouse Village at the corner of Old Battlefield Boulevard and the Spotsylvania Courthouse Bypass.

Virginians scan Civil War documents for cyberspace archiving

Virginians all over the state are bringing their family’s treasured Civil War documents to local scanning events sponsored by the Library of Virginia through a partnership with the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.

Their mission: cyberspace eternity.

Letters, diaries, military papers, home front memoirs – most anything that describes life in Virginia during and after the Civil War is being sought and preserved. Not just for future generations – the state library and commission are making the digitized material available online to anyone in the world, be it long lost relatives, researchers or Civil War aficionados.

Local organizations from libraries to city halls throughout Virginia are inviting descendants to bring in family papers, and archivists are traveling the state to digitize their documents, guaranteeing a place in history for the soldiers and their families.

Scanning Process

Officially dubbed the “Civil War 150 Legacy Project: Document Digitization and Access,” the scanning process goes like this:

·        Call and make an appointment for the designated day that library archivists are in your area – while walk-ins are welcome, appointments help the event planners balance workload.

·        Bring your family memorabilia to the event. Staff will ask you to sign a permission form, then they will go over a couple of handouts on how to care for your personal collection and donation possibilities.

·        The archivist will review your documents with you and write down identifying information.

·        Event associates will scan the material.

·        Later your digitized documents will be uploaded for internet access.

This is a multi-year effort. For a schedule of upcoming events, visit:

http://www.examiner.com/day-trips-in-richmond/virginians-bring-their-civil-war-documents-to-scan-for-cyberspace-archiving

The American Civil War story starts at Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia

Tredegar Iron Works was the top producer of artillery and ammunition for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Now the South’s largest munitions foundry in Richmond, Virginia has repositioned itself under the slogans “Your Gateway to the Civil War” and “Your Story Starts Here.”

Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy and at the heart of the 1861-1865 conflict that became the defining event in American history. So it is fitting that the National Park Service has teamed up with the American Civil War Center to provide spellbinding exhibits on the 8.3-acre Tredegar site that tell the gripping story of that epic war and emancipation.

Gateway to the Civil War

Staggering death tolls, courage under fire, the very future of the country and its founding principles of freedom – these are the tales that are told at Tredegar today.

As the official Gateway to the Civil War, park rangers and visitor center staff will orient visitors to the entire conflict and provide guidance to the region’s 13 battlefields and many other significant sites.

The Tredegar grounds are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Within easy walking distance are two islands used during the Civil War, one where women and children manufactured ammunition and the other a prisoner-of-war camp for thousands of Union solders.