Fairfax County Courthouse - Fairfax, Virginia
Posted by: 
flyingmoose
N 38° 50.764 W 077° 18.420
18S E 299789 N 4302223
Located in front of the Old Courthouse at the intersection of Main Street and Chain Bridge Road.
Waymark Code: WM1545D
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 10/12/2021
Views: 0
Marker Text:
If you had been here on a court day before 1861, you would have witnessed all levels of Virginia society. Crowds of men and women gathered at the courthouse as court justices negotiated county business and settled debts between all classes, wealthy and poor alike. Residents charged with crimes were brought before juries for hearings. Free African Americans registered with the court clerk to carry papers proving their freedom, when enslaved men, women, and childred were bout and sold to satisfy debts, sometimes in front of the courthouse itself.
It was in this climate that on May 23, 1861, Fairfax County men voted to ratify the Ordinance of Secession. One week later, on June 1, the first engagement on Virginia soil occurred here when the 2nd New York Cavalry attacked Confederate units nearby. Early in July, the U.S. flag was raised over the courthouse, then replaced with the Confederate flag on July 22, as Southerners reoccupied the grounds.
In March 1862, the Confederate army evacuated northern Virginia and Federal forces occupied Fairfax Court House. County court business moved to Bruin's Jail in Alexandria for the rest of the war. Lt. Col. Charles Cummings, 16th Vermont Infantry, who used the courthouse and clerks office for storage, noted that "Windows were broken out and boarded up and the inside ripped out and the walls defaced." On June 27, 1863, a skirmish here between parts of Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's command and the 11th New York Cavalry delayed Stuart on his ride north during the Gettysburg Campaign. The thousands of Union soldiers posted here through 1865 put food, firewood, and even water in short supply, and made life uncomfortable for both white and black residents.
Type of site: Other
Address:
4023 Chain Bridge Road
Fairfax, Virginia United States of America
22030
Admission Charged: No Charge
Website: [Web Link]
Phone Number: Not listed
Driving Directions: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Post a picture of site showing the signage or other notable feature. Please tell what you saw or learned.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|