Orange & Alexandria RR - Springfield, VA - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

The Lake Accotink access road here lies atop the original road bed of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, chartered in 1849 to link the port city of Alexandria with Gordonsville in central Virginia. After the war began in 1861, railroads became strategically important for the transportation of troops and supplies.

Since this part of the Orange and Alexandria fell under Union control early in the war, the Confederates targeted it to disrupt the movement of Federal forces. During Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart’s December 28, 1862, raid on nearby Burke Station, he tore up rails and cut telegraph lines. He also dispatched twelve men under Gen. Fitzhugh Lee (Robert E. Lee’s nephew) to burn the wooden trestle over Accotink Creek. The trestle was repaired and carried Union supplies for the duration of the war.

Maj. John S. Mosby’s Rangers and Confederate civilians continued to make nighttime raids, however, tearing up tracks and attempting to derail trains. The raiders often concealed themselves in drainage culverts beneath the rail bed while waiting to sabotage passing trains. After a derailment attempt failed on July 26, 1863, Union Gen. George G. Meade ordered civilian saboteurs severely punished. To protect the railroad, the 155th New York and 4th Delaware Regiments camped along the tracks here.

The longest continuous stretch of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad bed in Fairfax County runs through Lake Accotink Park. The park occupies land that was originally part of the 22,000-acre Ravensworth tract that William Fitzhugh purchased in 1685. The Lees, who were related to the Fitzhughs, often visited Ravensworth. In 1829, Robert E. Lee’s mother died there. Two years later, Robert E. Lee married Mary Randolph Custis, and the couple honeymooned at Ravensworth.

Mary Custis Lee's aunt, Anna Maria Fitzhugh, provided refuge for Mrs. Lee at Ravensworth at the beginning of the Civil War. Mary Custis Lee died in 1873 and was buried next to her husband at the present-day Washington and Lee University in Lexington. The Lee children inherited Ravenworth after Anna Maria Fitzhugh died in 1874. The house, built about 1796, burned in 1926.

After his December 28, 1862, raid, Stuart and his men stopped at Sully Plantation in Western Fairfax County. To learn more about Sully’s role in the war, please visit the Sully Civil War Trails site.

Type of site: Transportation Route or Facility Address: Accotink Park Road Springfield, VA USA 22151 Phone Number: none Admission Charged: No Charge Website: [Web Link] Driving Directions: Located adjacent to the large parking area in Lake Accotink Park.

Visit Instructions:
Post a picture of site showing the signage or other notable feature. Please tell what you saw or learned.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/25/2022 hzoi visited it