Preserving history, one marker at a time: Civil War signs in Rappahannock get a refresh

When driving from Ben Venue to Massies Corner, it’s not uncommon to feel that you are somewhere special, with the hilltop views of foothills leading up to the Blue Ridge. No one can say whether any of the 70,000 Confederate troops who marched through there on their way to Gettysburg in 1863 took pause and absorbed the same landscape.

It’s the hope of groups like Civil War Trails that locals and tourists alike take pause at some of the 33 Civil War Trails historical markers in the county. At Ben Venue, in front of Greg Williams’ landscaping, you will find the “Gaines’s Crossroads” marker telling the story of the march: 

“Here at Gaines’s Crossroads ‘the animal’ — the Army of Northern Virginia — was indeed ‘slim.’ Marching to Pennsylvania June 11-20, Lee’s 70,000 infantrymen, plus artillery and supply wagons, moved in slender columns through this intersection past the Ben Venue mansion, visible just north. The Blue Ridge gaps and the security of the Shenandoah Valley lay ahead.”

As time passes since many of them were installed almost a decade ago, with the help and hard work of the Rappahannock Historical Society’s John Tole, these markers are not immune to the elements. The aluminum pedestals and story panels fade, and someone has to maintain and update them. 

A couple of weeks ago, Drew Gruber and Chris Brown, executive director and assistant director, respectively, of Civil War Trails, came through town to repaint and update the story panels. Their pickup truck helps them cover the “world’s largest open air museum,” offering more than 1,400 sites across six states from Memphis, Tenn., to Wheeling, West Virginia.

When updating a panel, it’s not as simple as replacing it; the panels are also updated with new information to keep the stories accurate and fresh. 

One of the goals for the markers is to invigorate tourism, and to appeal to a younger, broader audience. “So as our visitors get younger, and as they grow more diverse, they’re not adverse to these battle stories,” Gruber said. “But what they don’t want on a sign is a recitation of what regiments maneuvered in which way. All of that could go on a map.

“What they want to know is what it was like for the soldiers who fought there,” he added. “What do they say about that day? Who were they? Where were they from? How old were they? Did they make it home? And it doesn’t matter if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, doesn’t matter how old they were. Our younger visitors are more diverse…and want that human story.”

So, Gruber said, while he and Brown physically restore and clean the markers, they are also constantly updating the text of the panels.

On the Rappahannock County courthouse grounds, Gruber and Brown restored two markers, the first for the memorial “For Rappahannock County Soldiers Who Died In The War.” The other is of the remarkable story of Kitty Payne, born into slavery, emancipated by her master’s wife, and recaptured from Pennsylvania by the master’s relatives who believed her and her children were their property. This led to an involved legal preceding that eventually won her freedom. During that time, she was jailed in the Rappahannock jail, which later became a site of the underground railroad. 

“That was the mentality at the time. That you are not allowed to be free because it was true ownership. This person is my property,” said Nan Butler Roberts, president of the Scrabble School Preservation Foundation. “We have to stop trying to whitewash everything and just tell the truth about what happened. I’m a firm believer that if you’re not aware of your past, it will, perhaps, haunt you, at some point.”

While the goal of these stories is to educate and evoke, they also help promote tourism, one of the key goals of the county’s Comprehensive Plan. “The Civil War Trails program helps to share the complex Rappahannock County history in a way that draws enthusiasts of the era, while also being interesting and educational for tourists who simply happen along one of the interpretive panels,” said County Administrator Garrey Curry.

Other markers of note:

• Battle Mountain: Custer’s Early “Last Stand”

• Dangerfield Newby: A Tragic Journey to Harpers Ferry

• Chester Gap: Gateway to the Shenandoah Valley

• Twilight of Slavery: “Enlightened” Accommodations No Match for Freedom

• The Maples: Host to Generals

For more information on the 33 markers in the county, visit Civil War Trails, the county visitors’ center, or contact John Tole at the Rappahannock Historical Society. Tole also teaches classes through the Rapp Center for Education (RappCE) on the Civil War in Rappahannock County.

Foothills Forum is an independent, community-supported nonprofit tackling the need for in-depth research and reporting on Rappahannock County issues.

The group has an agreement with Rappahannock Media, owner of the Rappahannock News, to present this series and other award-winning reporting projects. More at foothillsforum.org.

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