Boyd Tavern - Confederates Mustered - Boydton, Virginia
Posted by: 
showbizkid
N 36° 40.052 W 078° 23.292
17S E 733418 N 4061170
Boyd's Tavern was the location where Mecklenburg County's Confederate soldiers mustered prior to marching off to war.
Waymark Code: WMJZ5
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 08/02/2006
Views: 64
This Civil War Trails site marker serves a dual purpose. It gives some history about Boyd Tavern, also called Boyd's Tavern and The Boyd Tavern, which played a minor role in local Civil War history. The marker also details the Wilson-Kautz Raid, a Union calvary action designed to cut off railroad supply lines leading to Peterburg from southside Virginia.
The Boyd Tavern signage reads:
"Alexander Boyd, Sr., a businessman and founder of Boydton, erected the core of this tavern about 1785. The hostelry thrived, and its presence was a major reason for the selection of Boydton as the Mecklenburg County seat. By the mid-19th century, the tavern had evolved into a rambling frame structure with fancy sawn-work detailing, the work of builder-architect Jacob W. Holt. During the Civil War, Mecklenburg's Confederates mustered here. The tavern closed late in the 19th century, converted first to a boarding house and then to apartments. Since 1988, under the care of the Boyd Taven Foundation, the building has undergone extensive restoration. It is listed on the Virginia Landmarks registry and the National Registry of Historic Places."
The Wilson-Kautz Raid signage reads:
"WILSON-KAUTZ RAID: In late June 1864, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia were engaged in a desperate defense of the city of Petersburg. Victory for Lee depended on a steady flow of supplies, brought in by rail. To force Lee from Petersburg, Union Gen. U.S. Grant planned to cut Southern supply lines and ordered a calvary raid to tear up track and destroy railroad stations and bridges. On June 22, 1864, Union Gens. James H. Wilson and August V. Kautz, commanding more than 5,000 calvary troops, left Petersburg to destroy track on the Richmond & Danville R.R. and the South Side R.R."
An accompanying map shows the more than 40 locations of Civil War sites in southside Virginia.
To record your own visit to this waymark, take and post your own photo of the waymark with your log. Logs must contain an original photo as proof of your visit, please. 