The Battle Of Mine Run
N 38° 19.934 W 077° 49.709
18S E 252767 N 4246464
Gen. Meade's Federal troops and Gen. Lee's Confederate army clashed at Mine Run in Orange County, Virginia in the winter of 1863.
Waymark Code: WMBWJ0
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 06/27/2011
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In November 1863, after the battle at Gettysburg, as the Union and Confederate armies returned to Virginia in prep for winter encampment, they fought several skirmishes along the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers. Union Gen. George C. Meade decided to attack Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's rear by crossing the relatively unprotected fords on the Rapidan near Locust Grove. Heavy rains caused Meade costly delays in moving his army. Meanwhile, Lee was alerted by a scout of the Federal movement and shifted his troops to block Meade's maneuvers.
On November 27, fighting broke out at Payne's Farm when the two armies blundered into each other. On December 1, Meade, faced with brutal winter conditions and the Confederate's strong entrenchments along Mine Run, called off the campaign and withdrew back across the Rapidan.
A 1.5-mile self-guided walking trail through the Payne's Farm battlefield was opened in 2011 as a part of the Civil War Discovery Trail network. There are 11 interpretive signs through the woods and field that have virtually been untouched by encroaching development.¹ The coordinates are to the start of the trail at Zoar Baptist Church where there are a CWDT wayside marker and three interpretive signs. Parking is available on the church's grounds.
¹ Press release: Walking Trail Opened on Payne's Farm Battlefield
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