Civil War Graffiti - Graffiti House - Brandy Station VA
N 38° 30.156 W 077° 53.450
18S E 247910 N 4265542
Graffiti from Civil War soldiers was found on the walls of an old building in Culpeper County, VA.
Waymark Code: WME892
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 04/17/2012
Views: 5
The
Graffiti House
in Brandy Station, Virginia got its name from the signatures, messages, and drawings that were scrawled on the walls by both Confederate and Union soldiers during the Civil War 150 years ago. A two-story frame house built in the 1850s was used as a field hospital in 1863 for both wounded Confederates and Union POWs. The building sat next to the railroad tracks, so it was an ideal location for transporting the seriously wounded soldiers and POWs to other hospitals and/or prisons by train. The priority of the rails was to move troops and supplies, so often the wounded would have to wait for an available train. The waiting soldiers would use charcoal out of the fireplace and write their names, leave messages, draw pictures, and scrawl other graffiti on the walls.
The house was used again as Union headquarters during the winter encampment of 1863-1864.
After the Civil War, the house changed hands at least 12 times and the walls were covered and painted over. In 1993, during renovation to convert the property for commercial use, the graffiti was discovered. The Brandy Station Foundation
bought the house in 2003 and continued to painstakingly uncover the graffiti on the second floor and restore the old ramshackle building.
The BSF has done extensive research and continues to do so on the names and places found on the walls. The Graffiti House also serves as the visitor center for the Brandy Station Battlefield and other Civil War sites in Culpeper County. Because it is run by volunteers, its hours are limited to Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday holidays from 11 AM to 4 PM. Admission is free and a guided tour will reveal some amazing stories and secrets within these walls.
References:
See also: SOLDIERS and GRAFFITI (Names, Ranks and Units of those who have been Identified in the Graffiti House)