Bruce Guthrie Photos: VA -- Thoroughfare Gap -- Chapman's Mill

VA -- Thoroughfare Gap -- Chapman's Mill -- Notes:

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Description of Subject Matter: Thoroughfare Gap is on the edge of the Shenandoah mountains. Before the Civil War, Beverley's Mill had been operating as a grist mill since 1758. A fire in the mid-1800's caused the owners, the Chapmans, to rebuilt it. Throughout the Civil War, the mill was used alternately by Union and Confederate forces. It ground cornmeal and flour for American troops during seven wars: French and Indian, Revolutionary, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, and both World Wars.

In July 1861, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston marched eastward through the gap to join Brig. Gen. PGT Beauregard in the First Battle of Manassas. On August 26, 1862, Stonewall Jackson's men passed through here undetected to attack the Federal supply depot at Manassas Junction. Two days later, Lee and Longstreet surprised and repelled Union cavalry under Col. Sir Percy Wyndham and an infantry division under Brig. Gen. James Ricketts. This led to the second Union defeat at Second Manassas. Twice surprised, Union forces routinely occupied the gap whenever Lee's army was near.

The mill continued operations until the late 1800's. It was restored by Col. Robert Beverley in 1870 and operated until 1951. A fire by vandals gutted the building on October 22, 1998. The Turn The Mill Around Campaign obtained ownership of the property and has worked to stabilize the walls and such. I-66 runs directly past it.

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Thoroughfare Gap
Thoroughfare Gap is a narrow gap between Bull Run and Pond Mountains, through which Broad Run flows as it descends 87 feet. The Gap was used by migrating buffalo and traveling Indians long before it became a transportation corridor for grain and goods between the Valley and the Atlantic. Mention of the Gap was first recorded in 1697, by a group of Marylanders passing through in search of a band of Piscataway Indians. Later Tidewater planters used the Gap as a route to the rich Shenandoah Valley.

During wartime its use became even more strategic: it was an escape ro ...More...
Wikipedia Description: Battle of Thoroughfare Gap
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, also known as Chapman's Mill, took place on August 28, 1862, in Fauquier County and Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War.

After skirmishing near Chapman's Mill in Thoroughfare Gap, Brig. Gen. James Ricketts's Union division was flanked by a Confederate column passing through Hopewell Gap several miles to the north and by troops securing the high ground at Thoroughfare Gap. Ricketts retired, and Maj. Gen. James Longstreet's wing of the army marched through the gap to join Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. This seemingly inconsequential action virtually ensured Pope’s defeat during the battles of August 29 and August 30 (Second Battle of Bull Run) because it allowed the two wings of Lee's army to unite on the Manassas battlefield. Ricketts withdrew via Gainesville to Manassas Junction.
Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. TGAP_130127_004.JPG: Campaign of Second Manassas Lee and Longstreet, moving eastward to join Jackson at Manassas, found this gap held by a Union force, August 28, 1862. They forced the gap, after some fighting, and moved on toward Manassas, August 29, 1862.
2. TGAP_130127_009.JPG: Thoroughfare Gap Just west is Thoroughfare Gap where Union and Confederate armies clashed during Civil War. In July 1861, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston marched eastward through the gap to join Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard in the First Battle of Manassas. Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson passed by here on 26 Aug. 1862 to attack the Federal supply depot at Manassas Junction. Two days later, Gen. Robert E. Lee and Maj. Gen. James Longstreet surprised and repelled Union cavalry under Col. Sir Percy Wyndham and an infantry division under Brig. Gen. James Ricketts. Ever after, Union troops occupied the gap whenever Lee’s army was near.
3. TGAP_130127_015.JPG: Thoroughfare Gap A “Dark, Gloomy Cleft” — Mosby’s Confederacy and Second Manassas Campaign — The gap to your left between Biscuit Mountain (the northern promontory of Pond Mountain) on the south and Mother Leathercoat Mountain on the north, described as “that dark, gloomy cleft” in an 1862 issue of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, was the site of several Civil War skirmishes. The most significant action, August 26-29, 1862, is described on the adjacent markers and illustrated on the map. Although technically a Confederate victory, the confrontation illustrated for the Federals the strategic importance of the gap and the rail line in the movement of troops and supplies. For the remainder of the war the Federals occupied the gap whenever Lee’s infantry was thought to be in the area. In spite of Federal surveillance, Col. John Singleton Mosby and his raiders frequently camped in the area and used their intimate knowledge of the difficult terrain to stage surprise raids or evade capture. Chapman’s Mill (now Beverley’s Mill), located directly across I-66, also played a role in the August 1862 action and in subsequent skirmishes. Built in 1759 and enlarged to five stories in 1858, its upper floor windows were used by sharpshooters from both sides to attack or defend the pass. The mill survived the 1862 action with only minor damage but by 1864 it was little more than a shell. Mill owner John Chapman filed suit against the U.S. to recover $5,194.59 for damage suffered in July and October 1863, which rendered the mill inoperable and destroyed the business. Chapman never recovered from his losses. He was committed by his family to the lunatic asylum in 1864 and died in 1866. The mill was bought and restored in 1870 by Col. Robert Beverley and continued in operation until 1951. A view of the gap, looking west, as it appeared in the late 1800s with the mill in the clef, the original farm-to-market road through the gap on the left and the rail line on the right. (Photo courtesy of the Manassas National Battlefield Park)
4. TGAP_130127_040.JPG: Chapman's Mill Heart of the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap Beginning late in 1861, the Confederate Subsistence Department used this mill for a meat curing and distribution center and surrounded it with livestock pens. On March 9, 1862, as the Confederate army evacuated northern Virginia to protect Richmond, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston ordered the destruction of two million pounds of meat stockpiled here to prevent its falling into Union hands. Passing troops and local residents were allowed to take what they could, but the bulk of it went up in flames for lack of transportation. On August 28, 1862, during the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, the mill changed hands three times and suffered extensive damage as Confederate forces pushed their way through the gap from the west. Skirmishers from both armies alternately gained the mills upper windows and fired on their adversaries. Confederate Gen. James Longstreet’s wing defeated Union Gen. James B. Rickett’s smaller division here. This victory enabled Longstreet’s wing to unite with that of Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson near Manassas Junction, where Gen. Robert E. Lee subsequently defeated Union Gen. John Pope in the Second Battle of Manassas. The Beverley family restored the mill by 1878, and it remained in operation under successive owners until 1951. An arson fire in 1998 reduced it once more to ruins. Chapman’s Mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Jonathan Chapman and his son, Nathaniel, constructed Chapman’s Mill between 1737 and 1742. The mill’s ideal location between the fertile Shenandoah Valley and the ports of Georgetown and Alexandria encouraged small farmers growing corn and oats to settle in the Valley instead of slaveholding plantation owners growing single crops. Capitalizing on the construction of the Manassas Gap Railroad through the gap in the 1850s, John Chapman expanded the mill from three to seven stories by 1858, making it the tallest stacked-stone building in the country. Ruined economically, physically, and emotionally by the mill’s wartime destruction, Chapman suffered a mental breakdown in 1862. His family committed him in 1864 to the Western Lunatic Asylum in Staunton, where he died on December 4, 1866. His widow, Ellen Thornton Chapman, died in 1916 at the Louise Home in Washington, D.C., which William Corcoran established as a refuge for “gentlewomen” reduced by misfortune.
5. TGAP_130127_088.JPG: Graffiti from 1909 -- probably the crew that prepared this piece.
6. TGAP_130127_285.JPG: Meadowland and Icehouse: In front of you are the ruins of Meadowland, built by the Chapman family in the mid-18th century. Meadowland was said to have been destroyed by fire around 1880. The Chapman family built and operated the mill (one-quarter mile to the west) from 1759 until the 1860s, when it was used alternately by Union and Confederate forces throughout the Civil War. Historians believe that the stone-lined put to your right was used for storing ice. At one time, the pit was probably covered by a pyramid-shaped wooded roof. Note the large stone at the base of the tree opposite. This may have been the threshold of the door leading to the icehouse. A pathway would have connected the icehouse to Meadowland. Ice was harvested in the winter from shallow ponds and stored in icehouses in layers, usually with sawdust or hay packed between the layers for insulation. Ice was retrieved from the icehouse throughout the spring and summer months with the help of long wooden ladders.
7. TGAP_130127_325.JPG: Chapman's (Beverley) Mill: The mill was built in 1742 by a father and son, Jonathan and Nathaniel Chapman. Due to the mill's location between farms in the Shenandoah Valley and the port of Alexandria, grain could be transported efficiently by wagon to the mill, ground, and then shipped to Europe and South America. The Manassas Gap Railroad, completed in 1852, only enhanced the mill's prosperity. In 1858 the Chapmans raised the mill to a total of seven stories. The mill ground cornmeal and flour for American troops during seven wars: French and Indian, Revolutionary, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, and both World Wars. By 1861 the Confederates were using Beverley Mill to store more than two million pounds of meat. Herds of cattle and pigs were kept nearby in large pens. Confederates leaving the First Battle of Manassas (July 1861) burned the meat and the mill to keep them from advancing troops. On August 28, 1862 Union General Ricketts was ordered to occupy Thoroughfare Gap to stop Confederate troops gathering for the Second Battle of Manassas. (He did not succeed. Go to the top of the ridge behind you, on Quarry Trench Trail, to see signs describing the battle.) During much of the Civil War, Col. John S. Mosby and his Raiders traversed Thoroughfare Gap and disrupted Union supply lines to the Union's armies in the South. By 1876 the Beverley family had restored the ruined mill to successful operation and the mill took on their name. It operated until 1951. On October 22, 1998, the mill was gutted by a fire. Soon afterward the Turn The Mill Around Campaign obtained ownership of the property and has begun to stabilize the walls of the mill. The goals of this nonprofit organization are to preserve the structure, to provide public access, and to develop and interpretive program of the history and significance of the mill and Thoroughfare Gap.
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages here that have content directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos]
- 1999_VA_Thoroughfare: VA -- Thoroughfare Gap -- Chapman's Mill (11 photos from 1999)
- 2004_VA_Thoroughfare: VA -- Thoroughfare Gap -- Chapman's Mill (8 photos from 2004)
- 2007_VA_Thoroughfare: VA -- Thoroughfare Gap -- Chapman's Mill (36 photos from 2007)
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [Civil War]
2013 photos: So far, I'm mostly using my Fuji XS-1 camera but, depending on the event, I'm also using a Nikon D7000 and Nikon D600. Trips this year have been limited to a Civil War Trust conference in Memphis.
Photo Contact: Email Bruce Guthrie.