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Ordeal of the Wellfords
The Battle of Chancellorsville
In December 1862 the Wellford family fled Fredericksburg to escape the ravages of battle. Five months later war found them again - here, in a commodious brick home that stood in the field in front of you. On April 30, Union troops arrived. "About 20 visited us," wrote Evelina Wellford, "searching the house for arms and Confederates, shooting the fowls, and stealing provisions, of which we had a scant supply."
On May 2, as Jackson's flanking column passed by and the rattle of approaching Union battle lines neared, the Wellfords piled trunks into carts and "hurriedly took our departure for the woods, making as good time as you might imagine under the circumstances." The Wellfords returned days later to a damaged home. "I think," wrote Evelina Wellford, "a few more moves of the kind will just break us up entirely."
Charles C. Wellford was a wealthy dry goods merchant and director of the Catharine Furnace Company, which owned the house here. His son Charles B. Wellford helped guide Jackson's men during their famous flank march on May 2, 1863.
The Wellford house as it appeared in the 1930s. Confederate cavalryman J.E.B. Stuart made the yard his headquarters on May 1; the next day Jackson's flanking column used the dirt road visible in the center of the image. The road has since been widened. |