Existing comment:
Years of Trial
Three times war directly touched Ellwood. The experience would both define and transform the place.
As one of the most prominent secessionist families in the region, the Lacys dared not test the politeness of Union invaders. When the Union army first arrived here in 1862. Betty Jones Lacy took what she could from Ellwood and Chatham and eventually found refuge in southwest Virginia. Confederate Major H. Horace Lacy was captured by Union troops near Ellwood in the spring of 1862. He was soon exchanged and served out the war in various staff positions.
After the Lacys' departure in 1862, a family named Jones and a few slaves occupied Ellwood. Still, the house saw hard times. In 1863, Confederates used it as a hospital after Chancellorsville: in November 1863, Union troops looted the library; and in May 1864, the house served as a Union headquarters during the Battle of the Wilderness. By war's end, the place was a wreck. The Lacy's returned to Ellwood in 1872 and remained until the 1890s. |