Devereux Station
Orange and Alexandria Railroad
Devereux Station, constructed in 1863 on the Orange and Alexandria (O&A) Railroad, was located down the tracks to your left. After the Confederate army withdrew from northern Virginia toward Richmond in March 1862, the U.S. Military Railroad (USMRR) assumed control of all railways in Federal territory. The siding here, named for USMRR superintendent John Henry Devereux, supplied wood to fuel O&A locomotives.
The O&A was the Union army’s lifeline, efficiently moving provisions, equipment, and men from Alexandria deep into central Virginia. Confederate partisan units, such as the Chinquapin Rangers and Mosby’s Rangers, frequently attacked the line, the workers, and the Federal troops. With the support of pro-Confederate local residents, the partisan units were successful in disrupting Union railroad operations. In 1863, Gen. George G. Meade issued a proclamation on July 30 informing residents within ten miles of the railroad that they would be held responsible “for any injury done to the road, trains, depots or stations by citizens, guerrillas, or persons in disguise.” Meade also announced that if attacks did not cease, the entire population “of the district or the country along the railroad [would] be put across the lines, and their property taken for government use.” The threat was not carried out, although individuals were detained periodically.
(Sidebar): Capt. James C. Kincheloe and his brother Sgt. William S. Kincheloe served with the Chinquapin Rangers. On November 25, 1863, this unit conducted a raid near Devereux Station. In retaliation, Union soldiers rounded up local residents considered suspicious, including the brothers’ father, John Kincheloe IV. The Kincheloe plantation was located approximately a mile south of here.
Marker is on Main Street / Clifton Road (Virginia Route 645), on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
