Prince George Court House
Long, Hot March
After crossing the James River, Gen. Gouverneur Warren’s Fifth Corps and Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s Ninth Corps were ordered to move toward Petersburg. One of two primary routes of advance, Prince George Court House Road (Road 106) was used by more than 40,000 Union troops on June 15, 1864, a hot and dusty day. “For three hours of the march only one rest of 15 minutes was had,” a Union soldier wrote. When the Fifth Corp arrived at Prince George Court House, however, they were rewarded with an hour-long coffee break.
“At three P.M. under a sweltering sun, our march was resumed in the direction of Petersburg. Great destruction of property was visible on the march. People, frightened by the advance of the Yankee army, had forsaken their houses and fled. Such places were destroyed. Had the inhabitants remained at home, the house, at least, would not have been molested. About sundown we passed Prince George Court House….With great difficulty the boys obtained water for their coffee, most of them being compelled to take it from the tracks of horses where they had been led to watering, in the swamps nearby.”
- Chaplain Louis N. Boudrye, 5th New York Cavalry.
The new Prince George Courthouse is the fifth such building to serve the county since 1655. The third courthouse was destroyed between June 1864 and April 1865. In 1865, after the war was over, the fourth courthouse was built. It was used until 1992.
(Sidebar Quote): “[The troops] suffered much from thirst, and at one time my tongue actually hung out and was covered with dust, I could spit cotton without exaggeration.”
- Union soldier, June 1864
Marker is on Courthouse Road (Virginia Route 106), on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
