Engagement at James City

Madison County · dedicated 1997 · Rte. 29, 1 mile south of Madison/Culpeper County line

On 10 October 1863, Confederate cavalry commanded by Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart engaged Union cavalry and infantry under Brig. Gen. H. Judson Kilpatrick and Maj. Gen. William H. French at James City (present-day Leon). The two forces confronted each other atop the ridges on either side of the village, and an artillery duel ensued. James City virtually disappeared in the smoke. A Confederate detachment captured the Union signal station on Thorofare Mountain, a mile to the south. Late in the day Stuart repulsed a Union cavalry charge, and during the night the Union force withdrew toward Culpeper. This engagement was the only instance during the war when Stuart led a force without a Virginia regiment.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

More markers nearby

Culpeper County/Madison Countyunder 1 mi
Battle of Cedar Mountain5 mi
George Washington Carver Regional High School5 mi
Oak Grove Baptist Church5 mi