Guard Hill Engagement

Guard Hill Engagement is a Virginia historical marker in Warren County, dedicated 1999.

Rte. 340/522, at junction with Rte. 637, 0.1 mile north of Riverton

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

In Aug. 1864, part of Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard H. Anderson's corps threatened the left and rear of Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's army. As Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt's division approached on 15 Aug. to protect the Federal flank, Anderson ordered Brig. Gen. William T. Wofford's infantry brigade and Brig. Gen. Williams C. Wickham's cavalry brigade across the forks of the Shenandoah River to confront Merritt. Wickham was overwhelmed, however, on 16 Aug., and his troopers retreated toward Front Royal, while Union Brig. Gen. George A. Custer's brigade drove Wofford from Guard Hill. Sheridan then retired north to Charles Town, W. Va.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1859 · Virginia (Herman Boye, 1859) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1864 · Central Virginia showing Lieut. Gen'l. U.S. Grant's Campaign and marches of the armies… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1865 · Central Virginia showing Lieut Gen'l U.S. Grant's Campaign and Marches. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1869 · Colton's West Virginia (1869) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1893 · Luray, Virginia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Central Virginia showing Lieut Gen'l U.S. Grant's Campaign and Marches, 1865, covering the location of Guard Hill Engagement, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Central Virginia showing Lieut Gen'l U.S. Grant's Campaign and Marches, 1865, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

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.

Guard Hill Engagement

Historical maps covering this location

More markers nearby