| The War Between the States. The War of Northern | | | | which the bridge was contructed. The bridge is |
| Aggression. The Civil War...whatever you wish to call | | | | located near some of the Civil War trails found in |
| it, there's no denying that those five years in the mid | | | | Stafford. |
| nineteenth represented one of the darkest times in | | | | Hartwood Presbyterian Church |
| our nation's history. More than a century later, the | | | | This red brick church is included on the Virginia |
| turmoil of brothers pitted against brothers, and a | | | | Landmarks Register and the National Register of |
| people's desire for freedom, continues to hold a | | | | Historic Places. At this site the Confederate army |
| fascination for some. Books and films about this time | | | | enjoyed a victory over Union troops in 1863, |
| remain popular, and vacations are planned around Civil | | | | capturing over 150 men. The church was utilized as a |
| War sightseeing. Nowhere better can one absorb the | | | | post by both sides during the war. |
| experience of this bygone era than in Stafford | | | | Chatham |
| County. | | | | This stately home once served as Union |
| The next time you plan an historical tour for your | | | | headquarters. It was here where Clara Barton tended |
| vacation, consider making a few detours at these | | | | to wounded soldiers, and Walt Whitman gave his |
| Stafford County attractions on the way to | | | | time to the cause. Chatham is purporteded the only |
| Gettysburg or Washington, DC: | | | | private residence to have been visited by George |
| Aquia Landing | | | | Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Today, this mansion |
| If you think of the Civil War and sea battles, the | | | | is perfectly preserved to welcome visitors interested |
| Monitor and Merrimac most likely come to mind. | | | | in its storied history. |
| However, Union gunboats were also active fighting | | | | George Washington's Ferry Farm |
| Rebel forces along the creek beds of Aquia Landing. | | | | While the Ferry Farm is a place rich with |
| Here is where the first torpedos of the war were | | | | Washingtonian history, as the president spent a |
| used, too. Aquia Landing is now a popular county | | | | number of formative years here, there exists some |
| park, open from Memorial Day to Labor Day with | | | | Civil War history that one can learn. Guests can view |
| many landmarks to pinpoint pivotal battles of the | | | | the wildlife currently in residence and learn more |
| war. | | | | about the nation's early history and how Washington |
| Cornstalks and Beanpoles Bridge | | | | grew to become an important figure in these times, |
| Though the original bridge built in 1862 no longer | | | | as well as the conditions of the Civil War as lived in |
| exists, you can still see its stone foundation where | | | | this area. |
| Union engineers had to quickly build a connection over | | | | Mansions, sites of battle, roadside markers. Stafford |
| Potomac Creek. The bridge gets is name from | | | | County offers much to the Civil War enthusiast in |
| President Lincoln, who compared the original bridge to | | | | terms of history and interest. Why not make |
| "beanpoles and cornstalks," given the hurriedness with | | | | Stafford a stop on your next educational tour? |