Henry Lee III 'Light Horse Harry' 1756-1818 VA663
1776-1781 Cavalry Commander 1779 awarded Congressional Medal 1786-1788 Member Continental Congress 1791-1794 Governor of Virginia 1799-1801 Member of U. S. Congress Father of General Robert E. Lee C.S.A. Henry Lee III was born nearby at the mansion house of Leesylvania Plantation.

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Leesylvania State Park JQ1
This 508-acre park was donated to the Commonwealth in 1978 by Daniel K. Ludwig and was opened on June 17, 1989. The park, whose name means Lee’s Woods, is the ancestral home of the famous Lee family of Virginia. The land, which was patented in 1658, was the home of Henry Lee II and Henry Light Horse Harry Lee III, father of General Robert E. Lee. Nearby Freestone Point was the site of a Confederate artillery emplacement which successfully blockaded the Potomac River during the Civil War.

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Battle of Bristoe Station G20
In the autumn of 1863, Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, with Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill III Corps in the lead, pursued Maj. Gen. George G. Meade’s Union army as it withdrew toward Washington. On the afternoon of 14 October, Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren’s II Corps, Meade’s rear guard, took a strong defensive position along the railroad embankment to meet an impetuous attack be elements of Hill’s corps from the northwest. The Confederates were repulsed with heavy casualties (about 1,300 to Warren’s 548), including the loss of an unsupported battery of five guns about 500 yards north. Warren stealthily withdrew after dark to resume his march to Centerville. About 43 Union and 137 Confederate dead were buried on the field.

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Second Prince William County Courthouse G17
In 1743, the second Prince William County Courthouse was built near here along Cedar Run, replacing the first county courthouse in Woodbridge. After the creation of Fairfax County, the Cedar Run location, owned by Philemon Waters, became the center of Prince William County. The court remained here only until 1759, when it moved to Dumfries after the creation of Fauquier County. Henry Lee, father of Governor Henry (Lighthorse-Harry) Lee, and grandfather of General Robert E. Lee, practiced law here. The building, like its predecessor, no longer stands.

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Battle of Groveton (Brawner Farm) C26
In Aug. 1862, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee dispatched Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson to lure Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Union army away from the Rappahannock River. On Aug. 28, Jackson’s force concealed itself northeast of here near Groveton atop a wooded ridge on and beyond John Brawner’s farm to await the rest of Lee’s army. Early in the evening, as Brig. Gen. Rufus King’s division of Pope’s army marched by in search of Jackson, he attacked, stopping the Federal movement with heavy casualties on both sides. This engagement began the Second Battle of Manassas.

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Throughfare Gap C50
Just west is Thoroughfare Gap, where Union and Confederate armies clashed during the Civil War. In July 1861, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston marched eastward through the gap to join Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard in the First Battle of Manassas. Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson passed by here on 26 Aug. 1862 to attack the Federal supply depot at Manassas Junction. Two days later, Gen. Robert E. Lee and Maj. Gen. James Longstreet surprised and repelled Union cavalry under Col. Sir Percy Wyndham and an infantry division under Brig. Gen. James Ricketts. Ever after, Union troops occupied the gap whenever Lee’s army was near.

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Washington and Lee University I8
Founded, 1749, as Augusta Academy, near Greenville; reestablished at Timber Ridge, May, 1776, as Liberty Hall Academy; moved to Lexington and chartered as a college, 1782; endowed by George Washington, 1796, and named for him. Under presidency, 1865-1870, of Robert E. Lee (buried in the University Chapel), whose name after death was incorporated in the official title.

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Rockbridge County Z19
Area 616 Square Miles Formed in 1778 from Augusta and Botetourt, and named for the Natural Bridge. Samuel Houston and Cyrus H. McCormick were born in this country. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are buried in Lexington. Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute are there.

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Rockbridge County Z138
Area 616 Square Miles Formed in 1778 from Augusta and Botetourt, and named for the Natural Bridge. Samuel Houston and Cyrus H. McCormick were born in this county. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are buried in Lexington. Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute are there.

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Rockbridge County Z135
Area 616 Square Miles Formed in 1778 from Augusta and Botetourt, and named for the Natural Bridge. Samuel Houston and Cyrus H. McCormick were born in this county. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are buried in Lexington. Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute are there.

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