Guilford Signal Station

Guilford Signal Station (HMBX)

Location: Sterling, VA 20164 Loudoun County
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Country: United States of America
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N 39° 1.146', W 77° 24.231'

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Inscription

Tracking the Confederates

— Gettysburg Campaign —

During the Civil War, signal stations served as early warning posts, observation points, and communication centers. On June 19, 1863, 10,000-15,000 Union troops commanded by Gen. John Fullerton Reynolds, I Corps, Army of the Potomac, marched along the Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampsire Railroad from Herndon here to Guilford Station. Reynolds made his headquarters at the Lanesville house, erected a signal station on the northwestern portion of the property - at 442 feet, one of the highest points between Washington, D.C. and Leesburg - and ran a telegraph wire to Fairfax Court House. The signal officer here constantly communicated with nearby signal stations attempting to locate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Gunfire echoed from the west as Confederate cavalry chief Gen. J.E.B. Stuart screened Lee's infantry from probing Federal cavalry at Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville. Lee slipped through the Blue Ridge Mountain gaps to the safety of the Shenandoah Valley, but U.S. Signal Corps nonetheless detected him as he began his second invasion of the North. On June 24, Reynolds' corps decamped in pursuit. The two armies met on July 1 in the little college town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where Reynolds died in the first day's fighting.

To reach the Guilford Signal Station site, follow the Little Stoney Mountain Trail (the White-Blazed Trail) behind the Visitor Center. Reynolds' headquarters still stands to the east just off the old Vestal's Gap Road.
Details
HM NumberHMBX
Series This marker is part of the Virginia Civil War Trails series
Tags
Placed ByVirginia Civil War Trails
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, October 11th, 2014 at 6:03am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 291889 N 4321645
Decimal Degrees39.01910000, -77.40385000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 1.146', W 77° 24.231'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 1' 8.76" N, 77° 24' 13.86" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)571, 703
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 301-333 Vestals Gap Rd, Sterling VA 20164, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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