Todd's Tavern

Todd's Tavern (HM1SK)

Location: Spotsylvania, VA 22553 Spotsylvania County
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 14.849', W 77° 40.119'

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Inscription

Union Army Headquarters

— Lee vs. Grant - The 1864 Campaign —

En route to Spotsylvania, Union Gens. U.S. Grant and George Meade halted at Todd's Tavern, a country inn that once occupied this site. Finding all the beds taken, the generals stretched out to rest on the dirt floor. In the morning, a military band struck up a tune outside, causing Grant's staff to laugh. When the tone-deaf general asked "What's the fun?" they told him the band was playing an old camp tune called "Ain't I glad to get out of de Wilderness."

Grant and Meade left Todd's Tavern on the morning of May 8, and moved up the Catharpin Road (behind you) to Piney Branch Church. Union Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock occupied the tavern for the rest of the day. At one point Gen. Jubal Early's Confederates threatened to attack Hancock's line, but when Early saw the Union earthworks he wisely broke off contact with the Federals and headed to Spotsylvania by another route. Thus, wrote Hancock's adjutant, "The great battle of Todd's Tavern was never fought."

"Taking up our march...we change our direction to south-westerly, arriving towards noon at Todd's Tavern, an unpretentious structure one story and a half in height, with no merits, architecturalor otherwise, to warrant its becoming a conspicuous landmark in the history of this campaign. Here a halt had been ordered. Batteries were parked in luxuriant fields.... The infantry, having stacked arms, were stretched upon the ground; and, in short, all—generals and soldiers alike—lay carelessly about in the shade.... But suddenly all is activity.... General [Hancock] issues from the Tavern, leapsquickly into his saddle...and in a brief space of time the corps is in line again and moving promptly...." —John D. Billings, 10th Massachusetts Light Artillery.
Details
HM NumberHM1SK
Series This marker is part of the Virginia Civil War Trails series
Tags
Placed ByVirginia Civil War Trails
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, October 23rd, 2014 at 6:36am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 266469 N 4236642
Decimal Degrees38.24748333, -77.66865000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 14.849', W 77° 40.119'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 14' 50.94" N, 77° 40' 7.14" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)540
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 9626 Brock Rd, Spotsylvania VA 22553, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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