No great battle was fought at Guinea Station, Virginia. Yet in May of 1863 the Confederacy lost one of its greatest generals at this railroad stop twelve miles south of Fredericksburg. Lieutenant General Thomas J. Jackson – the legendary “Stonewall” – was brought here after he was wounded by friendly fire during his greatest victory at Chancellorsville.
Jackson’s shattered arm was amputated on May 3 in a battlefield hospital by Jackson’s Chief Surgeon, Dr. Hunter McGuire. On May 4 General Lee ordered that Jackson be evacuated to Guinea Station, next to the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad. The railroad to Richmond had been torn up by raiding Federal cavalry, but Guinea Station was considered a safe place for Jackson to recover until the tracks could be reopened. Jackson rode 12 hours in an ambulance over the 27 miles of rough road to the railhead.
Earlier in the year Jackson’s men had bivouacked here and he had met and been kindly treated by the owner of Fairfield Plantation, Thomas Coleman Chandler. A patient with a contagious disease was already in the main house, so Jackson was moved into the plantation office building. It had room for Jackson and his doctors, staff and servant to be undisturbed. Jackson would linger there for six days until he died of pneumonia on May 10, 1863.
At the site you can see four wayside markers, a monument, and the house where Jackson died:
Where Jackson died – the Stonewall Jackson Shrine
The building where Stonewall Jackson died is the only civil war structure remaining at the site. The room where he died still contains the original bed frame, blanket and clock.
wayside markers
Fairfield Plantation
War Comes to Fairfield
A Staggering Blow
Guinea Station
Stonewall Jackson Died monument
The tracks of what was the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad are just a short walk from Fairfield’s buildings.
The Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad bought the property in 1909. They restored the farm office, calling it the “Jackson Shrine.” The railroad donated the site to the National Park Service in 1937, and today it is part of the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. The grounds of the site are open from dawn to dusk, but entry to the house is not always available.
Directions to Guinea Station
To reach Guinea Station from I-95 take exit 118 onto Route 606 east. Continue about 4.5 miles. You will see the National Park sign for the “Stonewall Jackson Shrine” on the left just past the railroad tracks.