

Memorial to William Byrd II

- Wikipedia bio of William Byrd II
- My Civil War field trip page on Westover which was headquarters to the Union Fifth Corps
The number of people listed as killed is in disagreement with the newer sign seen in a previous post and in this list from Jamestown records which lists two men killed at Westover. However, there were two other small settlements that were associated with this one and two men were killed at each; thus the total of six. The three plantations were owned by three brothers with the surname "West."
Westover Plantation was established in 1619, part of the rapid agricultural expansion that followed several years of mere subsistence for the English at Jamestown. Often, the English co-opted fields already cleared by Natives for farming or as fishing camps.
This brought strained relations to a boil in 1622, when Powhatan’s successor Opechancanough orchestrated an attack on outlying English settlements, including Westover, where two settlers were killed. The farm persisted, however. The house was built by Richmond founder, William Byrd II, circa 1730.
Gazing directly south from the riverbank at Westover, one sees Maycocks Point in the James River National Wildlife Refuge. Archaeological excavations there have revealed that Native Americans lived on the promontory more than 1,000 years before the English arrived.The right-hand sidebar on the sign discusses Boating on the James, from Indian canoes to modern cargo ships.
In June 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee marched his infantry from Culpeper County to the Shenandoah Valley to launch his second invasion of the North. First, however, he had to capture Winchester... which Union Gen. Robert H. Milroy and a 9,000 man garrison occupied... After heavy skirmishing on June 12-13, Milroy ordered his command into three fortifications: Fort Milroy, Star Fort, and West Fort.
West Fort, smallest of the three, is on the high ground to your distant front... Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early, seeing that West Fort was vulnerable to attack from the west, marched three infantry brigades and Lt. Col. Hilary P. Jones’ 20-gun artillery battalion to the ridge on your right...
Four Union guns were knocked out, and Hays' men charged. The Ohioans fought stubbornly but soon abandoned their guns and fled toward Fort Milroy and Star Fort.
See HMDB for the complete text.
Related Book: Plagued By War: Winchester, Virginia During the Civil Warby Jonathan Noyalas
![]() | When we drove through the Ryot Covered Bridge, the rain had moved on and we had enough light to take some pictures. I got shots in both directions. Link: Ryot Covered Bridge |
Shenandoah! A beautiful valley and a winding river -- how fortunate we are to live here! And since I love photography, I'm taking plenty of pictures and sharing them here. You'll find other subjects too. If you like historic sites or gardens or animals, you'll find them on this blog. Please visit often and feel free to comment.
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