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David B. Kinney
CVBT IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT ANOTHER PART of the Flank Attack sector at Chancellorsville has been acquired. The area on the south side of the Orange Turnpike (modern State Route 3)has been a focus of our efforts since we acquired a portion of the Talley Farm in 1999.
Since then, we have stitched together a growing section of that battleground, parcel by parcel, and have also removed visual intrusions such as a decrepit residential trailer and a souvenir/relic shop built to look like a castle. This latest acquisition, with frontage on two roads, finally closes off the potential for any new commercial development within that battlefield terrain.
The former owner, a gentleman named David B. Kinney, had a deep interest in history, which he shared with his children. We had talked with them for years, always on friendly terms, but not coming to terms on a price, as the land was zoned for commercial use and thus a bit more expensive than what we were then paying for other nearby acreage. As that part of the Flank Attack sector became a more cohesive assemblage of protected land, however, it became time to renew our discussions with Mr. Kinney’s family.
In late 2016, we came to an agreement to acquire his 1.18 acre parcel for $130,000, which is below its appraised value, but which the Kinney family accepted as a fair price. We are pleased to call this property the David B. Kinney tract in honor of a man who happily took his kids to this area’s battlefields and instilled in them a love of history.
When Federal dispositions west of Chancellorsville forced Stonewall Jackson to abandon his original plan of advancing east along the Orange Plank Road on May 2, 1863, he led most of his corps north to a new point of attack on the Orange Turnpike. To protect the flank of his main attack, though, he directed the famous Stonewall Brigade (his own original command back in 1861) to move east on the Orange Plank Road.
The brigade, commanded now by Brigadier General E. Frank Paxton, passed the Burton Farm and Lewis Run as it approached the intersection of the Plank Road and the Turnpike opposite Wilderness Church. When Jackson's mighty attack rolled through the intersection and swept onward, Paxton joined the advance. The historic ground in and around the road junction opposite Wilderness Church is among the most important battlefield land not yet fully preserved at Chancellorsville.
This photo, taken c.1890, is the Orange Turnpike, looking west. The ridge on the left is the old Talley Farm, which where the CVBT made its initial purchase of land in the Flank Attack sector.
Through the years, the CVBT has steadily acquired parcels of land on the south side of the Orange Turnpike (modern State Route 3), which in this photo is on the left side of the road. With the help of the CVBT and the Civil War Trust, the National Park Service controls the open land on the right side of the road. The CVBT has removed a commercial intrusion on the south side of the road (the castle) and its control of adjacent parcels will prevent any new commercial activity.
This sketch by Alfred Waud depicts Federal troops at Dowdall’s Tavern, as Jackson’s flank attack develops on May 2, 1863. View is looking west, along the Orange Turnpike. The properties acquired by the CVBT are where trees are shown in the background, on the far right.