Chapman's Mill

Press Release

From: Turn The Mill Around Campaign
Contact: Ellen PercyMiller
Telephone: 540-253-5888
Date: May 18, 2010

Sunday, June 13, 2010
John Chapman's Civil War Nightmare
At Historic Chapman/Beverley Mill
Broad Run, Virginia

11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Admission $5.00, children under 12 free

On Sunday, June 13, visitors to Chapman/Beverley Mill are invited to take a guided tour through historic Chapman/Beverley Mill and learn about the Civil War history of the mill and the family who operated it in that era. Hear the fascinating history of Chapman's Mill during the Civil War from a "living historian" interpreting Ellen Chapman, the widow of John Chapman. Learn the impact of the war on this important 19th century industrial center and the man who operated it. Additional reenactments will take place.

Visitors will learn about the known and newly learned history of the Chapman/Beverley Mill and Thoroughfare Gap, just three miles west of the village of Haymarket. Discover why the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap was a pivotal battle that determined the South would win the Second Battle of Manassas. If the Northerners had held the Gap, the Civil War would have been over in weeks. Come learn the fate of John Chapman and how his nephew, Frank Williams, an officer in Mosby's Rangers who captured Union General Stoughton from his bed in Fairfax, may have led to Chapman's ill treatment by the Northerners.

Ellen PercyMiller, Executive Director of Turn The Mill Around Campaign (TTMAC) will talk about the last Chapman to own the mill, which in 1860 was the largest industry in Prince William County, one of the most industrialized counties in Virginia. John Chapman was ruined economically, physically and emotionally by the Civil war and died at the Staunton Asylum for Lunatics in 1866. Donations appreciated. Visit website www.chapmansmill.org for directions to the mill.