The Maryland Scroll is an

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

artifact. It consists of a pencil drawing of a scroll with an unfurling banner above it. It was drawn on March 16, 1863, by one or more unknown members of James Breathed's Battery on the wall of the

Graffiti House The Graffiti House, located at 19484 Brandy Road in the eastern end of the town of Brandy Station, Virginia, is believed by the Brandy Station Foundation to have been built in 1858. It is one of few dwellings in the village built before the Amer ...

, in

Brandy Station, Virginia Brandy Station is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Culpeper County, Virginia, Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census ...

Scroll contents

The unfurling banner (also known as the horizontal scroll) reads: ''"Rifle Gun"'' and ''"No. 1, Stuart Horse Artillery / Breathed's Battery / On Picket - March 16, 1863"'' The main scroll, or vertical scroll lists the names of the fourteen soldiers in the artillery unit, as well as officers Sgt. Henry Thomas and Cpl. F. Gibson. The other names on the scroll (which are numbered 1 to 14) in order: George W. McCabe, H. Hopkins, S. Owens, H Greenwell, H. Wagner, E. Russell, W. Hopkins, F. Yates, A Muth, B. Evans, H. Wickes, W. Evans, U. Haller, and H. Boyd. On March 17, 1863, the day after the scroll was created, the men named on it fought at the

Battle of Kelly's Ford The Battle of Kelly's Ford, also known as the Battle of Kellysville or Kelleysville, took place on March 17, 1863, in Culpeper County, Virginia, as part of the cavalry operations along the Rappahannock River during the American Civil War. It set ...

History

Used as a hospital and meeting place by both Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War, the house now known as the Graffiti House was near demolition in 1993. When salvage efforts uncovered the extensive historical graffiti in the upper floor of the house, the Maryland Scroll was removed from the wall and placed in a private collection of Civil War memorabilia. The people of nearby Culpeper, Virginia sought to have the scroll returned to the Graffiti House, and this was accomplished in January 2004 after the acquisition of the scroll by the Brandy Station Foundation. The scroll currently sits in a glass case in the house's "South Room", with a photograph on the wall showing its original position.

References

Brandy Station Foundation website
Virginia in the American Civil War 1863 documents {{AmericanCivilWar-stub