Last updated: January 19, 2024
Place
Information Panel: The Matthew Farm
Photo: NPS / Claire Hassler
Quick Facts
Amenities
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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
In 1860, Martin Matthew owned a modest frame house on 123 acres. He shared the home with his brothers Carson and Edgar. The brothers cultivated wheat, corn, oats and hay and also raised tobacco- a rarity in the area at the time. Woodlots provided timber for construction, material for fences, wood for fuel, and forage for livestock.
The Matthew house stood behind Federal lines and provided shelter to the wounded. Two notable officers of the 2nd Rhode Island, Colonel John Slocum and Major Sullivan Ballou, both mortally wounded, were initially brought to the home before being transferred to the hospital at Sudley Church. The house survived the war but burned around 1901.
Photographer George Barnard captured this image of the Matthew house in March 1862 from approximately where you now stand. For local residents, the fighting here ushered in a thirteen-month ordeal of contending armies, two major battles, and prolonged military occupation.