Chatham Manor

Virginia · United States · Manor

An Englishman brought his daughter to Virginia in the 1700s to end her romance with a commoner. The man followed her across the Atlantic.

Chatham Manor at Fredericksburg, Virginia was built in 1771 by William Fitzhugh, who named it after his friend William Pitt, Earl of Chatham.

Another English friend of Fitzhugh brought his daughter to live at Chatham for a specific reason: to end her romance with a man beneath her station.

The man followed her to America, and the two of them planned to elope from the house.

The path she is described walking has been known for a very long time as the Ghost Walk, and she is reported on it as a woman in white.

Chatham has a second history that dwarfs the first. During the Civil War it served as a Union headquarters and then as a field hospital during the battle of Fredericksburg, with Walt Whitman and Clara Barton both working there among the wounded.

It is now part of the national military park and is open to visitors.

FAQ

Where is Chatham Manor located?

Chatham Manor is in Virginia, United States.

Image: Rutke421 (talk) 22:00, 7 April 2008 (UTC) / Public domain — Wikimedia Commons