The Maryland Scroll is an American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 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

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 American Civil War to survive intact to this day...

, in Brandy Station, Virginia

Brandy Station, Virginia

Brandy Station is an unincorporated community in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. Its original name was Brandy. The name Brandy Station comes from the Orange and Alexandria Railroad station that was constructed in the 19th century....

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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

Battle of Kelly's Ford

The Battle of Kelly's Ford, also known as the Battle of Kellysville, 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 the stage for Brandy Station and other cavalry actions of the...

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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.