Check out new Civil War Trails marker at Brandy Station, Va.

Peter Morcarski, treasurer of the Brandy Station Foundation, and BSF secretary Peggy Misch
pose at the newly installed Civil War Trails market at Graffiti House.

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A little birdie revealed to me the recent installation of a new Civil War Trails marker at the Graffiti House in Brandy Station, Va. (19484 Brandy Station Road).

Per my informant, “The Graffiti House showcases what is believed to be one of the most extensive collections of Civil War-era graffiti discovered in recent decades, making it a perfect addition to the Civil War Trails program.

Wartime graffiti inside 
the house.

“If a visitor arrives at the Graffiti House after hours, the new Civil War Trails marker will be there to entice them to book a tour.”

In 2014, while en route to visit the Cedar Mountain battlefield nearby, I stopped at Graffiti House, a short distance off U.S. Route 15/29. The museum was closed, but it didn't take much convincing to gain access. A Brandy Station Foundation board member answered my call to the number on the sign on the museum door, and within 10 minutes, he arrived in his black pickup to conduct a 90-minute tour for me and a couple from Virginia.

The building has changed hands numerous times since the Civil War, serving as an antiques shop and an office for a period of time. The foundation acquired the once-derelict structure in 2002 for $98,000. Wartime graffiti was discovered during a renovation in the early '90s upon removal of wallpaper, and further investigation in 2013 revealed even more in a crawl space under stairs and what is now the first-floor bathroom. 

On a wall — not part of the original house, I believe — 21st-century descendants of of Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stuart scrawled their names.

For more on the house and Brandy Station Foundation, go here.

Graffiti left by descendants of Robert E. Lee and J.E.B. Stuart.