Fort Magruder

Originally erected on the Palace Green in Williamsburg in 1908, the monument was moved briefly to Cedar Grove Cemetery in 1932, and then onto two courthouse lawns from 1932 until 2000. In 2000 it moved again and enjoyed the solitude of Bicentennial Park virtually forgotten by our citizens. BLM defaced it in 2020 and common sense and any appreciation of history went out the window. Mrs. Gerry Waring, President of Williamsburg UDC Chapter 637, created a joint UDC-SCV action group with Pam Natchus, Mary Lou Wagner, Jeff Toalson, Ken Parsons and George Corbett. Chapter 637 had partial ownership of the monument and we moved forward with a joint action plan led by President Waring. In less than 6 months the Williamsburg City Council yielded their ownership and declared that the only place the monument could be was on private property. The Williamsburg Chapter has owned Fort Magruder since 1951 and took full ownership of the monument they had helped fund and purchase originally in 1906-1908. Today we celebrated and rededicated this monument in honor of the local men who served during the war. Beyond being a memorial, it is a headstone for those local men who never came home and lie buried in unmarked graves in fields far, far from home.