Kearny's Stump and the Monument Lot
This small monument represents the “Stump of the Kearny Tree”, said to be the tree under which the body of Union General Philip Kearny lay the night of the battle. However, this is doubtful. Kearny’s body was recovered by the Confederates in the cornfield and then taken to Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s headquarters near Chantilly. Perhaps it was General Isaac Stevens’ body that rested here.
Regardless, in 1915, the rotting tree stump became the origin point for the survey of the 50 x 100 foot monument lot deeded by John and Mary Ballard. The stump was then removed and replaced by this permanent survey monument.
After the death of Mary Reid Ballard in 1927, the Ballard farm was divided among the heirs. This partition survey show's the "Kearney stump" and the "Kearney & Stephens Monument Lot" on the 27.5-acre parcel allotted to Varina K. Byrne, the youngest daughter of John and Mary Ballard. The monuments were accessible to the public by the way of a 20-foot outlet or easement from old Ox Road, now known as West Ox Road.