Burning the Trestle at Woodstock
By John Paul Strain
General Stonewall Jackson & Colonel Turner Ashby
Manassas Gap Railroad – Pugh’s Run, Woodstock, Virginia – Spring 1862
PAPER GICLEES
200 Paper Giclées - $275
Image Size: 18.5" x 26.5"
50 Artist's Proof Paper Giclées - $375
Image Size: 18.5" x 26.5"
Remarques painting is printed on the bottom in the white border (Please see two images when you choose the artist's proof paper giclee. This is the only format that includes the remarques painting.)
CANVAS GICLEES
100 Studio Canvas Giclées - $275
Image Size 16" x 23"
15 Artist's Proof Studio Canvas Giclées - $375
Image Size 16" x 23"
100 Classic Canvas Giclées - $575
Image Size 21" x 30"
15 Artist's Proof Classic Canvas Giclées - $675
Image Size 21" x 30"
30 S/N Executive Canvas Giclées - $1200
Image Size 27" x 39"
5 Artist's Proof Executive Canvas Giclées - $1400
Image Size 27" x 39"
NOTES FROM THE ARTIST
"In the spring of 1862 the Shenandoah Valley became the stage for one of the most brilliant campaigns of the Civil War. Charged with protecting the Shenandoah Valley, General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson maneuvered his small army with remarkable speed and secrecy, frustrating Federal attempts to advance southward.
Jackson’s trusted cavalry commander, Col. Turner Ashby, and his daring horsemen constantly ambushed the enemy while reporting on their movements. Ashby also assisted Jackson in another task that the general seemed to relish—the destruction of railroads.
The Manassas Gap Railroad threaded its way through the Valley from Front Royal southward through Woodstock to Mount Jackson. It served as an important Federal supply and transportation route. To deny its use to the enemy, Jackson repeatedly ordered sections of track, bridges, and trestles destroyed wherever opportunity allowed.
Just north of the small town of Woodstock, the railroad crossed the clear waters of Pugh’s Run on a timber trestle built along the base of Little North Mountain. Here Confederate soldiers piled branches, brush, and debris around the base of the vertical support posts and soaked them with tar, oil, or kerosene before putting the torch to the structure. Flames quickly ran upward through the diagonal braces as the dry timbers created a chimney effect, producing tall flames rising through the bridge. Once the supports burned through, the entire trestle would collapse.
Such acts of calculated destruction became a familiar feature of Jackson’s Valley operations. Iron rails were torn up, heated in great fires, and twisted around nearby trees while trestles and bridges were burned to prevent their repair. Few would remain standing. The work earned Jackson a reputation among friend and foe alike as an unrelenting destroyer of railroads. He understood that crippling an enemy’s lines of supply and easy troop movement could be as decisive as winning a battle. Jackson was so focused on this tactic that his men nicknamed him “The Old Railroad Wrecker.”
As flames climbed the trestle at Pugh’s Run and smoke drifted across the valley floor, Jackson and Ashby watched the destruction of yet another vital link in the enemy’s transportation network. The two commanders prepared to move on once more, continuing their relentless campaign of maneuver and disruption that would soon make the Shenandoah Valley Campaign one of the most famous operations of the Civil War."
ABOUT JOHN PAUL STRAIN
Mr. Strain and his paintings have been featured on the television shows of C-Span's Washington
Journal, The History Channel, and Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Throughout his career he has won many awards for his art. Reproductions of his work have won numerous 1st place awards and "Best of Show" honors, such as the PICA Awards, The Printing Industry of the Carolina's, and at the PIAG Awards in Georgia. Strain is also a featured artist for internationally known collector art companies the Bradford Exchange and the Franklin Mint for which he has created a Civil War Chess Set, several limited edition plate series, sculptures, and many other collectible items featuring his paintings. John Paul completed a number of commissioned works for the United States Army, which are on permanent display at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Fort McNair, Washington D.C., and the battlefield visitor's center at Normandy, France.
Today, his original paintings can be found in many noted museums such as the Museum of Fredericksburg, and at Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello. In 2010 Mr. Strain won the Henry Timrod Southern Culture Award presented by the Military Order of the Stars and Bars - Descendants of Officers of the Confederacy. In 2017 Mr. Strain was unanimously chosen by the Board of Directors of the General N.B. Forrest Historical Society for the “Forrest Distinguished Artist of the Year Award” Notably his work has been collected by many US Senators, US Congressmen, State Governors, music and Hollywood celebrities. His work can be found at the United States Pentagon, and assorted United States Navy Military War Ships currently in service.
Over 100,000 pieces of John Paul Strain's Limited Edition Art and original paintings have been sold and enjoyed worldwide!