During the war, the Nelson House was home to one of Yorktown’s most famous residents—and signer of the Declaration of Independence—Thomas Nelson, Jr. The house also survived the Yorktown Fire in 1814 and the 1862 Battle of Yorktown after which it was used as a hospital for sick and wounded Civil War soldiers. Some of them carved their names and initials into the brick walls surrounding the front door, which you can still see today.
Though not an original mortar from the Revolutionary War, a cannonball embedded in the bricks was added in the early 1900s to illustrate the heavy hits the house sustained during the Siege at Yorktown.
Accessibility
Region
Last Updated: 09/22/2020
