A Virginia 'worm fence' stretched along the north boundary of the Widow Pence Farm marks the bloody events of June 8, 1862. On this site,Union General Julius Stahel's 8th New York regiment, composed of mostly non-English-speaking German and Hungarian soldiers, was stunned and received a devestating surprise volley from General I. Ridgeway Trimble's rebel forces.

Crouched behind the wooden rails, stuffed with leaves to further conceal their position, they waited for the approaching Yankees. General Trimble ordered them to hold their fire until "they saw the tops of the shoes". As the unsuspecting immigrants reached the crest of the hill, only about fifty yards from the fence, the Confederates rose swiftly to their feet and unleashed a savage volley of fire that echoed through the valley. In a matter of minutes, the 8th New York would lose over half of their men in casualties.