Yesterday, two interpretive markers were dedicated at the Lions Bridge at The Mariners’ Museum Park in memory of Dr. William “Bill” Parks, a devotee of Newport News history and a longtime supporter of The Mariners’ Museum. Councilman Bert Bateman and John Quarstein of the USS Monitor Center and Foundation, both friends of Parks worked cooperatively with the Civil War Trails to help document the history behind the newest Newport News Civil War Trails markers.
Red, white, and blue Virginia Civil War Trails signs, featuring the red bugle provide a snapshot history lesson about people and places of interest during the Civil War. The sign at the Lions Bridge recounts the July 12, 1861 Skirmish at Cedar Lane. The second sign at the Warwick branch of TowneBank tells of the July 5, 1861 demise of Lt. Col. Charles D. Dreux. Sponsored in part by the City of Newport News, TowneBank, and W.M. Jordan Company, this pair of signs brings the total of Civil War Trail sites in Virginia to 550 with 13 in Newport News.
The Virginia Civil War Trails program began in 1994 as a collaborative effort by state and local partners to connect the physical and intellectual dots of America’s Civil War. Trail sites are located in metropolitan areas as well as on rural roads. The markers tell the stories of not only the soldiers in battle but of civilians whose lives were transformed by what they experienced, making these stories relevant to today, more than 150 years later. For more information visit
Virginia Civil War Trails.