Riverside Plantation: Mannsfie

In 1862, the patterns of forest and field in this area reflected historic uses of local farmers. The woods around you were in fact a working part of the Mannsfield Plantation, owned by Arthur Bernard. They provided timber for construction, wood for fuel, and forage for roaming livestock. These woods were as much a part of local plantations as the farm fields themselves.<br><br>On larger plantations like Mannsfield, slaves often lived far removed from the "big house." One grouping of slave cabins for Mannsfield stood in a field just beyond these woods - about 400 yards in front of you. "Bernard's Cabins," as they were called, were an important landmark on December 12, 1862. Confederate artillery swarmed around the cabins. Union artillery promptly responded, ravaging the Confederate batteries and leaving the homes of Bernard's slaves a shambles, never to be rebuilt.<br><br>Follow the trail to the site of Bernard's slave cabins. Along the way you will follow a historic road trace and see Confederate earthworks and pre-war property ditches, likely built by slaves.