Until 2003, the March 1862 photograph was thought to be of the William N. Thornton House which was located north of Sudley. However, after an exhaustive investigation, it is now thought to be the John Thornberry House built in 1846. It would eventually be known as the Sudley Post Office. The house, which has undergone extensive renovation, sits on the banks of Bull Run and is across the Sudley Road from the Methodist Church. It is one of the three battlefield structures that survive today. The Thornberry property also borders Catharpin Run. The road in the foreground of the photograph is the Sudley Road that leads to the run. John Thornberry worked as a wheelwright and lived on the property with his wife Martha and their five children. It is believed that the boys in the middle-ground of the photograph are Joseph and Samuel H. Thornberry. These are the same boys that are in the four other Sudley images from March 1862. John Thornberry took part in the fighting at the Battle of First Bull Run and served in the Confederate forces of the 49th Virginia Infantry. He was wounded in the fighting on Henry Hill and ironically, while he lay away from his family, the Union Army occupied his home to shelter injured and dying Federal soldiers. On July 21st, the Union divisions of Hunter and Heintzelman passed by the house on the way to Matthews Hill. The Thornberry family had left the night before. The property was looted during the battle.
