Over the past month or two, I’ve been visiting early Civil War sites in Northern Virginia and have added new photos to our encyclopedia. While much has changed in the 160 years since the war, seeing these places in person offers a perspective you can’t get from books alone. The natural terrain—hills, valleys, streams—helps you imagine what the landscape looked like to the soldiers who fought there. You also tend to uncover things you wouldn’t have known otherwise.
For example, I often use the Historical Marker Database to locate Civil War signs and monuments. According to the database, there were none around Farr’s Crossroads in Fairfax County. But when I got there and started exploring, I spotted what looked like a historical sign at the top of a wooded hill above the George Mason University sign. That’s where I found the round redoubt built by the 5th Alabama Regiment in 1861. I never would have known it was there if I hadn’t visited the site myself.
Photos have been added to the following battle pages:
Additionally, I updated the photos for the First Battle of Fairfax Court House to reflect the current appearance of the courthouse grounds and added a photo of the 1830 Joshua Gunnell House, where former Virginia Governor William Smith was staying when federal cavalry rode into town on the morning of June 1, 1861.
Spirit of '61 