An Encyclopedia of Early Civil War Virginia
My goal this month is to at least publish a stub page for every Civil War engagement in Virginia prior to the First Battle of Bull Run. Each page will contain a short description and a map to where it was fought. I am tracking 20 separate engagements from May 7, 1861 to July 17,…
The Battle of Blackburn’s Ford was fought on July 18, 1861 between Union forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler and Confederate forces commanded by Brig. Gen. James Longstreet in Prince William and Fairfax Counties, Virginia during the American Civil War. The battle, a prelude to First Manassas, was a Confederate victory and resulted in…
For many years, photos of Robert S. Garnett were often mistaken for those of his more famous cousin, Richard Brooke Garnett (1817-1863), who was killed in Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. The existing images and illustrations (at least available online) leave something to be desired. Like many early-war Confederate officers who didn't go on to win fame, these images are grainy and low resolution.
When it comes to military operations in Virginia prior to the First Battle of Manassas, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan was most prolific in his writings. McClellan was commander of the military Department of the Ohio, which made him responsible for the first large scale operation in what was then western Virginia. So far, I've…
Last week, I commissioned an illustration of Col. George A. Porterfield, who commanded Confederate forces at Philippi. You can view the results here. The illustration was decent, but not quite what I had in mind. I decided to go back and find a different illustrator. I'm glad I did! What Maul22 came up with was…
Continue reading ➞ Updated Illustration of Col. George A. Porterfield
Eventually, I intend to include profiles of the personalities central to the early Civil War in Virginia in this encyclopedia. Unfortunately, more than a handful didn't go on to win much fame, so finding quality contemporary photos or illustrations of them is difficult. I decided to hire an artist to create illustrations of these individuals…
Continue reading ➞ Illustration of Col. George A. Porterfield
I'm continuing my effort to add all the papers and telegrams of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, who organized the first expedition into Virginia after the outbreak of hostilities, from May to July 1861. Most these new sources pertain to the skirmish at Philippi and the events over the following month. Unfortunately, the primary sources…
Continue reading ➞ More Primary Sources Added from GB McClellan
Robert E. Lee's General Orders Number 24, issued at the Headquarters of Virginia Forces in Richmond on June 1, 1861, sought to clarify Virginia's militia organization as it continued to mobilize throughout the state. A Civil War Era regiment consisted of smaller units called companies raised from the same general geographic area (sometimes several adjacent…
Continue reading ➞ Organization of Virginia Militia Units in June 1861
It's impossible to tell the complete story of the opening months of the Civil War in Virginia without citing the papers and telegrams of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, who organized the first expedition into Virginia after the outbreak of hostilities. Most of this correspondence can be found in the venerable tomes of The War…
I started experimenting with adding unit and casualty tables to the battle pages. Here is an example from the Battle of Philippi page: Opposing Forces Virginia (Confederate) Col. George A. PorterfieldUnionBrig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris9th VA Infantry BN1st VA Infantry (Union)25th VA Infantry Regt2nd VA Infantry (Union)31st VA Infantry Regt6th IN Infantry Regt11th VA Cavalry7th…
Spirit of '61 