An Encyclopedia of Early Civil War Virginia
A Confederate plot to surprise Union troops ended in chaos, confusion, and the tragic death of Lt. Col. Charles Dreux, the first field-grade Confederate officer killed in the Civil War. Following the Battle of Big Bethel, Union and Confederate forces on the Virginia Peninsula settled into a stalemate behind their fortifications. Both armies occasionally sent…
Continue reading ➞ Failed Ambush at Smith’s Farm: The Death of Lt. Col. Charles Dreux
The short exchange of cannon fire at Gloucester Point is significant for being the first hostile engagement between Virginia and the U.S. government in the Civil War. Tyndall's Point Park sits tucked away behind the George Washington Memorial Highway (U.S. Route 17), its serpentine mounded earthworks winding along a trail through the woods. At one…
Continue reading ➞ A Visit to Tyndall’s Point Park at Gloucester Point
Occurring on Friday, July 5, 1861, the Skirmish at Smith's Farm was significant because Louisianan Lt. Col. Charles Dreux became the first field grade Confederate officer killed during the Civil War. Yet few people, even Civil War historians, have ever heard of it. Sometimes inaccurately called Young's Mill, I refer to it as Smith's Farm…
Continue reading ➞ Illuminating the Skirmish at Smith’s Farm
Great news, Civil War buffs! After long hours of work, we are ready to release our newest publication: the Spirit of '61 Battlelog! This compendium combines our articles on 34 military actions in Virginia in the spring and summer of 1861 in one convenient pdf, free to download. This living document will be periodically updated…
William "Billy" Davis was born in 1838 on a farm in Franklin Township, Johnson County, Indiana. At the outbreak of the Civil War, on April 18, 1861 at the age of 23, he enlisted for three months in Company H, 7th Regiment, Indiana Infantry. He served in that unit throughout its entire campaign in northwestern…
Continue reading ➞ Where was Billy Davis on the Morning of July 8, 1861?
Daily Commercial (Cincinnati) 18 July 1861 The Battle of Belington (Laurel Hill) was fought from Sunday, July 7 to Thursday, July 11, 1861 between Union forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris and Confederate forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett in what is today Barbour County, West Virginia. It involved around 8,000…
The Doyle brothers see the elephant in 1861 Guest Post by Steve Litteral, featured in Issue 2 of the Brass Bugle. If you have traveled through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, then you know it is one of the most beautiful places in the country. The surrounding ancient rolling hills have seen men fighting men…
When sources are lacking, historians attempt to fill in the blanks, but we can use deduction to arrive at the most likely answer. The 9th Battalion Virginia Infantry, otherwise known as Hansbrough's Battalion, was a small unit consisting of four companies led by Lt. Col. George W. Hansbrough. It formed shortly after the Action at…
Following the Union occupation of Philippi, Virginia in early June 1861, a black soldier was accused of shooting down an elderly man in cold blood. Who was he, and how did he end up in the Union army so early in the war? A few days ago, we wrote about James Humbles, a freeman of…
Was Stephen Roberts the first Confederate officer killed during the Civil War? By the time Virginia voters ratified the decision of its secession convention on May 23, 1861, Richmond was named the Confederate capital and militia units were mobilizing. As commander of all Virginia forces, Robert E. Lee directed Col. George A. Porterfield to proceed…
Spirit of '61 