An Encyclopedia of Early Civil War Virginia
During the American Civil War, John Singleton Mosby became a famous (or infamous) partisan leader in northern Virginia. The "Gray Ghost" vexed Union commanders and wreaked havoc behind the lines. But in the spring and summer of 1861, he was a private in the Washington Mounted Rifles, a cavalry company in J.E.B. Stuart's 1st Virginia…
Continue reading ➞ Mosby Sheds Light on What Happened Outside of Martinsburg on July 11, 1861
One of the fun aspects of studying history is imagining how events might have unfolded differently. The consequences of those changes can range from trivial to altering the course of an entire war. A major “what if” of the early Civil War is how the First Battle of Bull Run might have unfolded if Joseph…
Continue reading ➞ What if There had Been a Battle at Winchester in July 1861?
In July 1861, a series of sharp skirmishes between 90-day Union volunteers and J. E. B. Stuart’s cavalry outside the village of Bunker Hill convinced Federal commanders that Joseph E. Johnston still stood between them and Winchester. That misjudgment helped shape the movements that allowed Confederate reinforcements to reach Manassas in time. At the beginning…
Continue reading ➞ Ninety Days to Nowhere: Bunker Hill and the Lost Opportunity at Winchester
In early July 1861, Union Major General Robert Patterson’s army (largely three-month Pennsylvania volunteers, about 18–25,000 strong) occupied Martinsburg in the Shenandoah Valley. After a minor clash at Falling Waters (Hoke’s Run) on July 2, Patterson remained inactive for nearly two weeks. Opposite him, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston had moved his forces (approximately 10–12,000)…
On a hot July morning in 1861, a forage run five miles from Martinsburg turned into a brief, deadly clash that left one Union soldier dead and two in Confederate hands. Acting under pressure from the War Department in Washington, DC, after one false start and with 90-day enlistments about to expire, scant artillery, and…
On July 11, 1861, somewhere south of Martinsburg, (West) Virginia, a Union foraging party encountered Confederate cavalry. A sharp fight erupted and one Union soldier was killed. The details of this nearly forgotten incident are hazy at best. Join us as we dig into the sources and piece together what happened over 164 years ago.…
When a quiet morning along the Potomac suddenly broke into a sharp, unexpected fight near Falling Waters, the resulting engagement helped determine the opening moves of the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley. The Shenandoah Valley lies between the Appalachians and Blue Ridge Mountains, its fertile soil shaped by the twin branches of the Shenandoah…
Continue reading ➞ Holding the Line at Hoke’s Run: Jackson’s First Test in the Shenandoah Valley
In mid-July 1861, just weeks after Virginia’s formal entry into the Confederate States of America, Governor John Letcher issued a sweeping proclamation calling for the mobilization of militia forces in response to a troop requisition from Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The proclamation, dated July 13, targeted specific regions of the Commonwealth: counties north of the…
Continue reading ➞ Organizing for War: Governor John Letcher’s July 13, 1861 Militia Proclamation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_-ygaZqJ6I I recently stumbled upon this amateur video taken at a reenactment of the July 11, 1861 Battle of Rich Mountain in what is today Randolph County, West Virginia. The video features an interview with Phyllis Baxter of the Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation and some of the reenactors, as well as footage of the skirmish.…
Continue reading ➞ The Battle of Rich Mountain, Part 1 (1999 Reenactment Video)
On July 17, 1861, as Union forces advanced on Fairfax Court House, Col. Robert E. Rodes' 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment engaged in a fierce skirmish at Farr's Crossroads, delaying Col. Dixon S. Miles' division long enough to secure a safe Confederate withdrawal behind Bull Run. While Brig. Gen. Milledge Bonham's retreat from Fairfax was widely…
Continue reading ➞ Holding the Line: Robert Rodes’ Stand at Farr’s Crossroads
Spirit of '61 