In June 1861, Col. Angus W. McDonald successfully petitioned the Confederate War Department for permission to raise a cavalry regiment, which became the 7th Virginia Cavalry. The first company he recruited was Capt. Turner Ashby’s Mountain Rangers. Thirty-two-year-old Turner Ashby Jr. and his younger brother Richard, 29, were born at Rose Bank Plantation in Fauquier…
In the spring and summer of 1861, the nation tore itself apart. Maryland and Virginia stood on the front lines, with the Potomac River between them threatening to become an international border. In Washington, military planners quickly recognized the importance of securing the Potomac west of the nation's capital and protecting the vital Baltimore &…
Continue reading ➞ Detailed Timeline of Events Along the Upper Potomac, May 23 – July 27, 1861
In the summer of 1861, Hampshire County, Virginia, became a battleground in the struggle to control the vital Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Confederate cavalry raided bridges and rail lines from Romney to New Creek while Union troops fought to keep open this critical transportation link between Washington, DC, and the West. On the eve of…
Continue reading ➞ Cutting the B&O: Confederate Raids in Hampshire County, 1861
In early July 1861, following Lewis “Lew” Wallace’s departure from Cumberland, Maryland, the 13th and 5th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiments and Battery A, 1st Pennsylvania Artillery, advanced to protect this vital transportation hub on the Potomac River. On July 12, Confederate cavalry destroyed railroad cars and two trestle bridges over George’s Creek on the Maryland side…
Looking at old black-and-white photos and illustrations, it’s easy to feel disconnected from the places and events they depict. However, standing in those locations and seeing the landscape in full color makes history feel real. While much has changed in the 165 years since the war, seeing these places in person offers a perspective you…
The story is one we are familiar with. Shortly after arriving at Cumberland, Maryland on the Potomac River and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in June 1861, Col. Lewis “Lew” Wallace and his Eleventh Indiana Infantry Regiment marched all night to route a smaller Confederate force at what is today Romney, West Virginia in a bloodless…
By Jeffrey A. Felton At the outbreak of the American Civil War, many college students enlisted in volunteer companies. Examples of these companies range from the University Greys from the University of Mississippi who became Company A, 11th Mississippi Infantry, to the students from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia who raised a militia company, fought at…
Long before the Third Battle of Winchester, Fort Collier began as a desperate Confederate effort to defend the Lower Shenandoah Valley during the opening months of the Civil War. Discover how Joseph E. Johnston, engineer William H.C. Whiting, and local Virginia militia transformed Isaac Stine’s farm into a strategic stronghold that still survives today as…
Continue reading ➞ Building Fort Collier: Confederate Engineers and the Defense of Winchester
Last July, Shenandoah Valley Battlefields (SVBF) produced an excellent short video on the Battle of Hoke's Run, specifically the actions on the Confederate left flank where J.E.B. Stuart almost single-handedly captured a Union company. The presenter does a good job of breaking it down, but I wish they would have shown more footage of the…
Continue reading ➞ SVBF: The Wrong Uniform Color – Battle of Hoke’s Run
Like many ex-Confederates, Thomas W. Colley wrote a memoir years after the war. And, like John Singleton Mosby, Colley enlisted in the Washington Mounted Rifles, a storied unit initially led by Capt. William E. “Grumble” Jones. He served with the company for the duration of the war and was wounded several times, ultimately losing a…
Continue reading ➞ Thomas W. Colley Recollects the Skirmish at Bunker Hill
