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Upcoming Events: Saturday Morning Special Field Trips Aldie Triangle Program for Loudoun County 4th Graders Mosby Ranger Decendant Reunion Conference on the Art of Command in the Civil War "The 1862 Valley Campaign" Forward to a Friend Become a Member Learn more about Newsletter Archive: January 2008
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The Mosby Heritage Area Association Newsletter From The President We have ambitious plans for 2009, including realizing one of our long-term goals, the expansion of our remarkably successful elementary classroom outreach into local high schools, with a new program, A Crack in Time. We also will offer a new outdoor adventure program, "Saturday Morning Specials," hosted by Rich Gillespie, our Director of Education. We realize that 2009 will be a fiscally challenging one. We therefore are scaling back our operating expenses to the bone. And we are actively pursuing new grant sources, creating additional fundraising opportunities and deferring low-priority activities until the economic climate improves. With your continued support and generosity we will be able to continue our core mission of “Preservation Through Education.” So I invite you to come to our events, visit our web site, and please consider sending a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you. Marc Leepson,
Fauquier County's 250th Anniversary Created from Prince William County, Fauquier County officially came into existence on May 1, 1759. It was named to honor the Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Virginia, Sir Francis Fauquier. The celebration steering committee for this commemoration of Fauquier’s birth is encouraging local groups, organizations, governments, churches, and individuals to take an active part in celebrating this historic event. Presently, activities are scheduled from Goldvein in southern Fauquier, to Marshall and The Plains in northern Fauquier. Public and private schools are involved in researching local history; Fauquier County Parks and Recreation is sponsoring a year-long series of lectures and interpretive productions at historical sites around the county. For additional information on how you get on board in the commemoration of the county’s rich historical past, contact either Katie Heritage at Katie.heritage@fauquiercounty.gov or Bob Sinclair, chairman of the @250th Celebration Committee, at Robert.sinclair@fauquiercounty.gov. You are encouraged also to visit the county website at http://www.fauquiercounty250th.com to learn more about what is being planned for 2009. The hallmark of the celebration will be the anniversary parade in the town of Warrenton on May 1. Bob Sinclair, Chairman
The Fireside Mosby During the winter, the program is moved inside the Rector House parlor where dramatic stories are told in character and period dress by the stove--hence, "A Fireside Mosby." The January presentation--entitled: "A Winter War"--examines the fierce, tragic guerrilla war that took place in the Mosby Heritage Area during the Civil War winters of 1863-64 and 1864-65, including the wounding of Col. John S. Mosby at nearby Lakeland in the winter of 1864. During 2009, the Grey Ghost Interpretive Group will be making eight presentations. Some of these will be away from our home base at Atoka, during the summer months. The next presentation will be a Fireside Mosby at Atoka on March 14th at 7:30. Then we will go back to the Cavaliers, Courage and Coffee programs on April 18th, May 9th, June 13th, July 11th, August 15th, and October 24th. Watch our newsletter and website for details such as topics and locations. The program includes singing, readings, and storytelling. This is good family entertainment for a cold winter's night. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students. For further information contact the Mosby Heritage Area Association at 540-687-6681 or www.mosbyheritagearea.org.
MHAA Sponsors Saturday Morning Field Trips Following introductions and opening remarks, participants will caravan to sites associated with the day’s topic. Directions and handouts will be provided for each trip. Trips will be led and interpreted by MHAA Director of Education, Rich Gillespie. The schedule is: FEBRUARY 21--“Surrounded by Soldiers”— This trip will examine the Atoka and Goose Creek battlefields from the perspective of the significant pre-Gettysburg cavalry battles of June 1863 at Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville. We’ll visit the grave of John Edmondson, the forgotten soldier of Rector’s Crossroads, the ridge held by Stuart’s Horse Artillery, and of course, the remarkably intact battlefield at Goose Creek Bridge. We’ll end with the backyard of the Rector House where Stuart camped. Trip will be of general and human interest rather than from that of just the Civil War buff. APRIL 25--“Equine Sport in the Mosby Heritage Area: An Introduction…”— This trip will use several local farms to give participants a simple introduction to Point-to-Points, Steeplechasing, and foxhunting--the sports, the mounts, the equipment, and the social culture involved. We will walk a part of one of the handsome trails used by one of the local hunts. JUNE 20--“A Victorian Vacationland”— Although we know that in the early 20th century, the Mosby Heritage Area became the “country getaway” for the industrial/financial elite, we often forget that on a regional basis, it was also a place for heat-ravaged city people of greater Washington to escape for a taste of that bucolic rural past for a week or a day. Served by rail, Paeonian Springs, Hamilton, Purcellville, Round Hill, Bluemont, and Snickers’ Gap were all escapes for people of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Due to the preservation efforts of local people, that story can still be seen in the built environment they’ve saved. We will visit several homes/hotels in these villages, and hike to the most popular Victorian Site of all—Bear’s Den overlook on the Blue Ridge. OCTOBER 24—Trip location and topic to be announced. Field Trip Specifics: Trips begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Rector House at Atoka across from the Atoka Store, 1461 Atoka Road. They will end at approximately 1:00 p.m. Some walking is involved. The cost for participants will be $15 per trip for adults and $5for students. Reservations would be appreciated, and may be made by e-mailing the Mosby Heritage Area Association at info@mosbyheritagearea.org or calling (540) 687-6681.
The six-panel brochure highlights historical events that took place in and around the village. Some of those highlights include:
It was also in the year 2000 that the Mosby Heritage Area Association moved its offices into the first floor of the Caleb Rector House along with Goose Creek Association and the Land Trust of Virginia. As these other organizations grew and office space became available in the newly renovated Angus Brown House, Goose Creek Association and Land Trust of Virginia, as well as the Upperville Horse Show, moved into the Angus Brown House. Atoka has become a village of not-for-profit organizations thanks to the Atoka Preservation Society. To obtain a copy of this excellent brochure, contact the Mosby Heritage Area Association, or better yet, come to Atoka and visit us in the Rector House.
Did You Know? In today’s Mosby Heritage Area during 1863-65, particularly in Loudoun and Upper Fauquier, the partisan ranger commander John Singleton Mosby housed his men with willing Virginia families who supported the South’s bid for independence. Rangers relied heavily on the local farmers to supply forage for their horses. Often leaving on two raids a day by that time in the War, there was also inevitably a detail led by Mosby’s quartermaster, “Major” Hibbs, going on a “corn raid” to gather feed for the Rangers’ mounts. Resources of families in southern Loudoun and northern Fauquier were being exhausted, and so the source became the non-participating Quaker families. German farms in northern Loudoun were also targeted. Paid in Confederate money, scrip, and IOUs, unhappy Quakers and Germans cooperated. The Federal command decided to burn Mosby out, destroying his base of support—the local farmers. On November 28, 1864, on orders from General Sheridan, General Wesley Merritt and some 5000 federal cavalrymen came from Winchester into the Loudoun Valley. They had orders to burn every barn, shed, and grain mill; to destroy all crops and farm machinery; to confiscate all horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and goats; and to arrest all men between the ages of 15 and 50 regardless of their wartime sympathies. Over the next five days the soldiers of the United States did just that. The damage was horrendous to Confederates and Unionists alike. The Potts Mill had been built by E.D. Potts in 1842, and his name still graces an upper cornerstone on the southwest corner—E. D. Potts & Company, 1842 A. D. On the east end, you can still see where the water exited from an internal water wheel. Potts’ neighbor Nathan Neer bought the mill in 1848, although most locals continued to call it Potts Mill. On December 1, 1864, Wesley Merritt’s Union cavalry was going from farm to farm and mill to mill, seeking to burn out the sources of forage for John Singleton Mosby’s Rangers. After dining with Mrs. Neer, who offered a repast in exchange for not burning the mill, the Union cavalry burned the mill. Whether intentional, or not, they burned Mrs. Neer’s house behind the mill as well. Working with the present owners, the Keating family, a Potts Mill Group was formed to look into stabilizing the ruins of the mill for future generations to see—a great example of grass roots historic preservation at work in the Mosby Heritage Area! Let us know if you are interested in this project.
Store:
Winter Shirt Sale During the months of January, February and March, purchase a MHAA polo shirt at a 20% discount. For members, the cost is cut 40%; the 20% given to you on MHAA merchandise as a benefit of membership and the additional 20% for this promotion. Our polo shirts come in navy, gray and pine green. We have smalls, mediums, larges, X large, and XX large. To take advantage of this offer…
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