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Become a Member Learn more about Upcoming Events: Newsletter Archive: January 2008
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Mosby Heritage Area Association Newsletter
From the President This tour, which begins at our headquarters, historic Rector House in Atoka, fits in perfectly with our “Preservation Through Education” mission. Ball’s Bluff, the scene of an unexpected Union defeat that had important consequences on the North’s future war effort, is surrounded by suburbs. That the battlefield and cemetery survive is a tribute to a group of dedicated individuals who worked hard to make sure an important part of American history remains in tact. Please join us for this event, or support it by being a sponsor. All proceeds go to our extensive educational programs for children (in the 4th and 7th grades) and adults. Or consider helping us by volunteering to work at the event, either at Rector House in the morning, or at the site later that morning and afternoon. To do so, please call our office, 540-687-4131, or go to our website, www.mosbyheritagearea.org Also in the volunteering vein, we have decided to open up the Rector House this summer for walk-in visitors on Saturdays. If you’d like to pitch in and join us (we’ll provide a free history lesson for you about the house and John S. Mosby), call our offices and pick out a Saturday (or two) in June, July and August. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors and Advisory Board, our two-person staff—Executive Director Judy Reynolds and Education Director Rich Gillespie—and our valued volunteers continue to work every day of the year to preserve our beautiful, unique part of the world. If you’re not an MHAA member, please consider joining us. Thank You,
Become a MHAA Volunteer As a goal, and to support the 15th anniversary of MHAA’s founding, MHAA hopes to add 150 new volunteers during the course of 2010. Volunteers interested in broadening their role in MHAA’s activities will be considered for the Advisory Board and the Board of Directors after becoming a certified MHAA Volunteer. Volunteer opportunities exist in the headquarters office, in the field, at MHAA events and in the five counties that comprise the Mosby Heritage Area. But you don’t need to live in one of these counties to become a certified MHAA Volunteer. Plus, we have volunteer opportunities that may be done remotely. All you need is a computer and access to the Internet. So, if you live in Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia, Texas or California--or anywhere in between--and like to write, proofread, or edit data lists or press releases, we would love to hear from you about adding your expertise to our volunteer corps. Here’s a partial list of our volunteer opportunities: -Helping at MHAA events with greeting and registering guests. First-time volunteers can earn membership in MHAA by contributing a minimum of 50 hours within the next nine months. By volunteering 50 hours between the first of April 2010 and December 31, first-year volunteers will earn a One Year Membership in MHAA for 2011. All hours must be recorded by the Volunteer Coordinator. You can help MHAA deliver its message of Preservation Through Education to a wider audience by completing the Volunteer Sign In Form. We will contact you once you have completed the form. Click here to sign up to be a MHAA Volunteer
Summer Saturdays at Rector House The house is where John Singleton Mosby signed the documents on June 10, 1863, that officially organized his Rangers into Company A of the 43rd Battalion of the Virginia Cavalry. The charismatic Mosby and his regiment of partisans were known for their daring raids behind Union lines, and for ambushing Union supply depots, transport lines, and troops. Confederate General Jeb Stuart established his headquarters around the Rector House on June 23, 1863, and received word from General Lee to follow the Union army into Pennsylvania and harass them as he saw fit. The house is now owned by The Atoka Preservation Society, a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization. The Rector House, MHAA headquarters, is located four miles west of Middleburg, just off Route 50 in the village of Atoka. To volunteer as an interpreter at the Rector House, please contact Judy Reynolds, MHAA Executive Director, at info@mosbyheritagearea.org or call 540-687-6681.
Welcome New Members Heritage Patron Heritage Supporter Heritage Ranger Heritage Sentinel Donors
Tour of the Battle of Balls Bluff by James Morgan - Saturday, May 1Coffee and donuts at 8:30 a.m. at Rector House The event begins with coffee and donuts at MHAA headquarters. The bus leaves at 9:30 am and arrives at 10:00 am at Fort Evans, then proceeds to Ball’s Bluff, where Mr. Morgan will provide an extensive tour of the battlefield, the scene of one of the earliest Civil War battles and one that had important ramifications for the Union Army. The bus tour includes stops at Fort Evans, the historic Jackson House, and a walk down to the Potomac River, where most of the fighting took place. Admission to the event is $100, which includes the tour, the bus ride and an autographed copy of Mr. Morgan’s book, A Little Short of Boats: The Fights at Ball's Bluff and Edwards Ferry, October 21–22, 1861, or $50 for those who would like to meet at the battlefield for that part of the tour only. Sponsorships are available starting at $250. Bus seating is limited. Reservations may be made at 540-687-6681, or on line at www.mosbyheritagearea.org. Sponsorships are available starting at $250. Bus seating is limited. Reservations may be made at 540-687-6681, or on line at www.mosbyheritagearea.org.
Battle of Monocacy Tour with Marc Leepson - Saturday, July 10 On Saturday, July 10, Marc Leepson, author of Desperate Engagement: How a Little-Known Civil War Battle Saved Washington, D.C., and Changed American History, will lead a tour of the Battle of Monocacy at the Monocacy National Battlefield Park, four miles south of Frederick, Maryland. Participants will board a bus at the Rector House, MHAA’s headquarters in Atoka and travel to the battlefield with Mr. Leepson narrating the build up to this little-known but crucial Civil War engagement. Admission to the event is $100, which includes the tour, the bus ride and an autographed copy of Mr. Leepson’s book, Desperate Engagement: How a Little-Known Civil War Battle Saved Washington, D.C., and Changed American History. Sponsorships are available starting at $250. Bus seating is limited. Reservations may be made at 540-687-6681, or on line at www.mosbyheritagearea.org. These events are sponsored by the Mosby Heritage Area Association. Founded in 1995, MHAA is a membership-driven, 501(c) 3, nonprofit preservation and historic organization. MHAA’s mission is to educate about, and advocate for, the preservation of the extraordinary historic, cultural and scenic resources in the Northern Virginia Piedmont. Click here to go register for these informative and educational tours.
Aldie Triangle The program, now in its seventh year, looks at life on the home front in this Loudoun County community during the Civil War. At Oak Hill, students meet Col. John Fairfax and his sister Martha, who owned Oak Hill at the time of the Civil War. The miller at Aldie Mill explains the operation of the mill, while a Cavalry soldier explains how he uses his equipment, even his horse. At Mount Zion Church, students will meet Col. Mosby, Yankee Davis’ daughter, and a woman of the church, all telling stories of the war’s impact on the church. Schools participating in this year’s program include Aldie, Middleburg, Luckets, Lincoln, and Pinebrook Elementary Schools and The Hill School. Twenty volunteers and the staffs of MHAA and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority work together to bring this local history program to 300 students, their teachers, and parents through the generous contributions of MHAA members.
13th Annual Conference on the Art of Command in the Civil War Nine talks will be presented by nationally acclaimed authors and historians from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening. The conference also includes a day-long tour of the Battle of Fredericksburg on Sunday. Among this year’s speakers is a long-time conference favorite, Robert K. Krick. Mr. Krick has lived and worked on battlefields for more than 35 years, having served the past 25 years at the Fredericksburg and Spottsylvania National Military Park as the Park’s Supervisory Historian. He is the author of 15 books and more than 100 magazine and journal articles. His books include Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain, Conquering the Valley, and The Smoothbore Volley that Doomed the Confederacy. Other speakers for this year’s conference include Joseph Bilby, Clark Hall, Kim Holien, Greg Mertz, Frank O’Reilly, George Rable, and Jeffry Wert. Biographies of the speakers can be found on the MHAA website, www.mosbyheritagearea.org A detailed schedule and registration form can be found on the Events Page . CLICK HERE to download the conference brochure.
2010 Mosby Heritage Area Association Raffle
Teddy’s Ride by P. Buckley Moss
Tickets are $20 per ticket or $100 for six tickets (The six tickets may be split between the two prints). Tickets are available at the MHAA office, at MHAA events, and the MHAA website, www.mosbyheritagearea.org The winning tickets will be drawn on December 3, 2010 at Framecraft in Warrenton during Warrenton’s Holiday Celebration. Click here to purchase raffle tickets.
Site of the Month
E.E. Lake General Store is located in the historic village of Bluemont at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western Loudoun County, Virginia. Built by Edward E. Lake about 1901, the building was originally a two-story, hip-roofed structure with clapboard siding. While taking care of grocery and sundries needs of visitors and villagers, it also housed a branch of the Loudoun National Bank of Leesburg, which didn't last long after its safe was blown up in 1907. Upstairs was a hall with a seating capacity of 500 that often was used for dances. Farmers frequented the store when they took their milk to the train for shipment to their Washington and Alexandria customers or their grain to the Bluemont grain elevator, which stood next to the depot. The Lake Store closed in the early 1930s, leaving only the Post Office, which continued operation until it moved across the street to a new building in 1945. Around 1940, Randall Osburn, brother of Mrs. Forester who ran the Snickersville General Store, reopened the Lake Store on a much smaller scale, selling mostly groceries, ice cream, and penny candies. But after two years the store closed for good. The store has been donated to Loudoun County through the efforts of the Bluemont Citizens Association. Once renovations and stabilization are complete, it will offer tourism opportunities to the area, provide a rest stop for bicyclists and pedestrians, as well as a view from Snickersville Turnpike. The Friends of Bluemont is working to preserve Bluemont’s natural charm and uniqueness. Bluemont has an annual fair each year that promotes the history of the village. The Bluemont Fair, held every September for the past 35 years, is a not-to-be-missed weekend of fun, as the entire village becomes the fairgrounds. Visitors wander the tree-lined streets graced with early homes and businesses, find arts and crafts treasures, admire antique cars, listen to country music, and enjoy a day in the country. For more information about the Friends of Bluemont and the annual fair, go to their website www.friends-of-bluemont.org
Did You Know?
MHAA Store Mosby's Keydet Rangers includes a large amount of previously unpublished material that gives the reader new insights into the young men who matriculated at VMI and rode with Colonel John Singleton Mosby. It is a comprehensive collection of short biographical sketches, personal letters, accounts of raids and incidents, anecdotes, newspaper articles, passages from books, memorials, and obituaries that brings the young Rangers to life and sheds new light on their operations during the war. The book is hardcover, 8 1/2 X 11 and 204 pages.
“At no time was the writing of Mosby’s Keydet Rangers a chore,” Mr. Buckland says. “I thoroughly enjoyed searching for information on each of ‘my boys,’ and any new discovery was a source of great joy for me. Each individual had a compelling story that I felt needed to be shared. It is my sincere hope that anyone who reads the book will finish with a feeling that they have gotten to know some of the men well.” |
©2009 Mosby Heritage Area Association • All Rights Reserved |
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