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Upcoming Events: Aldie Triangle Program for Loudoun County 4th Graders 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 Our two valued staff members—Executive Director Judy Reynolds and Education Director Rich Gillespie—also give of their time and energy seven days a week on a host of projects and events that are working for the same goal. Please scroll down to see what’s new for December. You can do your part, whether you are members or not (and we hope you will consider joining us!) to help us preserve the history and the landscape of our unique section of the world. Come to our events, volunteers to help out in the office or at an event, visit our web site, and please consider sending a tax-deductible contribution. There’s still plenty of time before the end of the year. Thank you, Marc Leepson,
Holiday Celebrations in the Mosby Heritage Area The Mosby Heritage Area Association hopes you, your family and friends will find something to enjoy in the towns and villages of the Heritage Area this season. The following are some of the exciting activities taking place in the Heritage Area in December. Loudoun County offers a variety of events, including Christmas in Middleburg, December 6 with the Hunt Parade on Main Street at 11 a.m. and the Christmas Parade with Santa, beginning at 3 p.m.; the 15th Annual Taylorstown Arts and Craft Fair at the Community Store, December 5-7; Holidays in Leesburg beginning on December 5 with the Tree Lighting Ceremony at Town Hall and continuing on December 6; the Lovettsville Christkindlemarkt on December 6 at the Lovettsville Elementary School; and Christmas to Remember on December 13 along with the Light Trolley Tour on December 12-14 in Purcellville. There are musical events, wine tours and tastings, and many more events listed with the Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association and the Middleburg Pink Box. For more information about Middleburg events visit: www.middleburgonline.com. For Loudoun County events visit: www.visitloudoun.org. Or call the Visitor Center 800-752-6118 ext. 11 or 703-771-2617 ext. 11. Fauquier County’s Christmas begins in Warrenton with the annual Warrenton Chorale presentation of Christmas in Music on December 4, 5 and 6 at the Warrenton Methodist Church at 8 p.m. each night and a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday. Tickets are $6 in advance and $8 at the door. On December 6 there will be a Holiday Open House at the Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County museum in The Plains beginning at 3 p.m. and Special Candlelight Tours at Sky Meadows State Park inParis from 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. There are several parades in the county on December 6 including one in Warrenton at 10 a.m., at Marshall at noon, and at Bealeton at noon. There are special holiday events at farms in Fauquier County including Christmas on the Farm at Archwood Green Barns in The Plains and Alpaca Full Moon Farm and Shop in Marshall. For additional information about these and more activities in Warrenton and Fauquier County contact: the Warrenton Fauquier Visitor Center: (540)341-0988, (800) 820-1021 or visit:www.fauquiertourism.com and www.historicwarrenton.org. Prince William County offers holiday events including the Greater Manassas Christmas Parade on December 6 at 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Historic Old Town Manassas; a Civil War Santa event at Leesylvania State Park on December 14 from 11a.m. to 3 p.m.; and a 1857 Christmas at Liberia Plantation on December 6 featuring an evening of song and tradition of pre-Civil War Manassas. Tickets for the 1857 Christmas at Liberia Plantation are $10 in advance and $15 on the day of the event. The house and grounds are not handicap accessible. Advance tickets are strongly encouraged and may be purchased at the Manassas Museum, 9101 Prince William Street, by visiting www.manassasmuseum.org or by calling 703-368-1873. For additional information on holiday events in Manassas or Prince William County visit: www.visitpwc.com or call Prince William County/Manassas Convention and Visitors Bureau (800) 432-1792. Clarke County has its Christmas Parade on December 6 on Main Street in downtown Berryville beginning at noon. On the following weekend December 13, five homes will be open for the annual Holiday Homes Tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Stroll the streets of Berryville during the month of December to see how businesses and residents decorate the town’s parking meters for the holidays. For additional information visit: www.berryvillemainstreet.org or you may call (540) 955-4001. Warren County offers several interesting events for Christmas such as a Christmas Cadence on December 5 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in downtown Front Royal which features a Civil War Christmas encampment; the Front Royal Christmas Parade on December 6 beginning at 3 p.m.; and carriage rides on December 13 from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. to view the Christmas lights of downtown. Tickets are $10 and children under 6 ride free.
Shop with the Mosby Heritage Area Association For those Civil War historians in your family, take a look at our Civil War audio tours featured in the “Store” article at the end of this newsletter. We have reduced the price of these tours by 50% for the Christmas season. Our most popular item is the Eugene Scheel map of the Mosby Heritage Area, which features more than 300 years of history. This map measures 3’x3’ and is a great addition to a den or office. MHAA has polo and t-shirts. The t-shirt is a fun item. It has the words “Got Mosby” on the front and “No, Mosby’s got you.” on the back. This refers to the famous Fairfax Courthouse Raid of March 1863. Our polo shirts have an attractive Mosby Heritage Area patch on the pocket and come in green, navy and gray. There are Mosby Heritage Area hats in green, blue and black. And for a distinctive stocking stuffer, purchase a Mosby Heritage Area lapel pin. MHAA has in stock copies of Eric Buckland’s new book on VMI cadets who served under Col. John S. Mosby. We have copies of Stevan Meserve’s new book, “The Civil War in Loudoun County, Virginia” , as well as the National Park Service’s “Civil War in Loudoun Valley; the Cavalry Battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville, June 1863.” We still have copies of “Annie Between the States.” We also have a good stock of “Cabins, Cottages and Mansions,” a book on presidential homes. For those who like hiking, there is “Loudoun By Foot”. For your convenience, you can order these items online with PayPal, or by using our order form to pay by check or credit card. Order by December 18 to get the gifts mailed by Christmas. The special sale on the audio tours may only be done through our order form, not PayPal (see “Store” below). We sell books only in our offices at Atoka from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you have questions or special requests, call us at 540-687-6681 or email info@mosbyheritagearea.org.
Calendar of Events for 2009 January 24, 2009 – Cavaliers, Courage and Coffee Program We hope you will be able to join us for one or more events in 2009.
MHAA and the Journey Through Hallowed Ground to Offer Course to Teachers If you are or if you know of an educator who might be interested, call Rich Gillespie at (540) 687-5578 for details. The course will be offered Thursday evenings beginning January 22, 2009.
Site of the Month
Oatlands Holiday events this year are many and varied: November 24--December 30, 2008, Traditional Holiday opening of Oatlands, “Christmas at Oatlands”: Hours are Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Admission charged.
Oatlands Plantation
Did You Know?
Imagine my delight when I picked up a newly published book entitled “The Memoirs of the Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion” edited by Robert Trout, widely considered the leading historian on the men and units of the horse artillery both north and south. Mr. Trout has given us in this work the complete journals of three Confederate artillery soldiers who fought under Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart in the Civil War. These are three marvelous primary documents that have, heretofore, not been widely read. One of the journals was written by Lieutenant Lewis T. Nunnelee, who enlisted (as a private at age 41) in Captain Marcellus Moorman’s Beauregard Rifles in Lynchburg on May 10, 1861. He must have been considered quite ancient by the men of the battalion but he survived the war and later donated his journal to The Museum of the Confederacy. It has now been brought back into the light by Mr. Trout. It is important to know that the area around today’s Atoka was inundated by large-scale military action in June 1863. Cavalry battles raged along the Ashby Gap Turnpike (Route 50) from Aldie on June 17 to Upperville on June 21st . By June 21st, all of General Stuart’s brigades were in the fight to prevent Union General Pleasonton’s two divisions of cavalry from crossing the Blue Ridge at Paris or Snickersville (Bluemont) to ascertain the route of Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley under General Lee. From 18,000 to 19,000 troopers and 1,500 infantrymen fought desperately to gain their strategic goals and nearly 1,400 men and as many horses would be listed as casualties from these three hard fought battles. Just ten days later, the Battle of Gettysburg would begin as the armies moved into Pennsylvania. Stuart’s cavalry forces were organized into five brigades and five batteries of artillery. Each battery was equipped with four guns comprising a unit of about 100-125 men. Each battery needed wagons, limbers, and caissons with 80-90 horses to get them where they needed to go. Lieutenant Nunnelee was a “horse artillerymen” in Marcellus Moorman’s battery. This battery came up from Brandy Station by way of Hinson’s Ford on the Rappahannock River, passing by Orlean and on through Salem (Marshall) on June 16th. On the 17th they moved to Rector’s Crossroads (Atoka). Here, let Nunnelee’s words speak for themselves: June 17, 1863--We left Rectortown at 6:00 PM and we marched in double quick time passed Rector’s Crossroads and took the Ashby Gap Turnpike arriving in Middleburg after night. We found that the enemy had been driven back so we returned by the same road and camped for the night at the farm of Alexander Elgin. Roads very dry and dusty. We had a most disagreeable march both day and night. [Note the fighting he is referring to is the Battle of Aldie. The weather had indeed been dry--no rain for weeks and the temperature had reached above 95 degrees during that day.] June 18, 1863--Kept ourselves in readiness all day. Our cavalry and the enemy had a considerable fight in the morning. Saw about 100 prisoners pass. June 19, 1863--Early in the A.M. the enemy were reported advancing. Our battery was put into position, waiting the approach of the enemy. At 9:00 A.M. our battery, except one piece, fell back to Rector’s Crossroads to cook our rations. During that time we remained in position, picket firing was going on and occasionally canon firing which continued to 1 P.M. At that time our battery was again ordered to the front where we remained until dark when we returned to Rector’s Crossroads where we parked for the night. June 20, 1863 – Two of our pieces were again ordered to the front. The enemy was one mile in advance of their position yesterday [approximately where the dual highway now ends just past Kirk’s Branch Road]. Took position between Rector’s Crossroads and Samual Rector’s and near Rocky Run (Cromwell’s Run). Remained there till night and returned to Rector’s Crossroads, all quiet during the day. June 21, 1863 – At 7 A.M. cannonading was heard in front which was being carried on by Hart’s Battery and the enemy. Our battery was soon moved forward with McGregor’s Battery. Our cavalry and Hart’s Battery were pressed back by a large force of sharpshooters and infantry. [Pleasonton had called for help from Strong Vincent’s Brigade of infantry.] As soon as the enemy made their appearance on the opposite heights we opened fire upon them. A small column of infantry charged down to a stone fence and halted there. Their sharpshooters then advanced and drove ours back and we fell back to the heights of Rector’s Crossroads. In a short time they opened fire on us with a battery of artillery and after a heavy fire on both sides we were again ordered to fall back. In taking our guns out of position into the Pike a shot struck JOHN EDMONDSON and literally tore him into pieces and at the same time took off the leg of Charles D. Saunders just above the knee from the effects of which he never recovered and died in a short time. Lieutenant Nunnerly goes on to describe the rest of the Battle of Upperville. By the end of the day, the Confederate cavalry and their associated batteries had been pushed back to Paris, where infantry under Confederate General Longstreet had taken up strong positions. Pleasonton reported that his scouts pierced the Blue Ridge and saw hundreds of camp fires spread out below but this report is suspect. What is not suspect is the fact that Pleasonton did not cross the mountains in force but rather retreated all the way back to Aldie on the following day--June 22. Stuart’s cavalry, along with his “horse artillery,” followed Pleasonton, regaining the ground they had fought over the previous five days. Moorman’s Battery headed back east to their old camp near Rector’s Crossroads where Lieutenant Nunnerly noted: June 22, 1863--We learned at Upperville that Charles Saunders, who was wounded yesterday and left there at the house of Reverend George Harris, was shown every kindness by that gentlemen until his death, had his body nicely prepared for burial and his remains were finally sent to his home in Lynchburg. His faithful beloved slave, John, remained with him until he died and then passed himself We also found that the mangled remains of poor JOHN T. EDMONDSON had been interred by the side of the rock wall [just east of the Rector House at Atoka] where he fell. June 24, 1863 – The enemy still located a little beyond Middleburg and two of our four pieces still on picket. I visited the grave of John T. Edmondson and learned from Misses Gibson that the enemy had buried him on Sunday (June 21) as they passed by but that their father, Mr. Nelson Gibson, had had him disinterred and a neat pine coffin made into which he put the mangled remains and then had him buried a short distance from where he was first interred. Here was a true disinterestedness of heart and never did I see so much interest taken in a stranger as did the four sweet young Gibson girls. They testified their sympathy by placing at the head of the grave a bouquet of beautiful flowers and may their path through life ever be strewn with these. At night we had our orders to be ready to march at a moment’s notice. June 25, 1863 – Marched this morning at daybreak . . . And so the story is now told. And finally, we should all be aware that we have core battlefield, our nation’s hallowed ground, in many places within the Mosby Heritage Area. As of this date, Loudoun County had done nothing to insure that our hallowed ground is preserved. If you live in Loudoun County, contact your supervisors and tell them to do what they can to protect our battlefields from destruction. When driving past Atoka, please salute the brave young soldier, John T. Edmondson, who rests “gone but not forgotten” alongside the John S. Mosby Highway. Perhaps a walk east from the Rector House along the abandoned portion of highway to the grave will be in order. If you do, stop to read the Virginia Civil War Trails sign along the way, then come back to visit the Mosby Heritage Area Association’s headquarters in the historic Rector House. We’ll give you a tour. [Hours: approximately 9:00-5:00 Mondays through Fridays. But the grave is always available for viewing.]
Store:
Audio Tours Then you need to get a copy of our Civil War audio driving tours! “Prelude to Gettysburg” Descriptions of Audio Tours: Historical Events of the Mosby 43rd Virginia Battalion, Part I: 1863-1865 from Truro Church, Fairfax to Atoka Historical Events of the Mosby 43rd Virginia Battalion: Part II In the Wake of Antietam TO ORDER: Because this is a special order, you need to use the ORDER FORM on our website (found on the Store Page) to pay by check or credit card. Items cannot be ordered through PayPal. Mark out the original price listed on our order form and write in the special sale price.
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