Blue Ridge Center: Historical & Cultural Stewardship

Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship

	Our Land
	Scientific & Natural Stewardship
	Historical & Cultural Stewardship
	Archelology
	Historical Structures
	Farming and Forestry
	Civil War
	Appalachian Trail

Historical & Cultural Stewardship

CIVIL WAR

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Located within 25 miles of the Union Capitol in Washington, D.C., and five miles from a United States arsenal based in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Loudoun County became a disputed border county with divided loyalties during the Civil War.

While the southern part of the county (settled by English colonials who farmed with the labor of slaves) dedicated its loyalties to the Confederacy, the northern and western parts of the county, settled by Quakers and Germans, remained loyal to the Union. Between 1863 and 1865, the southern part of the county was known as "Mosby's Confederacy" and controlled by Mosby's Rangers who practiced guerrilla warfare. There were 46 skirmishes in the county. Two battles were fought on level ground just to the south of the Foundation property, on February 16, 1863, and September 30, 1863.

In addition, first the Confederate, and later the Union, army occupied and fortified Loudoun Heights, located to the northwest of the property and overlooking the town and armory at Harpers Ferry.

A military road that relates to the construction of these defenses is thought to have crossed the parcel and several regiments were ordered in October 1862 to establish temporary camps in Loudoun Valley to the east of Loudoun Heights.

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