Tag Archives: Civil War

Herndon, Virginia During the Civil War

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Living just across Route 28 from Washington Dulles International Airport, this location was centralized around some of the most intense fighting in the area (see Image 1).  To the south we had the Battle of Bull Run and the Route 50 corridor, a corridor hotly contested by John Mosby and his infantry of rangers.  Mosby also made his presence known to the north of my location at the Herndon Station Raid in an effort to push the Union forces back to Alexandria and gain control of the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (Prats).

With such commotion, I would imagine that my current location is quite different from what it was during the heat of the Civil War in 1864.  Based on the pictures from the Herndon Historical Society, downtown Herndon seemed to be flourishing with both people and buildings (Historical Pictures).  Although very close to my location, downtown Herndon is much different from my area even today, and I would expect the same in 1864.  What I would expect however, is a vast area built up mainly with sparse housing and pastures similar to the nearby Frying Pan Park.  On these pastures I would expect to see a mix of horse (see Horsepen Run in Image 2) and cattle as well as adequate hay and grass to tend to such livestock.

Although the majority of the area is relatively flat and good for farmland, there are a few hilly areas as well as streams and ponds which would not be suitable.  Just north and south of Frying Pan Road you can see a small area with 50 foot elevation changes (see Image 2).  Those areas are still wooded today and would have been managed as woodlots in order to generate firewood and provide fence posts to control the nearby livestock.  Also north and south of Frying Pan Road you can see a series of ponds and streams (see Image 2 and 3).  These areas would not have been farmed due to flooding, but they were more than likely used as watering holes for the livestock in the area.

Moving to the buildings and infrastructure in 1864, this area would have been immensely different.  For the roads, I would imagine that at least the biggest roads would have been around: Route 28 and Centreville Road.  Route 28 would have been there as an easy route for travelers moving up from Manassas, Centreville, and Fairfax.  Centreville Road would have been needed in order to get into downtown Herndon, so I feel this road would also have been necessary at that time.  As for the buildings in the area, I would expect to see various homes and stables, but I doubt there were any slave quarters in the area since livestock seemed to win out over the more labor-intensive cash crops.  The houses would have been typical 1800’s farm and homestead houses stationed at the edge of the farms or on hills.  The stables would have been stationed in the middle of the pastures away from any hills or streams and closer to the main source of food for the livestock.

If Mosby decided to ride into my neighborhood with 20 of his finest rangers looking to quickly attack a Union camp, he probably would have arrived from the south or southwest (This probably resembles what happened at the Herndon Station Raid).  Route 50 is definitely known to be “Mosby Country,” so coming from the south should be expected (Mosby Country).  When making a getaway, Mosby more than likely choose a southerly route for the same reason.  He seemed to have mostly dominating control over the Route 50 corridor, so I’m sure that he would have felt safe moving back to his “country.”

If Union reinforcements were to be sent to the scene of this skirmish, they probably would have arrived from the east on the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad and then traveled southwest from Herndon Station.  The Union had control over this railroad until Mosby truncated the railroad at Vienna, so I’m sure this railroad would have been used to haul cavalry much like the Manassas Gap Railroad (Mosteller).  The reinforcements would more than likely have come blazing from the north, bracing for a fight with Mosby.  They would only be in that situation if the location of the skirmish with Mosby was confirmed, so they would have no need to carefully scout the area before rushing to the battle zone to save their comrades.

Works Cited

“Historical Pictures.” Herndon Historical Society. Herndon Historical Society. Web. 21 Oct. 2011. <http://www.herndonhistoricalsociety.org/historicalpictures.html>.

“Mosby Country.” Civil War Traveler: Northern Virginia. Web. 21 Oct. 2011. <http://www.civilwar-va.com/EAST/VA/va-north/no-mosby.html>.

Mosteller, William. “A Short History of the Washington and Old Dominion.” Great Decals! Web. 21 Oct. 2011. <http://www.greatdecals.com/WNOD.htm>.

Prats, J. J. “Mosby’s Herndon Station Raid.” The Historical Marker Database. 10 Mar. 2006. Web. 21 Oct. 2011. <http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=151>.

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Mount Zion Historic Park

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On Monday, October 6th at 9am, my wife and I visited Mount Zion Historic Park just south of Leesburg.  The weather outside was damp, cold, and gloomy, furthering the already eerie feel of the location that we were visiting.  What made this location particularly eerie was the fact that it was a church, hospital, and burial ground for a great deal of people during the time of the American Civil War.

This location found its first action at the Battle of Aldie in 1863.  At that time, the church was being used as a hospital by Union members, caring for the wounded coming back from the battlefield.  Although this battle made use of the church, it wasn’t what made it historically significant, that event wouldn’t happen for another year.  That event took place on July 6th, 1864 when Colonel John S. Mosby engaged the 150 person 2nd Massachusetts cavalry just east of the church.  On that day, the Union cavalry was looking to take advantage of an excellent opportunity to take out Mosby and his Confederate followers, but in the end, it was only the Union cavalry that got taken out (Conway).  In the end, the Union cavalry lost over two-thirds of its original 150 person backing (Prats).  During the intensity of the battle, the church was again taken over as a hospital, more than likely by the Union since they had a plethora of wounded.  After the battle subsided, the Confederates buried 12 of the Union soldiers in a mass grave in the cemetery beside the church, showing just how brutal the battle must have been (Conway).

As a tourist attraction today, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority is responsible for overseeing the preservation of this historic location.  Although the representation of the events at the site are brutal on their own, I feel that they are a bit “prettified” from what they really were.  The site has discussion on the amount of people that died, and that is extremely realistic.  What the site is missing however, is the way in which they were buried.  According to Conway, the cemetery used to hold a mass grave of 12 Union soldiers, and there is no mention of this anywhere at the location (Conway).  Furthermore, according to information from the Mount Zion Church Preservation Association, there are 63 recorded African-American slaves and freed men buried at the location, something which goes completely unnoticed on any plaques at the location (Mount Zion History).
On the topic of place names in the area that are associated with the site visited, one big example can be seen in Route 50.  Starting in Chantilly, Route 50 is properly named John Mosby Highway, running continuously for nearly 50 miles all the way to Winchester (see Image 1).  A final example can be found in Fairfax with Mosby Woods Elementary School.  It seems that this elementary school was built on a historical location linked to the Civil War and John Mosby, but no specific event can be found associated to the location (Mosby Woods Elementary School).

The following is my marker for the location:

Mount Zion Church is located on the edge of Loudoun County, located at the highest point in over two miles at 400 ft (Mount Zion History).  Just two miles to the west of this location you can see the Bull Run Mountain Range, coming in at 800 ft, more than double the elevation of the land that this church sets on.  Being in Loudoun County, this location is part of the Potomac watershed, meaning that the water from this area will eventually flow down the Potomac River on its glorious path down the Great Falls to the Chesapeake Bay.  On a more local scale, there is a small watershed circling the church and nearby pond located on the Windy Hill Plant Farm property.  This means that all water falling in the general vicinity of the church will either end up in the nearby stream or pond.

This church area is a prime area for history, and not just history from the Civil War.  Just 10 miles north on nearby Route 15 we have an area of significant Native American history.  There we can see an Indian burial mound that is still visited and mourned over today.  It is thought that this area, as well as the Route 15 corridor as a whole, was a popular Tuscarora migration route to the north from North Carolina (Sheel).

Works Cited

Conway, Mike. “Mt. Zion Church Was Hospital During Civil War.” Leesburg, VA Patch – News, Sports, Events, Businesses & Deals. Patch, 5 Aug. 2011. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. <http://leesburg.patch.com/articles/mt-zion-church-was-hospital-during-civil-war>.

“Mosby Woods Elementary School.” Fairfax County Public Schools – School Profiles. Fairfax County Public Schools, 10 Aug. 2009. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <http://commweb.fcps.edu/schoolprofile/profile.cfm?profile_id=053>.

“Mount Zion History.” Mount Zion Church Preservation Association. Mount Zion Church Preservation. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. <http://www.mtzioncpa.org/>.

Prats, J. “Mt. Zion Church Marker.” The Historical Marker Database. 2 Dec. 2006. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. <http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=730>.

Scheel, Eugene. “Indian Mounds of Loudoun County, Virginia.” History of Loudoun County, Virginia. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://www.loudounhistory.org/history/indian-mounds-loudoun.htm>.

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