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The Civil War Sesquicentennial:
Where Virginia Takes Center Stage
 April 12, 2011As we begin a four year commemoration of the Civil War Sesquicentennial , we honor the veterans of the war between the states.
Yes, the opening salvo was heard at Fort Sumter on April 12th, 1861 but the war became a reality when the opposing armies met for the first time in Manassas on July 12th of 1861. From Henry House Hill in Manassas, Virginia, the fortifications along Neabsco Creek, to Bacon Race and crossing the Occoquan, the Battle of Bull Run - The First Manassas, and the second Bull Run, Bristoe Station to Hopewell Gap in the furthest corner of the county...these are just a few local historical sites which come to mind when thinking of Virginia and the Civil War Sesquicentennial.
In Prince William County, we are literally walking in the footsteps of history.
"History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are."
Although our family history can be traced to a signer of the Mayflower Compact and the original thirteen states on one side of the Atlantic and well into the early 15th century on the other side of the Atlantic, it is now irrevocably tied to Prince William County in more ways than one.
It goes without saying that we extremely proud of our diverse family heritage and roots, but it is equally stupendous to be surrounded by so much history, some of it directly tied to our family - right here in Woodbridge, in Prince William County and in the northern neck of Virginia.
I often wonder if there is a reason why we ultimately settled here... rather than anywhere else in the Washington DC area. With a little more research, we're bound to discover the one small fact which will wrap it all together with a neat bow.
Study your personal history and it is amazing how everything is tied together, as if to reinforce the fact that it is indeed a "small world" and that we all belong to one large family.
Historian and author David McCullough has a wonderful outlook on history. It comes shining through in the documentary "American Experience", a PBS show hosted by McCullough.
The photo above shows one of several letter written to a family member from a relative in camp near Petersburg, Virginia.
On the occasion of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, I find it appropriate to bring out these precious letters and share them.
Written to James N., the letter begins this way...
Headquarters, 4th Brigade, 1st Division, 2nd Corps
Camp near Petersburg, VA, August the 4th 1864
Dear James,
I again have the leisure of writing to you a few lines in answer to your most kind and welcome letter which came to hand last evening...
I hardly know what to write. We had a small fight a day or two ago but it didn't amount to very much. We captured quite a number of prisoners and four pieces of artillery and the ninth corps also had a fight one or two ago ...
Aldous Huxley could not have been more concise when he exclaimed that "The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different."
In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.
From research to date, our Civil War veterans who fought as close in as Manassas and as far as Chicaumauga include:
Francis, who volunteered in 1861 at age 61, Cavalry, and was wounded at Chicaumauga.
Robert, age 35, who was drafted in 1863 when his father Francis returned home.
Robert, age 20, who volunteered in 1861, joined the 53rd Regiment and saw service in the defense of Washington and Alexandria till March, 1862. He later participated in...
Troop movements in the Manassas, Virginia area, March 10-15, '62.
The Peninsular Campaign; Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Fair Oaks, May-June, '62
Seven Days Battles; Battle of Savage's Station, June 27, '62
Battle of Antietam September 16-17, '62.
Loudoun Valley and to Falmouth, Virginia., October 29-November 17, '62.
Manassas area November 5-6.
Fredericksburg Campaign; November - December, '62.
Battle of Fredericksburg; Dec 12-15, '62
Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6, '63.
Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5, '63.
Gettysburg Campaign June 13-July 24, '63.
Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, '63.
Advance from the Rappahannock to the Rapidan September 13-17.
Bristoe Campaign October 9-22.
Auburn and Bristoe October 14.
Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7-8, '63.
Rapidan February 6-7, '64.
Rapidan Campaign May 4-June 12.
Battles of the Wilderness May 5-7, '64;
Spotsylvania Court House May 8-21, '64;
Cold Harbor June 1-12, '64. Before Petersburg June 16-18.
Siege of Petersburg June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865.
Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9.
Appomattox Court House, April 9.
Surrender of Lee and his army.
March to Washington, D. C., May 2-12.
Grand Review May 23.
Mustered out June 30, 1865.
Hugh, Infantry - Army of the Potomac, who advanced on Manassas on March 10-15, and whose service in the Union Army, for some time, closely followed that of Robert. Hugh was later ordered to the Peninsula around March 28.
Although most of the Regiment was captured April 20, those who were not captured served as garrison at Roanoke Island till June, 1865 and mustered out at New Berne June 25, 1865.
It goes without saying that we are totally into the subject of history, historical preservation and living history reenactments.
Quite by accident, our very own re-enactor recently became part of a History Channel television episode when Larry the Cable Guy enlists with a Civil War living history group.
Civil War Sesquicentennial Resources
War Timeline
The Potomac Blockade: Operations of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron
Battle of Cedar Creek
Prince William County Civil War Sesquicentennial Events
Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial
Civil War Sesquicentennial Marketplace
Civil War Sesquicentennial Traveler - Tours and Podcasts
Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Network on Facebook
Civil War Sesquicentennial: Virginia Leading The Way
Historic Preservation
Civil War Battlefields Then and Now - Living The Civil War
53rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Reenactment Group
Civil War Era Brass Bands
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