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LOUDOUN COUNTY CIVIL WAR SESQUICENTENNIAL |
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2012 PROGRAMS & EVENTS |
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Tracy Gillespie |
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February 12, 2:00 PM. “The Potomac Frontier: The Mosby Heritage Area, 1862” presentation by Rich Gillespie, Director of Education, Mosby Heritage Area Association. Sponsored by the Lovettsville Historical Society. St. James United Church of Christ, Lovettsville. FREE February 18, 7:30 PM “Cavaliers, Courage & Coffee”. Members of the Gray Ghost Interpretive Group of the Mosby Heritage Area Association will present “first person” stories of life in Mosby’s Confederacy during the Civil War from civilian and soldier viewpoints. This program will focus on Goose Creek, now Lincoln, which as a Quaker settlement, had a particularly interesting time dealing with the phenomenon of guerilla warfare in Loudoun county. Goose Creek Friends Meeting House, Lincoln. $5.00 adults, $2.00 children. For information, call (540) 687-6681. February 26, 2:00 PM. 300 Miles to Freedom: A Documentary by Richard L. Breyer and Anand Kamalaker. On June 4, 1844, John W. Jones and four fellow fugitive slaves escaped bondage in Leesburg, Virginia and headed north to freedom. 300 Miles to Freedom chronicles his journey on the Underground Railroad and his remarkable life as a free man in Elmira, New York. The filmmakers traveled Jones’ route to freedom, and tell his story through the voices they meet along the way — historians, ferryboat captains, ministers, farmers and gas station owners. Sponsored by Balch Library, 208 West Market Street, Leesburg. FREE. Reservations strongly recommended. Call 703-737-7195. March 3, 11:00-4:00. "A Loathsome Departure:" 17th Mississippi Living History & Commemoration March 3, Loudoun County’s “Rallying Point” opening day. Begin your exploration of Civil War sites by visiting Loudoun County’s Rallying Point … Morven Park. There you will hear stories about the War’s effects on Loudoun County; get answers to your questions about where to visit, explore, and stay; watch a video presentation; and tour the former Confederate encampment that was based just yards away from the mansion then known as “Swann’s Castle.” Open daily. Morven Park Mansion, 17263 Southern Planter Lane, Leesburg. www.morvenpark.org March 7, 3:00 PM Conversations in History Lecture Series: “Rain, Sleet, Disease, and Gloom: D.H. Hill and the Confederate Retreat from Leesburg.” Doug Batson gives a first person impression of D.H. Hill on the 150th anniversary of the dispirited, muddy, 12-day retreat down the Old Carolina Road. Mt. Zion Historic Park, 40309 John Mosby Highway, Aldie. $5.00 per person. Co-sponsored by the Mosby Heritage Area Association and Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. 540-687-6681 or 703-327-9777. March 10, 10:00 AM -12:00 PM. A Walking Tour: Civil War Leesburg, led by historian Rich Gillespie. With its key geographic location just two miles from the Potomac Frontier dividing the Confederate and United States, Leesburg was bound to see a good deal of the Civil War. This tour examines the surviving Civil War townscape and chronologically watches the war develop and engulf the county seat of Loudoun. The emphasis will be on what the 1,500 residents of town would have seen at various places, and what they would have experienced during 1861-65. Sponsored by Balch Library, 208 West Market Street, Leesburg. FREE. Reservations strongly recommended. Call 703-737-7195. March 25, 3:00 PM Conversations in History Lecture Series “The Potomac Frontier: The Mosby Heritage Area, 1862” presentation by Rich Gillespie, Director of Education, Mosby Heritage Area Association. Mt. Zion Historic Park, 40309 John Mosby Highway, Aldie. $5.00 per person. Co-sponsored by the Mosby Heritage Area Association and Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. 540-687-6681 or 703-327-9777. April 1- June 30, Exhibit: “American Civil War Moments through a Day in the Life of a Soldier: Camp Life and Battles” prepared by Gary Mester. Lower Level Meeting Room, Balch Library, 208 West Market Street, Leesburg. Call 703-737-7195. April 14, 12:00-5:00 PM Mosby: Scout along the Turnpike. Mt. Zion Church, 40309 John Mosby Highway, Aldie VA 20105. Members of the Gray Ghost Interpretive Group will interpret guerilla warfare between Mosby’s Rangers and federal forces at three Rt. 50 Mosby sites--Mt. Zion Church, Aldie Mill and the Caleb Rector House. Free admission; donations gladly accepted. Co-sponsored by the Mosby Heritage Area Association & the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. 540-687-6681; www.mosbyheritagearea.org. May 10, 7:00 PM Conversations in History Lecture Series: “Lead Like a General: Lessons for Today’s Leaders from the Civil War”, a lecture by author and Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority Executive Director Paul Gilbert. Mt. Zion Historic Park, 40309 John Mosby Highway, Aldie. $5.00 per person. Co-sponsored by the Mosby Heritage Area Association and Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. 540-687-6681 or 703-327-9777. May 12, 7:30 PM Cavaliers, Courage & Coffee—Mount Bleak, Sky Meadows State Park near Paris, VA. This rendition of the popular program will focus on the experience of the Crooked Run Valley near Paris, Upperville, and Delaplane during the Civil War. Mount Bleak served as a Mosby “safe house” and will be the focus of the program of “first person” sketches by costumed interpreters by lantern light. This program is done in cooperation with Sky Meadows State Park. Admission charge. (540) 687-6681. June 2-3, 12:00 – 5:00 PM The 17th Mississippi Regiment in Aldie, a living history presentation of Confederate troops demonstrating military drilling and camp life, and reminiscing about their time in the village of Aldie early in the war. FREE. Aldie Mill, 39401 John Mosby Highway, Aldie. 703-327-9777, www.nvrpa.org. June 16, 12:00-5:00 PM Rendezvous at Rector’s Crossroads. The Gray Ghost Interpretive Group presents living history vignettes at “Ground Zero” of Mosby’s guerilla operation, Rector’s Crossroads (today’s Atoka). Includes tours of the Caleb Rector House, the village, the cavalry battle at Rector’s Crossroads of June 21, 1863, and a walking tour to historic Goose Creek Bridge battle site. (540) 687-6681 June 16-17, times to be announced. Civil War Encampment & Living History Program: “General Winfield Scott Hancock & the 2nd Army Corps in Headquarters at Mt. Zion Church, 1863’ Sponsored by the Winfield Scott Hancock Society and Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. Mt. Zion Historic Park, 40309 John Mosby Highway, Aldie. 703-327-9777, www.nvrpa.org. June 23-24, 9:00 - 5:00, Civil War Encampment & Living History Program Union Hospital at Mt. Zion Church. Re-enactors portray Union troops in the days following the cavalry engagements in Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville in June of 1863. Wounded Union and Confederate soldiers were taken to Mt. Zion Church following the bloody fighting just west of the church site – fighting that turned out to be the prelude to the famous battle at Gettysburg just days later. Mt. Zion Historic Park, 40309 John Mosby Highway, Aldie. 703-327-9777, www.nvrpa.org. June 23, “Reunion of Descendants of the Independent Loudoun Virginia Rangers.” Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the Rangers’ formation in late June of 1862 in Lovettsville and Waterford, this event will honor the only organized military command from present-day Virginia to fight with the United States Army during the Civil War. Organizers of the event are seeking to locate as many descendants as possible. The last major reunion of the Rangers themselves was held in 1912 at Taylorstown, with 14 survivors present. New research shows that there were almost 300 men who enlisted in the Loudoun Rangers, mostly from the Lovettsville and Waterford areas, but also from Frederick and Washington counties in Maryland, and Jefferson County in what is now West Virginia. Descendants and others interested in helping to organize this event should email RangerReunion@gmail.com or call Ed Spannaus at 540-822-9194. July 1 – August 31, Exhibit: “Local and Regional Civil War Era Artifacts” prepared by John Creamer. Margaret Mercer Room, Balch Library, 208 West Market Street, Leesburg. Call 703-737-7195. July 28, 12:00-5:00 p.m. --Rendezvous at Rector’s Crossroads. The Gray Ghost Interpretive Group will present living history vignettes at “Ground Zero” of Mosby’s guerilla operation, Rector’s Crossroads (today’s Atoka). Includes tours of the Caleb Rector House, the village, the cavalry battle at Rector’s Crossroads of June 21, 1863, and a walking tour to historic Goose Creek Bridge battle site. (540) 687-6681 August 25, 11:00 AM & 1:00 PM “Civil War on the Home Front Tours” at Oatlands, 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg. FEE CHARGED. Sponsored by Oatlands. 703-777-3174, www.oatlands.org. August 26, 1:00 PM “Civil War on the Home Front Tours” at Oatlands, 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg. FEE CHARGED. Sponsored by Oatlands. 703-777-3174, www.oatlands.org. September 1, “The Road to Sharpsburg: A Commemoration of the Army of Northern Virginia’s Crossing of the Potomac, On the Way to the Battle of Sharpsburg, Maryland.” Join reenactors as they recreate the crossing of the Potomac in September of 1862 on their way to Sharpsburg/Antietam. Living history demonstrations and historical commentary throughout the day. White’s Ford Regional Park, near Lucketts, VA. Sponsored by Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. www.nvrpa.org. September 15, 11:00 AM & 1:00 PM “Civil War on the Home Front Tours” at Oatlands, 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg. FEE CHARGED. Sponsored by Oatlands. 703-777-3174, www.oatlands.org. September 16, 1:00 PM “Civil War on the Home Front Tours” at Oatlands, 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg. FEE CHARGED. Sponsored by Oatlands. 703-777-3174, www.oatlands.org. September 27, 7:00 PM Conversations in History Lecture Series: “Two Counties, Two Different Experiences: Virginia Tackles Civil Rights, 1961-65” by historian Jim Hershman. Mt. Zion Historic Park, 40309 John Mosby Highway, Aldie. $5.00 per person. Co-sponsored by the Mosby Heritage Area Association and Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. 540-687-6681 or 703-327-9777. October 5-7, 10:00AM-5:00 PM Waterford Fair, featuring Sesquicentennial Exhibit focused on events of 1862, Civil War encampments, return of the Independent Loudoun Virginia Rangers, and the skirmish at the Waterford Baptist Church. Sponsored by the Waterford Foundation, www.waterfordfoundation.org Saturday October 13, 12:00-5:00 Mosby: Scout along the Turnpike. Mt. Zion Church, 40309 John Mosby Highway, Aldie VA 20105. Members of the Gray Ghost Interpretive Group interpret guerilla warfare between Mosby’s Rangers and federal forces at three Rt. 50 Mosby sites--Mt. Zion Church, Aldie Mill and the Caleb Rector House. Free admission; donations gladly accepted. Co-sponsored by the Mosby Heritage Area Association & Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. 540-687-6681 www.mosbyheritagearea.org. October 20-21, 12:00 – 5:00 PM. The 17th Mississippi Regiment in Aldie, a living history presentation of Confederate troops demonstrating military drilling and camp life, and reminiscing about their time in the village of Aldie early in the war. FREE. Aldie Mill, 39401 John Mosby Highway, Aldie. 703-327-9777. www.nvrpa.org. November 18, 3:00 PM Conversations in History Lecture Series: “ Does Anybody Really Know What Time it is? The Civil War as the Impetus to Standard Time,” a lecture by historian Art Candenquist. December 9, 4:00 – 7:00 PM, A Civil War Christmas. Celebrate Christmas with Civil War soldiers in camp, decorate their tree and join in other holiday festivities of the19th century. Free admission; donations accepted. Mt. Zion Church 40309 John Mosby Highway, Aldie VA 20105. 703-327-9777, www.nvrpa.org. December 1- 31, Exhibit: “Civil War Memorabilia” prepared by John Wyrick. Margaret Mercer Room, Balch Library, 208 West Market Street, Leesburg. Call 703-737-7195.
The Loudoun County Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Committee was established by the Loudoun Board of Supervisors on December 2, 2008 to coordinate the commemoration of the American Civil War in Loudoun County and to participate in the Commonwealth of Virginia’s state-wide efforts to remember all who lived, fought and died during this defining time in our American history, resulting in an inclusive, positive legacy and long-term benefit for residents of and visitors to Loudoun County.
Visit www.civilwar.visitloudoun.org for a listing of future programs and events.
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