The American Civil War - Chronologically

Dec. 20, 1861 Battle of Dranesville Fairfax County, VA Union Brig. Gen. Edward O.C. Ord w/ a brigade of Pennsylvania Reserves vs. Confederate Gen. JEB Stuart w/ a mixed brigade of infantry, 150 cavalry troopers, and a four-gun Georgia Battery * "First Federal Victory South of the Potomac" * Some say this is the first time anywhere (in the Eastern Theatre) that the Union succeeds in driving off Confederates. The sign says, it is the "Federals['] first tactical success against Confederates in Virginia," which I will allow because I read it as implicitly acknowledging Federal successes in West[ern] Virginia, before this small but morale-raising victory.    * Definitely the Last Battle of the First Year of the War- 1861 https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=115854 " In the fall of 1861, Fairfax County found itself between two large armies. Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and his army occupied the Centreville area. The Federal army, still regrouping after the devast...

Dec. 13, 1861 Battle of Camp Allegheny; or the Battle of Alleghany Mountain (Colonial English spelling) Pocahontas County, WV (Monongahela National Forest)  Milroy vs. Johnson * Highest Civil War battlefield in the East [Confirmed!] " Early in the war, Confederate military planners were forced to assume a strategic defensive strategy in areas where they could not bring superior numbers of forces to bear against their Union foe. They found it critical to control or at least monitor all possible avenues of approach by Union forces into the Confederate interior. These included the overland routes through the Appalachian Mountains of western Virginia. I n December 1861, a Confederate force under Col. Edward Johnson was assigned to occupy the summit of Allegheny Mountain near the town of Bartow to defend the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike , which connected the upper Shenandoah River valley with the Ohio River. Union victories that summer at Rich Mountain and Corrick's Ford had sol...

Dec. 4, 1861 Bog Wallow Ambush  Fairfax County, VA McClellan > Col. George W. Taylor (3rd NJ Volunteer Infantry of 1st NJ Brigade)  vs. Capt. J. Fred Waring (GA Hussars) * Takes places in the aftermath of Balls Bluff, when major offensive actions were supposed to be paused for the winter break * But there was a shoot-out November 6th, and this is the Union's plan for revenge * "This was a small unit action of no strategic importance and resulted in only light casualties. However, it is representative of many such actions in northern VA during the early part of the American Civil War." Ah yes - unattributed commentary.  * Relative Union victory with casualties on both sides. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=72404 "On 4 December 1861, fifty-five men of the 3rd New Jersey Infantry, Col. George W. Taylor commanding, set an ambush nearby in retaliation for attacks on Union pickets. They stretched two telegraph wires across Braddock Road at the eastern end of a “perfect bog...

November 18, 1861 The Hatteras Convention attempts Reunification  Hatteras, North Carolina * "America's 1st Attempt at Civil War Reunification" https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=207709 America's 1st Attempt at Civil War Reunification Orchestrated by Union Colonel Rush C. Hawkins, the Hatteras Convention was held nearby on November 18, 1861. The state's secession was declared null and void, Hatteras was proclaimed the capitol and Marble Nash Taylor became provisional governor. Taylor called for a special Congressional election held November 28 but, Charles Henry Foster's unanimous election by the four island precincts was ignored by the 37th United States Congress. Abraham Lincoln's May 28, 1862 selection of Edward Stanley as military governor effectively ended all claims to local government.

Nov. 14, 1861 Staging Ground and Expedition on Maryland's Eastern Shore  Snow Hill, MD in Worcester County * This one is personal: when I snapped this pic I half-expected balloons and streamers to burst forth. This was the very last thing that happened in 1861 in the whole Eastern Theatre that I have visited. In other words, nothing happened in the Eastern Theatre in 1861 that I haven't been to the site of. 1861 Completion Achieved! * It's not the last thing that happened in 1861. That would be in West Virginia , or Dranesville . It is just the last marker from 1861 that I got to. I tried to do them in order, but come on!    * I don't normally do this (it's not that kind of blog), but wow the chicken salad at that  Golden Clover Café was amazing! Get it.  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=206338 Worcester County Courthouse Staging Ground "I met one boy with a flint-lock rifle and a Confederate uniform. He acknowledged to have been in Confederate service, but that l...

Nov. 5, 1861 Shootout at Oak Hill Mansion Annandale, VA * Like Ravnesworth, this was a home of the Fitzhughs, and the only one still standing. It is the oldest one too, built in 1779 * Pretty much just a private home with zero signage, so it was tricky but rewarding to track down in the middle of suburban NOVA * The two sides here have a rematch at the Bog Wallow Ambush, a month later The view from the street, with a small warning to keep out The best I could get until they open it for tours. "On the night of November 5, 1861, a shootout occurred between three Union scouts and four Confederate cavalrymen at Oak Hill. It was seven months after the start of the Civil War and four months after the Confederate victory in the First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas. Confederate forces occupied Fairfax Courthouse (today's City of Fairfax) and Union Army camps were within 10 miles near Alexandria. Located between the lines of the two armies, Oak Hill was in an area where they tested each o...

Oct. 26, 1861 Wire Bridge Engagement  (Outside) Romney, West[ern] Virginia Gen. Benjamin F. Kelley  and Col. Thomas Johns, 2nd Regiment Potomac Home Brigade vs Maj. Gen. Jackson (114th and 77th VA Militia)  * Why, yes- this is the same Gen. Kelley that later gets kidnapped from Cumberland https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=81399 Wire Bridge Engagement Federal Attack on Romney On October 24, 1861, Union Gen. Winfield Scott ordered Gen. Benjamin F. Kelley to strengthen his position at New Creek Station (present-day Keyser) on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and then march to Romney and occupy the town. Situated on the North Western Turnpike and the largest town in the South Branch Valley, Romney had strategic importance. Kelley planned a two-pronged attack for October 26. He led the main force from the west on the turnpike, while Col. Thomas Johns, 2nd Regiment Potomac Home Brigade, attacked from the north. Johns was to push across the Wire Bridge here , march south, and strike ...