A View of Civil War History in Fairfax County

Virginia played a leading role in the Civil War. Therefore the state brims  with bloody battlefields from Manassas, first and second to Cold Harbor and Peterburg. No surprise that the Commonwealth of Virginia has more Civil War sites than any other state. Several minor sites are here in Fairfax County.

Dr. Elizabeth Crowell, manager of cultural resources, management and protection division of the Fairfax County Park Authority recently talked about some of those battles and skirmishes in the county and Northern Virginia area at a meeting of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees in Annandale. The meeting also discussed the Civil War Sesquicentennial since 2011 marks the start of the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War and Emancipation.

Crowell said the Sesquicentennial in Virginia is to commemorate the Civil War "as a whole", not to celebrate the war, looking at life and  culture and not only the military aspects.” Cromwell is also the co-chair of the Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee for Fairfax County and president of the Council of Virginia Archaeology.

 Throughout the early years of the war from 1861-1862, there were 40,000 troops throughout Northern Virginia.

Cromwell spoke about several battles within the county including the battle of First Manassas/Bull Run on July 21, 1861. A Confederate victory, Cromwell said many people came to watch the battle, arriving in their horse-drawn carriages from Washington, D.C. This year, July 21, 2011, the Commission and the National Park Service will commemorate this battle at the Manassas National Battlefield Park. The main battles in our area were the Battle of Ox Hill/Chantilly on Sept. 1, 1862 and the Battle of Dranesville.

Several events are being planned to commemorate these battles, with re-enactors contributing their talents and making connections to the present. For example, a blood drive will include a Clara Barton re-enactor. Barton organized medical care for Union soldiers during the Civil War. After the war  she  founded the American Red Cross.

 Fairfax County has published a brochure:  "Conflict and Courage in Fairfax County, Sites and Stories of the Civil War," with information, photos and a map with an overview of Fairfax County’s connection to the Civil War. Captain John Q. Marr,  the first Confederate officer to die in combat, was killed in a skirmish near the Courthouse June 1, 1861. A monument was erected in Marr's honor  on the grounds of the Old Fairfax Courthouse in 1904.

Last month an exhibition opened in Richmond at the Virginia Historical Society, "An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia." Starting in 2012, this exhibition will tour in Virginia. Details about the exhibition can be found on the Virginia Civil War website. Back in 2006, the Virginia General Assembly created the Civil War Sesquicentennial with the goal of developing programs to "understand our past, and embrace our future.” Conferences were held in 2009 and 2010 and this year's annual conference, titled "Military Strategy in the American Civil War," is scheduled for May 21, 2011 at Virginia Tech.

For more information about Fairfax County's connection to the Civil War, click here.