The Civil War in Fairfax County, Virginia

1. Home of Dr. William P. Gunnell and "Gray Ghost's Coup" of 1863

This two-story brick home in Fairfax was constructed in 1835 and is best known as the location of one of the most interesting captures of an officer in the Civil War. The home belonged to Dr. William Presley Gunnell but was being occupied by Union Brigadier General Edwin Stoughton and his men. While they slept on the night of March 8th-9th, 1863, later-Colonel John Singleton Mosby, known as the Gray Ghost of the Confederacy, led a contingent of twenty-nine soldiers silently through a gap in the Union lines and moved undetected into Fairfax. There they captured many Union officers, including General Stoughton, who woke to the site of Mosby next to his bed. Dr. Gunnell moved to Waco, Texas, after the war, and, in 1882, his Fairfax home was purchased by Zion Episcopal Church - now Truro Anglican Church - for use as a rectory. It remains an office building for the church today. The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as part of the City of Fairfax Historic District.

2. Merrybrook, Laura Ratcliffe, and Mosby's Rock

Merrybrook is a historic home in Herndon, Fairfax County, Virginia. Formerly known as Brooskide, it was built in 1820 and is particularly significant for being the last surviving home of Laura Ratcliffe, a Confederate spy during the American Civil War. Ratcliffe was notable for her connection to Confederate raiders Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and Col. John S. Mosby. She is buried nearby. Merrybrook was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. Also located in the vicinity is Mosby's Rock, an information drop site and meeting place shown to Mosby by Laura Ratcliffe.

3. Burke's Station

Burke's Station, built along the Orange and Alexandria Railroad around 1857, was the center of the town of Burke for decades as well as an important location during the Civil War. Several skirmishes occurred in and around Burke and the railroad, the most famous of which was Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart’s Christmas Raid of 1862. Burke's Station was where Stuart sent his famous telegram to the Union Quartermaster General complaining about the quality of the mules he had captured. The railroad was moved north in the early 1900s and the old station was rotated ninety degrees. Today, it is home to a Nationwide Insurance office. The current station, built in 1972, is located in Pohick Park and is serviced by Amtrak and the Virginia Railway Express.

4. Stuart-Mosby Civil War Cavalry Museum

The Stuart-Mosby Civil War Cavalry Museum, located in the historic district of Centreville, Virginia, is a local museum dedicated to Confederate raiders General James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart and Colonel John Singleton Mosby. During the Civil War, Mosby’s Rangers turned most of northern Virginia into what is known as “Mosby’s Confederacy.” Stuart and Mosby were legendary figures in the Confederacy during the Civil War. Their stories illuminate not only the history of the Confederate cause, but also the sophisticated tactics the rebel army used during the war. The Stuart-Mosby Civil War Cavalry Museum features artifacts and educational exhibits that tell the stories of these two men as well as the role of Virginia in the Civil War. Admission to the museum is free.

5. Battle of Chantilly (Ox Hill Battlefield Park)

The Battle of Chantilly, also know as the Battle of Ox Hill, took place on September 1, 1862, in Fairfax County, Virginia. During this period of the Civil War, Union forces were retreating from their defeat at Second Bull Run. Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson planned to cut off the fleeing federal troops. On September 1st, a few of Jackson's divisions clashed with the exhausted Union men. The brutal conflict was fought in severe thunderstorms; two commanding generals of the Union divisions, Isaac Stevens and Philip Kearny, were killed in the skirmish. The federal army ultimately retreated to Washington under the order of Major General Pope. This move led directly to General Robert E. Lee's Maryland Campaign. The Battle of Chantilly, which occurred here, was the only major Civil War engagement in the county.

6. Battle of Dranesville Historical Marker

The Battle of Dranesville was a winter skirmish between Union and Confederate forces early in the American Civil War. With their main forces camped out for the winter, Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart and Union General Edward Ord were in charge of large forage patrols that clashed near the town of Dranesville on December 20th, 1861. While relatively unimportant and small-scale compared to later battles, it was claimed by the Union as its first victory south of the Potomac.

7. Upton's Hill

Upton’s Hill is a 410-foot-high landform on the border between Fairfax and Alexandria Counties, Virginia. It was named after Charles H. Upton, who lived there and was elected to Congress after Virginia’s secession in May 1861, where he held office until his election was declared illegitimate. Upton’s Hill was an important strategic location during the Civil War. While it was occupied by the Confederates at the beginning of the war, it was soon taken by Union troops, who constructed a series of fortifications, and held by them for the duration of the conflict. It is widely reported that the Battle Hymn of the Republic was inspired by events that occurred on Upton’s Hill. A century after the war, Upton’s Hill was home to an American Nazi Party “stormtrooper barracks,” earning it the nickname “Hatemonger Hill”; the ANP founder, George Lincoln Rockwell, was assassinated across the street from the barracks. Today, the hill is home to Upton Hill Regional Park.

8. Blackburn's Ford Historical Marker

Blackburn’s Ford, which crosses Bull Run, was an important site during the First Battle of Bull Run. The Battle of Blackburn’s Ford might better be understood as a skirmish that occurred on July 18th, 1861, and was a prelude to the much larger battle that is often considered the start of the Civil War. Forces under Union General Daniel Tyler and Confederate General James Longstreet faced off across the creek, and the battle resulted in 83 Union and 68 Confederate casualties. Remains of six of the Union soldiers killed in the conflict were discovered in the mid-1990s and reburied in the Massachusetts National Cemetery. The ford was also used by both Union and Confederate troops during the First Battle of Bull Run.

9. Fairfax County Historic Courthouse and Jail

The Fairfax County Historic Courthouse is one of the oldest buildings in Fairfax. Since it was constructed in 1799 to serve as the government seat of Fairfax County, this courthouse has been the focal point of public affairs. It was central in events ranging from local civil disputes and legal matters to the Civil War, changing hands several times between Union and Confederate troops. Much like other courthouses in early America, the Fairfax Courthouse was necessary for the economic, social, and political growth of the town and county. What makes this courthouse exceptionally historically important, however, was the role it played during the Civil War. The Fairfax County Historic Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is now home to the Fairfax County Circuit Court Historic Records Center; in addition, on one Friday each month, the Circuit Court uses the Historic Courthouse to conduct civil motions. The jail, located behind the courthouse, was built in 1885 and added to the National Register in 1981.

10. Civil War Interpretive Center and Historic Blenheim

Blenheim, a two-story brick home, was built around 1859 and owned by the Willcoxon family. As Fairfax (then Fairfax Court House) was located just outside of Washington DC, it was strategically important throughout the Civil War; while it was aligned with the Confederate cause at the outset of the war, the city changed hands between Confederates and Union troops until 1863, after which it remained under federal control. During the war, Blenheim was abandoned by the Willcoxons and occupied by Union troops. Today, visitors to Blenheim can find over 120 inscriptions etched by Union soldiers - including names, dates, units, poems, art, games, and other drawings - on the walls of the first and second floor. The home provides some of the best examples of Civil War inscriptions and diaries on walls, offering insight into the lives of soldiers and the effects of the war.

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The Civil War in Fairfax County, Virginia

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