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Civil War

General Information


A few facts of life during the Civil War based on the everyday persons and children, from June Fikac

Confederate draft laws exempted men who twenty or more slaves from being drafted into the army. It was a law that was resented by "Jonny Reb." the common soldier, who owned even one slave. However, the majority of soldiers were not fighting for slavery. They were fighting for their way of life and their "country." They felt the North and west had too much influence in the Federal government. In addition they felt the government in Washington was becoming too powerful and interfering with the rights of the states.
 
Barrel shirt?

A barrel shirt was a wooden barrel that had the bottom removed and holes cut into the sides. When a soldier was found guilty of an infraction, he would be required to put this barrel shirt on while in camp so the other soldiers would know he was being punched. It was a great reminder to the other soldiers not to violate the rules.
 
What role did kids from Texas and throughout the South play in the Civil War?

Towards the end of the war young boys from not only Texas but through the South played a very sad role in the war. In the final months of the war, the South needed troops desperately. In the beginning men up to thirty-five were accepted in the army, but as the years dragged on the age limit for volunteering became wider until almost anyone would be taken as a soldier. At Petersburg after Lee's troops pulled out, young boys in their early teens were found dead next to men in their sixties.

Young children helped in making of uniforms and other items that were needed to keep the army running. They also played the role of just being children who fathers thought of them before going into battle. They proved to be an inspiration to men who were doing their best to stay alive and come home to them.

Perhaps, the biggest and most significant change the children had to del with was growing up without a father. Over 620,000 men died during the war, many of whom were husbands and fathers. When word reached home that they had been killed the child had to learn to go on without the guidance and love of their father.

Also, many cities in the South had been almost destroyed from the war and even those living in the country faced hard times because the war had ruined many of the fields in which they grew the food they ate. The children in the North did not have it quite as bad because much of the war was fought in the South and west. There were even reports of children being killed at play in the fields, where unexploded shells would go off as they played.
 
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is offering Medals of Honor for Military Service to United States veterans who are direct descendants of Confederate veterans. The different crosses have different military requirements - service for WWI, WWII, Merchant Marine and State National Guard for specified dates and designations. There is also a Military Certificate of Appreciation for peacetime service. Today's medals are the outgrowth of the original Southern Cross of Honor which was awarded by the UDC to Confederate Veterans beginning in 1900. For more information write to: PO BOX 1803 Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 or Call 858-756-7910

 The following was submitted by June Fikac

Andrew J. Jones

MAJ Co. I  11th VA Vol.
Buried at Mt Holly Cemetery
1831 - 1908

Hilaary P. Jones
COL., unit not stated
Buried at Leeds Cemetery
1833 - 1913

Strother S. Jones
Bugler, Black Horse Cav.
Buried at Warrenton Cemetery
April 05, 1831 - October 12, 1916

Thomas T. Jones
CO. A  9th VA Cav.
Buried at Morrisville Methodist Cemetery

Hugh T. Kemper
Warrenton Rifles
Buried at Warrenton Cemetery
December 15, 1832 - August 28, 1873

George N. Kemper
Warrenton Rifles
Buried at Warrenton Cemetery
December 14, 1830 - June 14, 1890

R.C. Lewis
Co. B. Mosby's
Buried at Ivy Hill Cemetery

William H. Lewis
Black Horse Cav.
Buried at Church of Our Savior
August 18, 1838 - August 19, 1903

William S. Hunton
Black Horse Cav.
Buried at Alton Cemetery
March o1, 1840 - October 07, 1896

Henry S. Hunton
Black Horse Cav.
Buried at Alton Cemetery
July 02, 1846 - February 15, 1881

Joseph G. Hunton
Black Horse Cav.
Buried at J. Hunton Cemetery
July 25, 1826 - January 23, 1906

Fauquier County has 12 sites on the Virginia Civil War Trails, a statewide system of five trails with more than 250 sites were significant or interesting action occured during the war. Fauquier's sites are part of the Northern Virginia trail. "Cross-roads of conflict." Brochures/are available at the Warrenton Fauquier County Visitor Center. Each site on the trail has an interpretive marker which describes what happened there. "Trailblazer" signs lead the way to the markers. Fauquier's signs provide a fascinating mix of information about actual battles, human interest stories, local history and the escapades of Col. John S. Mosby, the "gray ghost" of the Confederacy. The signs are illustrated with old photographs, maps and engravings from period publications. Although several historically-significant incidents here such as the first transport of troops into battle by train at Pidemont Station (now Delaplane) and Gen George McClellan's notification at Recotrtown that he's been relieved of command by President Lincoln, it is oftenthe lesser-known anectodes which capture the imagination of visitors. These include:

Pickets of opposing armies sometimes swapped Yankee coffee for Rebel Tobacco

Dr Thomas Settle, whose family lived at Mount Bleak Farm near Paris (now Sky Meadows State Park), was the physician who felt for John Brown's pulse and pronounced him dead before he was cut from the gallows.

The conductor of a train which was carrying Confederate troops from Piedmont Station to Manassas was tried and executed on the spot when the soldiers suspected him of deliberately causing repeated delays.

In a memo to Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, Col. John S. Mosby reported that his men had stolen more than 100 horses and mules and six wagons and captured 75 yanks, all without losing a man.

In a "death raffle" held by Col Mosby in Rectortown, a Union drummer boy drew a fatal slip. A young officer who convinced Col Mosby to allow a second drawing drew the death lot. Gen Robert E. Lee narrowly escapted capture in Salem (now Marshall).

A "Jessie scout" (spy) was caught and hanged in The Plains. The named derives from Jessie Fremont, wif of Union Gen John Fremont, who suggested that Federal spies avoid, detection by dressing in Confederate Uniforms.

The owner of the mill at Thoroughfare Gap was so distressed by the ruin of his building by troops from both sides that he ended the war in a lunatic asylum.

Warrenton changed hands 67 times during the war.

Civil War Units:
Brooke's Artillery
Fauquier Artillery (Stribling's)
Co. A, 38th Battn. VA Lt. Art., Fauqier Artillery.
Co. H, 4th VA Cav., Black Horse Troop
Co. H, 6th VA Cav., Wise Dragoons
Co. A, 7th VA Cav., Mountain Rangers
Co. C, 35th VA Cav. Battn., Capt. R. B. Grubb's Co.
Co. B, 8th VA Inf., Piedmont Rifles
Co. K, 8th VA Inf., Capt. Robert T. Scott's Co.
Co. I, 11th VA Inf., Rough and Ready Rifles
Co. K, 17th VA Inf., Warrenton Rifles
Co. C, 49th VA Inf., Fauquier Guards
Co. G1, 49th VA Inf., Markahm Guards
Capt. D. C. Shank's Co., VA LDT.


Links To Other Sites
Black Horse Troop saves

Skirmish at Fairfax Court House, June 1, 1861

Stonewall's life

Virginia Military Institute Alumni

Mosby's Confederacy Tours

Blackhorse Calvary

Cyndi's List Civil War Resources

Civil War Archive

Making of America Civil War

George Washington Papers

Books On The Subject
The Year of Anguish Fauquier County, Virginia 1861-1865 by Emily G. Ramey and John K. Gott Co-Chairman Copyright 1965 All rights reserved.

Northern Virginia's Own
William M. Glasgow Jr. , Globill Press, P O Box 571, Alexandria, Virginia 22313. pp. 465 Price unknown.

The Brooke, Fauquier, Loudoun and Alexandria Artillery,
Author Michael J. Andrus, (Lynchburg, Va: H.E.Howard, Inc.).

The Memorial Wall To Name the Fallen-Warrenton, Virginia - Warrenton, Virginia Cemetery
Black Horse Chapter No 9 United Daughters of the Confederacy, May 1998.

Military Records, Certificates of Service, Discharge, Heirs, & Pension Declarations from The Fauquier County Virginia Minute Books 1784-1840
Compiled by Joan W. Peters. Printed by Willow Bend Books and Family Line Publications 65 East Main Street, Westminster, Maryland 21157-5036 - 1-800-876-6103. Copyright 1999.

Military Records, Certificates of Service, Discharge, Heirs, & Pension Declarations from The Fauquier County Virginia Minute Books 1840-1904
Compiled by Joan W. Peters. Printed by Willow Bend Books and Family Line Publications 65 East Main Street, Westminster, Maryland 21157-5036 - 1-800-876-6103. Copyright 1999.

Black Horse Cavalry Defend Our Beloved Country
by Lewis Marshall Helm. Published by Higher Education Publication, 6400 Arlington Road, Suite 648, Falls Church, VA 22042. PHONE: 703-532-2300, Copyright 2004 All rights reserved. Book available at: Fauquier Historical Society Old Jail Museum, P.O. Box 675, Warrenton, VA 20188 PHONE: 540-347-5525 price $45.00 plus shipping.

Ranger Mosby
Author Virgil Carrington Jones, (McLean, Virginia: EPM Publications, Inc.1972.). For Sale at the Fauquier County Historical Society.

Last Updated: April 2020