One-hundred and fifty-nine years ago today, the Civil War began at dawn, April 12, 1861, when the South Carolina militia bombarded Union soldiers with a "shot heard 'round the world" at Fort Sumter, S.C.
With Alexandria located between the nation's capital and Richmond (soon to become the capital of the Confederate States of America), a four-year long occupation by the Union Army soon began in Alexandria.
Not unlike the current status due to the statewide "stay at home" order, Alexandria saw a pretty sudden change across the City. "The many pleasing promenades and places of familiar resort in the neighborhood are deserted, and the streets on which principally are residences of the citizens present a most desolate appearance," a local newspaper reported.
And the battles of the Civil War would soon pop up all over Northern Virginia.
Local author William S. Connery (in photo), who makes his home in Franconia, is an expert on the Civil War battles that took place in our own backyard. He tells the stories of the people, incidents and battles in his books "Civil War Northern Virginia 1861" and "Mosby's Raids in Civil War Northern Virginia," published by History Press.
We recently talked to Connery about his interest in history and writing:
Q: Where were you born and where did you grow up? In Baltimore, Maryland. I lived there with my family until we moved to Glen Burnie when I was 13.
Q: When did you first become interested in the Civil War? From an early age, I knew I shared my birthday with Robert E. Lee. I have no Civil War ancestors, but my family would go on weekend trips to Harpers Ferry, Antietam and of course Gettysburg.
Q: Have you written on other subjects? Yes. I worked about 15 years at The World & I magazine. I was one of the Current Issues editors. But I also wrote articles for the Culture section on Baltimore, DC, Montana and Ethiopia. In 2000 I could visit Ethiopia on a Press Trip for eight days and 2001, 2002 and 2003 I went on Press Trips to Montana.
Q: Who is your favorite "character" from the Civil War and why? From my youth it has to be Robert E. Lee. More recently it is Colonel John Mosby, whose exploits as the Gray Ghost are still studied in Military Colleges,
Q: Have you had a career/jobs in other fields and if so what? From 1971 until 1987, I did full-time missionary work for the Unification Church. That included three years (1975-78) I spent as an underground missionary in Uganda - when Idi Amin was dictator!
Q: How do you research your books? For my History Press books, I researched primary sources, books, articles, and visiting the actual sites.
Some of the interesting incidents of the Civil War he explores:
- The first aerial reconnaissance of the war took place in Falls Church.
- The only time a sitting member of Congress was killed in battle took place near Leesburg.
- Cavalry Commander John Mosby captured a Union colonel in Rose Hill.
The rich history of the war runs deep in Alexandria:
- Gen. Robert E. Lee, grew up in Alexandria at 607 Oronoco St., where he lived from 1812, at the age of 5, until he headed off to study at the U.S. Military Academy, also known as West Point. After turning down an offer from President Lincoln to command the Union Army, Lee later accepted an offer to lead the Confederate Army.
- At King and S. Pitt streets in Old Town Alexandria, the Marshall House hotel (torn down in the 1950s) stood where The Alexandrian is now located. On May 24, 1861, the day after Virginia's ordinance of secession was ratified in a referendum, a 24-year-old Union officer, Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth (who was a close friend of President Lincoln) had come to Alexandria to set up occupation of the City. After seeing a large Confederate flag (8 feet x 14 feet) flying at the hotel, Ellsworth and several others went inside and he removed it from the flagpole. Innkeeper James W. Jackson shot him dead at point-blank range with a shotgun. A fellow Union officer then shot and bayoneted Jackson, who also died. Ellsworth was the first Union officer to die in the Civil War.
- Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site, located at 4301 W. Braddock Road in Alexandria was a Union Army installation built to defend Washington, D.C.
- Ivy Hill Cemetery, 2823 King St., is the burial ground for many familiar names from the war, including Confederate spy Frank Stringfellow; Burton Harrison, secretary to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and Harrison's wife, Constance Cary, who made the first Confederate battle flag.
- Mount Vernon, 3200 Mount Vernon Hwy., remained neutral territory during the war; any soldiers visiting the estate were asked to leave weapons behind and not dress in uniform.
- The Lyceum, 201 S. Washington St., and other large buildings were commandeered and used as hospitals and for other uses during the war.
When the war ended in the spring of 1865, Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.
You can order Connery's books online at History Press: "Mosby's Raids in Civil War in Northern Virginia" and "Civil War Northern Virginia 1861." The books are also available on Amazon and in bookstores.
