Mosby's Confederacy:The area where Loudoun and Fauquier counties come together was the heart of what was called "Mosby's Confederacy" although the wider area of occupied Northern Virginia was his base of operations, from Alexandria to Harpers Ferry.
What to See:
Mosby Heritage Area Association Association sells excellent maps of "Mosby's Confederacy" with the sites of the major engagements and other historic points of interest marked. They also have two excellent driving tours on cassette tape, narrated by Mosby historian Horace Mweborn, one covering the history of the 43rd Battalion, and the other covering the Battle of Upperville. Both are available through their website.
Blue and Gray Magazine is running a three part series of special issues on Mosby, each containing a driving tour by leading Mosby author Horace Mewborn and editor David Roth. Back issues can be ordered through their website.
Part 1: The Spring 2000 issue focuses on operations in the Aldie / Middleburg / Upperville area in the heart of "Mosby's Confederacy" and on the Fairfax Courthouse raid and capture of General Stoughton.
Part 2: The Summer 2000 issue focuses on operations in the Shenandoah Valley and Loudoun Heights, the Great Wagon Raid, the B&O railway raids, and the daring escape at Miskell's Farm.
Part 3: Will be published next year and wiill focus on the raids along the Alexandria and Orange Railway, Warrenton (wartime and post-war locations, including "Brentmoor" and Col. Mosby's grave), Paris, Millwood and Marshall (Salem) where the command was disbanded on April 21, 1865.
Tours:
The Stuart Mosby Society organizes an annual Mosby bus tour in the autumn, as does the Fairfax Station Railway Museum. When the 2001 tour dates are announced, we will post the information here.
Web Sites:
Mosby Heritage Area from TravellingAmerica.com
Where to Stay:
Accommodations in the area around Upperville
List of local accommodation from Yahoo (extensive)
Another list of hotels / b&b's from the website of Foxcroft School, Middleburg
Accommodations with Mosby Connections:
Welbourne figures heavily in the history of Mosby's Command, and a recent book, The Dulanys of Welbourne: A Family in Mosby's Confederacy by Margaret Ann Vogtsberger focuses on this connection. Mosby Ranger John DeButts lived there after the War. There is attractive photograph of Welbourne on this website by a couple who took their pony trap on a carriage drive through the Middleburg area. The house is still owned by the family.
The River House in Boyce was originally called Ferry Farm (built 1780) was part of the Carter Hall estate, where Col. Mosby came to negotiate terms of his unit's disbandment.
The Red Fox Inn, Middleburg. Old coaching in built in 1728 and originally called Chinn's Ordinary. Renamed the Beverige House in 1812, it was the site of a meeting between General Stuart and Colonel Mosby. Expensive, but gorgeous!
Goodstone Inn, Middleburg. Built on the estate of the Leith family. Two of the brothers were in Mosby's Command and the third fought under JEB Stuart. The original house burned down in 1939 but the facade is still standing.
The Battletown Inn, in Berryville, convenient for visits to the Great Wagon Raid site, was built in 1809 by the Stribling family, (a descendant, Henry Stribling Ashby, was a Ranger) founders of Berryville, originally called Battletown. The pub is called the "Gray Ghost Tavern"
1763 Inn, Upperville: House was called Graystones during the War. According to the hotel's website, Federal troops tried to hide horses behind the house until driven off and the door bears scars of being kicked in by Yankee soldiers.
The Poor House Farm Bed & Breakfast The former Loudoun County Poor House in Round Hill, near Middleburg is now a B&B. This house, built in 1814, was where Mosby Ranger William "Major" Hibbs died in 1887. Hibbs was one of the oldest men in the command and had been a blacksmith but apparently ended his days penniless.
Milltown Farms Inn (B&B) is in a historic stone farmhouse near Waterford, in the heart of the pro-Yankee Quaker area of Loudoun County, where Mosby's nemesis, the Loudoun Rangers came from. (and from where William "Major" Hibbs, see above, managed to forage corn for the horses of Mosby's command....)
If you're looking for a place to stay in Salem (now called Marshall) -- where Mosby disbanded the command on April 21, 1865, Bed and Breakfast at Fox Gloves is your best bet. This bed and breakfast which apparently has stable facilities available by prior arrangement.
Other Individual Hotel Links:
The Lost Dog, Berryville Post -War but picturesque and friendly
The Middleburg Inn and Guest Suites
Accomodations in the outer areas of "Mosby's Confederacy"
List of local accommodations from Yahoo (extensive list)
Individual Hotel Links:
The Blackhorse Inn is an elegant bed and breakfast, named after the Black Horse Cavalry, (Co H, 4th Virginia Cav) several of whose members also rode with Mosby or had relatives who did. The in is a pre-War house originally called Rosemont, furnished with antiques and reproductions with a nice ambiance.
Accommodations are budget priced, compared to other historic house hotels in the area. Where else can you (1) stay in an antebellum house (2) ride a horse through 6000 acres of historic battlefield and (3) shmooze with a knowledgeable Civil War historian -- all in one visit and for less than $100 a night? Sunrise Hill is at 5513 Sudley Rd., Manassas, Va. (703) 754-8309. E-mail
If you're researching the skirmishes at Loudoun Heights or planning on crossing the river to commemorate the raid on Seneca, Maryland, the Buckskin Manor Bed & Breakfast is located in Purcellville, on Short Hill overlooking the Blue Ridge. The house was built in 1750.
Another option in this area is to stay in a log cabin! The Log House in Hillsboro, although built in modern times, has a nice period feel to it from the photographs on their website.
Further Afield, But Relevant to the 43rd Battalion
If you're going to Bristol, Virginia (perhaps to research Mosby's pre-War days as an attorney there??), the Glencarin Bed and Breakfast is in the ca. 1842 home of Ranger Joseph W. Owen, who was born in Washington County and might conceivably be the same person as Pvt. J.E. Owen who served in Co. E of the First Virginia Cavalry, was captured at Gettysburg and sent to Ft. Delaware. (Ranger Joseph Owen joined Mosby's command in October, 1863)
Note: hotels and B&B that are marked
Where to Eat:
There are lots of good restaurants in the area. In addition to the aforementioned Red Fox Inn and Laurel Brigade Inn, for the sake of its name alone, you might want to try out Mosby's Tavern, the less expensive / informal restaurant behind the Red Fox and under the same ownership. Don't look for "period" food however -- this is a beer and burgers sort of place. If you can't afford to stay the night in the Red Fox, the downstairs portion of the restaurant is the less expensive alternative to catch the ambiance of this historic inn where Mosby held his meetings with JEB Stuart.
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