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(April 2004) Aldie Mill: The
Storehouse |
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(April 2004) Mt. Zion Church
Established in 1851 and intended as a place of worship, Mount Zion
Church, in its tranquil setting in Loudoun County, belies a turbulent
history. It served as a barracks, battleground and burial place during the
Civil War. As Confederate Partisan Ranger Colonel John Singleton Mosbys
fame grew in this area, the federal government resolved to destroy his
base of support. As Federal patrols scoured the countryside, Mount Zion
Church served as a stopover for the Union troops. In 1864, one of these
stopovers became the scene of one of Mosbys most famous fights. On July
4, 1864, Union troops under the command of William H. Forbes of the Second
Massachusetts Cavalry, along with the 13th New York Calvary, took 150 men
on a three-day mission through "Mosbys Confederacy," as the area was
known. On July 6, Union troops halted near Mount Zion to fix dinner. Mosby
was advancing down the turnpike when he encountered Forbes' pickets and a
battle ensued, resulting in at least 105 Union soldiers killed, wounded,
or captured. Mosby lost one man. A row of blank fieldstone markers
identifies some of the
Federals' resting places. After the war, regular services resumed at the
church and continued until 1980. Since then the churchs trustees have
agreed to turn it over to Loudoun County as a historic site honoring the
many events which took place here as part of Loudoun Countys rich Civil
War history |
