From Paradise to Peril
Leesburg was a prosperous southern town of about 2,000 at the outbreak of the Civil War, strategically located on the border between the Union and the Confederacy. By war's end, its people had endured bombardment, 
the passage of Union and Confederate armies, federal occupation, disintegration of civil authority, frequent raids and multiple combats in its streets.
The selected chronology gives some idea of the danger and uncertainty of life in Leesburg during the Civil War.
- Secession Vote (May 23, 1861) Leesburg men support the Virginia Secession Ordinance by 400 to 22.
- Citizens Enlist (April-May, 1861) The Loudoun Artillery, Leesburg Cavalry (Co. A, 6th Va.), Loudoun Guard (Co. C, 17th Va. Infantry) and Potomac Greys (Co. H, 8th Va. Infantry) muster into CSA service.
- Battle of Ball's Bluff (October 21, 1861) Many local men of the 8th Va. are casualties. Wounded of both sides are placed in homes and public buildings. Union prisoners are held on the courthouse lawn. Cavalry corporal Elijah V. White, a local farmer, engineers capture of 350 Union soldiers. Today, visitors can see one of the country's smallest National Cemeteries, learn about this pivotal battle, and hike trails at the battlefield in northeast Leesburg.
- Confederate Forts (Winter, 1861-1862) General D.H. Hill overseas the completion of Forts Evans, Beauregard and Johnston on the heights surrounding Leesburg. Richmond Howitzers and Mississippi troops build winter camps.
- Confederate Evacuation (March 4, 1862) Supplies, mills, bridges and other items helpful to the Union are burned as Confederate forces fall back on Richmond.
- Union Occupation (March, 1862) Union troops under Col. John Geary seize Leesburg. Geary orders impressment of citizens into the Union Army. Many southerners take the oath of allegiance to avoid impressment.
- Mile Hill Fight (September 2, 1862) Col. Thomas Munford and the 2nd Va. Cavalry surprise and route a mixed Federal force composed of Cole's Maryland Cavalry and the Loudoun Rangers.
- Army of Northern Virginia (September 4-6, 1862) General Robert E. Lee leads his army through Leesburg on the way to Antietam. General Lee holds a conference with Generals Jackson, Longstreet and Stuart at his headquarters in the Harrison Home on North King Street.
- The Shelling (September 14, 1862) Union Col. Judson Kilpatrick bombards Leesburg after encountering Captain Elijah V. White's Commanches (35th Battalion Va. Cavalry). Subsequently the Federals charge into Leesburg. After a sharp fight in which White is badly wounded, both sides retreat.
- Army of the Potomac (Post-Antietam, Fall, 1862; Pre-Gettysburg, June, 1863; Post-Gettsyburg, July, 1863) Three times the Union Army of the Potomac crossed Loudoun County, each time sending forces through Leesburg. Between June 17 and 28, 1863, over 100,000 troops crossed the Potomac at Edwards Ferry east of Leesburg. On June 19, 3 Union soldiers were executed for desertion in town.
- Early's Army (June 13-16, 1864) After his raid on Washington, General Jubal Early's Confederate Army crossed back into Virginia at White's Ford. Union General H.C. Wright's VI Corps caught up with them at Leesburg, shelling the rebel rear guard while cavalry patrols clashed.
- Mosby's Rangers (January 1863 - April, 1865) During the last two years of the war Federal cavalry made frequent raids on Leesburg in search of Colonel John Mosby's Partisan rangers, often with deadly results. On one occasion in 1864, the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry hoped to surprise confederates at a wedding in town. Arriving at night, the Federals were ambushed instead, losing two killed and several wounded.
Leesburg is a member of the Virginia Civil War Trails program. More information on the Civil War in Loudoun County can be found at The Loudoun Museum at the corner of Loudoun and Wirt streets S.W. in downtown Leesburg.
