Tiny Unison Lays Claim To Civil War

Historic Designation Sought for Battle Site

By Jonathan Mummolo (Contact)

Sunday, October 14, 2007

With a population of 50 or so, it's easy to overlook the western Loudoun hamlet of Unison. And because of when it occurred, it's easier still, perhaps, to overlook the Civil War battle that took place there, National Park Service historian David Lowe said.

"You have the huge Battle of Antietam on one side, and you have the huge Battle of Fredericksburg on the other side," said Lowe, who has been mapping and documenting the 1862 event for the past year. "But a lot of people never ask the question, ‘How did they get from Antietam to Fredericksburg?' They had to go through the Loudoun Valley to get there."

Much of Lowe's work, which is a month from completion, will be unveiled at Unison Heritage Day on Oct. 27, a festival sponsored by the Unison Preservation Society that also will feature a barbecue feast, bluegrass music and Civil War reenactors.

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Battle of Unison

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A farm now occupies one of the places where the Battle of Unison took place. Virginia has made the Civil War battlefield eligible to be added to the National Register of Historic Places. (Jahi Chikwendiu)

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This photo shows a hole said to be blasted in a farmhouse door during the Battle of Unison. (Jahi Chikwendiu)

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A Quaker cemetery where both Union and Confederate soldiers were buried after the Battle of Unison. (Jahi Chikwendiu)

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A soldier's scribbles mark the wall of the church-turned-military hospital where men were treated during the Battle of Unison. (Jahi Chikwendiu)

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Chimneys are the only things standing from a pre-Civil War home that burned down during the Battle of Unison. (Jahi Chikwendiu)

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Farmland now occupies the places where the Battle of Unison was fought during the Civil War. (Jahi Chikwendiu)

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Horses stand on farmland which now occupies one of the places where the Battle of Unison was fought. (Jahi Chikwendiu)

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Lowe's study is sponsored by the society and the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection program. Once the study is finished, it could provide local preservationists with powerful evidence in their quest to have the 4,000-acre battleground listed in the National Register of Historic Places, a designation the village itself received four years ago as part of its ongoing effort to keep away developers.

Although such a listing does not expressly prohibit development, it provides a strong symbolic deterrence when projects are being considered by local officials, as well as eligibility for federal tax credits to aid in preservation efforts, said Paul Hodge, president of the society and a former Washington Post editor.

The national register process — which requires the site to be approved by the state and then the National Park Service — could take about a year once an application is submitted to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, a department spokesperson said.

Unison residents say it's worth the effort.

"You have to prove that there's historical significance and . . . you have to prove that there's something worth preserving," said society member Mitch Diamond. "Unison is a unique place, probably, in Virginia and maybe in the U.S. in many ways. . . . We're trying to protect it."

Lowe has been traversing and digitally mapping the approximately eight-mile-long site of the battle with a Global Positioning System device and comparing what he finds to war-era maps, written accounts and oral histories.

Remarkably, not much has changed.

"Unison has been a joy to work with because the historic landscape is just beautifully intact," said Lowe, adding that roads, stone walls and many structures are still where they stood during the three-day battle. "You can actually stand there and read the account, and it all falls into place."

The battle started in Philomont, continued through the heart of Unison and ended in Upperville. It occurred when Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, on the direct order of President Abraham Lincoln, pursued Gen. Robert E. Lee's forces after the bloody Battle of Antietam.

However, McClellan's notorious sluggishness, combined with the intercession of Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's troops — who fought the Union at all three Loudoun locales — allowed Lee's army to escape the Shenandoah Valley, probably delaying the end of the war.

"Stuart contested every foot of ground along those roads to slow down the advance of the federal army and to give time for General Lee to get his army back to safety," Lowe said of the battle, after which an irate Lincoln relieved McClellan of command. "It was classic delaying action."

Lowe said his work has been aided greatly by local residents, many of whom often know Civil War stories about their homes and property that can be verified in the historical record. He said he expects that similar assistance will come at the Oct. 27 festival.

"I want to meet with the local people and talk about my work and solicit comments and stories and anecdotes," he said. "This is often where I come up with real gems."

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