Join us for the Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Brandy Station!

Eric, thanks for this timely post.. The itinerary of this truly special 150th Anniversary Tour of the Battle of Brandy Station is just now being set in concrete and I do want to let you know how much I look forward to working with you, Craig Swain, Michael Block, and several others as we prepare to convey high honor to those horse soldiers, Blue and Gray, who fought and died at Brandy Station, June 9, 1863.

But while paying proper tribute to you and others for arranging your schedules to help conduct this tour, I’d like to let your readers know that this upcoming Sesquicentennial event is the brainchild of the inestimable Cecil Jones, Loudoun County (VA) Civil War Roundtable.

Cecil’s esteemed roundtable, as you know, is one of the oldest and most distinguished in this country, and I was pleased to speak to them in the early 90’s on the explosively contentious preservation effort then underway at Brandy Station–which the Civil War Trust ultimately won, by the way, with the help of many of your readers..

You will recall that the “Civil War Cavalry Sage” himself, the peerless John Divine (now resting honorably beneath an SCV marker in Leesburg’s cemetery), once held sway over the Leesburg Civil War Round Table, and John invited me to speak, “way back then.” Later, Jim Morgan my fellow Marine and Balls Bluff champion, asked me to again talk to the roundtable in the late 90’s, and of course I accepted.

Well when President Cecil Jones called with a suggestion of inserting a tour on June 8 in order to augment my previously scheduled talk of June 11, I joined with him in concluding it was a fine idea, and now here we are! Frankly, anything Cecil asks me to do, I will endeavor to accomplish as Cecil, John Divine and Jim Morgan were the greatest of friends with my wife Deborah Fitts, and Deb would of course want me to now honor Cecil’s every wish. (And I do what she wants me to do.)

This tour will cover several broad topics, to include the strategic role of Brandy Station as the inaugural action of the Gettysburg Campaign; and from ground level, we will undertake a tactical analysis of this huge battlefield. Plus, the attendees will closely observe sections of the battlefield none have ever seen (guaranteed). Plus, I will discuss the long preservation struggle that resulted in a largely-saved cavalry battlefield, and will then detail preservation challenges and acquisition opportunities that we currently face.

As you know, the Civil War Trust is actively and deeply engaged right now in trying to buy southern Fleetwood Hill, but it is a fact that the price tag is steep, and all of us who care about Brandy Station have an obligation to do all we can to “make Fleetwood happen.” And even though we will not charge an “admission fee” (the battlefield belongs to those who helped preserve it), we will strongly encourage donations to the Civil War Trust’s, “Fleetwood Account.” It is a fact that we want every attendee to have “skin in the game” when it comes to Brandy Station’s long-term preservation.

More details to come as they are worked out by President Jones and his roundtable’s board..

See you on June 8 at Brandy Station!