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On May 31, 1861, Union Commander James Harmon Ward of the Potomac Flotilla arrived ready for action. A two to three hour fight, beginning about 10 AM, commenced. The USS Thomas Freeborn (USS Anacostia and USS Resolute lacking rifled-guns were held back) bombarded the Confederate shore battery. The Union vessels withdrew when their long-range ammunition…

Exchanges of fire continued through June 1st.  Three union ships, the USS Thomas Freeborn, USS Anacostia, and the USS Resolute were fired on by the Confederate shore batteries.  The USS Reliance was also present but stayed out of range because it lacked rifled guns.  The powerful Union ship, the USS Pawnee, also arrived mounting her…

While the Confederate forces were reinforcing Aquia Landing in Stafford, the U.S. Navy, in April of 1861, had sortied the USS Pawnee to control the Potomac opposite Alexandria.  The Pawnee, under Commander S.C. Rowan, was a 15 gun ship.  Added to the Pawnee were the steamers USS Anacostia and USS Pocahontas. John A. Dahlgren by…

Headquarters Virginia Forces, Richmond, Va., May 4, 1861. General Daniel Ruggles, Fredericksburg, Va.: General: Under the authority of the governor of Virginia, by his proclamation of the 3d instant, you are hereby authorized to call out and muster into the service of the State, volunteer companies from Fredericksburg, the counties of Stafford, Spottsylvania, and Caroline,…

The entire Virginia Defense Lines in Northern Virginia (including the Mount Vernon to Harpers Ferry sector) were commanded by Brigadier-General Philip St. George Cocke, as evidenced by his letter to Major-General Robert E. Lee related to the Aquia Defenses: Alexandria, Va., April 26, 1861 General Lee, Commander-in-Chief: The two 8-inch Columbiads have arrived, and, there…

Fredericksburg, Va., April 24, 1861 Brigadier-General Ruggles: By your orders I proceeded to Aquia Creek, and examined the place, with the view of fortifying it, for the purposes indicated in your verbal directions of this date, viz: To secure the railroad iron, the timber, two vessels, and a small steamer at that point from the…

During April-June 1861, when Virginia was conducting independent operations, defenses were planned for the mouth of Aquia Creek as part of the Potomac and Rappahannock Lines for interdicting or harassing Federal ships in the Potomac. Initial planning for Aquia Landing defenses was done by Virginia engineer Thomas Hoomes Williamson of the VMI faculty. Artillery batteries…

Benjamin Franklin Stringfellow, a native of adjoining Culpeper County and prewar Mississippi school teacher, was slight of build (approximately 94 pounds). He served throughout the war as one of J.E.B. Stuart’s “scouts” or military spies. He worked in cooperation with Colonel John S. Mosby in northern Virginia. A “master” or “mistress“ “of disguise,” by war’s…

Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart coordinated military spies or “scouts.” His pocket map specifically listed several Stafford places known or suspected to be spy-centers: “Stafford Springs,” ” Traveller’s Rest,” “Hollywood Farm,”  “Snowden,” etc.

The Confederate Signal Corps and Secret Service Cipher Wheel used by Secret Service operatives to encode and decode secret messages.  Phrases such as “Complete Victory” or “Come Retribution” were used as code keys to align encoded or decoded letters.

Several Confederate Stafford “Safe-Houses” and “Spy Centers” were known to exist. They included Stafford Springs in northwest Stafford, now within Marine Corps Base Quantico. The springs had been a small resort earlier in the 1800s. As described by historian Jerrilynn Eby MacGregor: During the Civil War, the business of the farm changed from entertainment for…

Confederate States Signal Corps and Secret Service operatives occupied camps near key Potomac crossing points and rowed across in sleek, fast row-boats with amazing speed by taking advantage of light and shadows on the river. Those captured by waterborne Federal patrols were usually able to dump secret information or material and/or illicit supplies. As a…