"The Mystery Gun at Upperville" Topic

"…n unsolved mystery from the June 21 fight at Upperville concerns Stuart's artillery; specifically, did Stuart retain any cannon to support his cavalry on the eastern outskirts of the town? The contemporary evidence that he did not employ any of his horse artillery at Vineyard Hill, while not overwhelming, seems conclusive. Concerning the retreat from Goose Creek Bridge, Lewis Nunnelee, a member of Capt. Marcellus Moorman's Battery, explained, "The enemy was pressing us so hard we could not take another position and had to fall back in disorder. Passed through Upperville and soon reached the village of Paris at Ashby's Gap…" Brig. Gen. David Gregg concurred, stating, "At Upperville the enemy had massed his cavalry, his artillery having been placed in position at Ashby's Gap."[1]

But then, in describing the fighting along the eastern edge of Upperville, Gregg spoke of "an abandoned gun found in the street." Gregg had more reason than others to recall the presence of artillery during the fight east of town, as his horse had been disemboweled by a solid shot or a piece of shrapnel during the fighting around Vineyard Hill. Several men, including Henry Meyer, 2nd New York and assigned to Gregg's staff at the time, witnessed the incident. Another of the general's aides recalled how "the enemy's shells whizzed through our ranks, one of them killing General Gregg's horse under him, and others doing worse damage." Correspondent Edward Paul believed the general's horse had been hit "by a round shot…"

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Armand

That blog is very interesting.

The author of the blog is also the author of the only full book on the June 1863 cavalry battles in the Loudoun Valley. It is Small But Important Riots by Robert F. O'Neill. The final fight, Upperville, was quite large. It had at least as many cavalry engaged at the same moment as Brandy Station did at one moment.

I have read lots of Eastern theater ACW cavalry books and t by is is my favorite.

Tom

Glad you enjoyed it…

Armand

What my good friend Tom (Garryowen) didn't say was that the author, Bob O'Neill, gave us a personal guided tour last September of these battlefields in Loudoun Valley.

He was most gracious in driving 2 hours from his home to meet us and then take us on an all day guided tour along the route of these battles.

If you are an ACW cavalry enthusiast, or want a better insight to these critical cavalry battles that were a major part of the Gettysburg campaign, then you should definitely get Mr. O'Neill's book.

Kim

If you are interested in those actions it would probably be a good idea to visit the area now. Eastern Loudoun County is being overrun with data centers, and its a good bet the western part of the county is going to be more intensive development over the next few years.

Thanks

Armand