About this item
Join William C. Connery as he recounts the notable events and battles that occurred in Northern Virginia in 1861 after the firing on Fort Sumter. Beginning in May 1861, both the Confederate and Union armies assembled in Northern Virginia as politicians were deciding how and where the Civil War would be fought. Several months passed as both armies maneuvered and attempted to complete reconnaissance on the other. During this early time, the first officers on both sides were killed; Mount Vernon was declared neutral territory; the Confederate battle flag was adopted; and the first real battles of the war took place in Northern Virginia.
About the Author
I am originally from Baltimore Maryland and give Historical Tours of the Inner Harbor and Downtown. I grew up on East Pratt Street, about 1/2 block from the Patterson Park Pagoda. This is also the site of Hampstead Hill, where 10,000 American Patriots waited for the British Army, while the British Navy attacked Fort McHenry in September 1814. I share my birthday with Edgar Allan Poe, who is buried in Baltimore. It is also Robert E. Lee's birthday. He lived in Baltimore from 1850 to 1852 and as an Army Engineer, he designed and started building Fort Carroll, which is in Baltimore Harbor near the Key Bridge. I have been writing articles since 1999. Until 2003, I wrote a dozen cultural articles for The World & I magazine, including five on Baltimore and two each on trips I took to Montana and Ethiopia. Since 2002 I have written articles for The Washington Times Civil War page and The Civil War Courier. 'Civil War Northern Virginia 1861' is my first book. I am also the author of 'Mosby's Raids in Civil War Northern Virginia.' I am also available for Mosby Tours in Northern Virginia. I start near Alexandria and head out to the City of Fairfax (Fairfax Court House during the Civil War) . This is where Mosby captured the Union General in March 1863. Then I travel to Warrenton, to visit the house where Mosby lived after the War and where the Gray Ghost and his wife Pauline are buried.
