George's Schoolhouse Raid
Encyclopedia
The George's Schoolhouse Raid was a Confederate partisan raid led by local guerrilla John Mobberly
on the Union
garrison at Lovettsville
in Loudoun County
, Virginia
on January 17, 1865, during the American Civil War
. The raid was tactically inconclusive. After surprising the sleeping garrison, the Confederates were driven away by superior force, taking with them only a few horses and prisoners. The raid is notable for being the last partisan action in Loudoun County involving Elijah V. White
's 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry
.
. Colonel
Elijah V. White and his 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry were in winter quarters with the Confederate army in the Shenandoah Valley
, watching their rations dwindle. White, facing the desertion and starvation of his ranks, managed to obtain permission to take the 35th back home to Loudoun County so that he might try to obtain forage and resume partisan activities against the Federal army occupying the county. The Federals too were settling into winter quarters, though with far greater rations and prospects for the spring campaign season. Around Christmas 1864, Col. Thomas C. Devin's cavalry brigade from the Harpers Ferry garrison, who regularly patrolled Loudoun, made camp northwest of the Unionist village of Lovettsville in the vicinity of George's Schoolhouse, just east of the Short Hill Mountain
.
Upon returning to the county on January 3, 1865, White and his men witnessed the devastation in the Loudoun Valley
from Phil Sheridan's Burning Raid
and the toll from Federal incursions in the county. A little more than a week later, on January 12, members of the 35th were attending a party in Hillsborough, when they were surprised by the Unionist Loudoun Rangers
, leaving one dead and two captured. Colonel White became convinced not to spend the winter in the midst of the enemy without taking action. The Federals were wholly unable to disrupt communication between the partisan groups operating in the county, and White was able to bring together a raiding party of 80 or so men composed of members of the 35th, Mosby's Rangers
and John Mobberly's independent command.
valley from Hillsborough to Neersville
, where they crossed the Short Hill on a footpath known only to locals such as Mobberly. Upon reaching the eastern side of the mountain, the group sneaked up on the pickets of Devin's camp and captured them before they could sound an alarm. As they approached the reserve post on the Harpers Ferry-Lovettsville Road, they did not have such fortune, and the post could not be taken without gunfire. Believing their cover blown, although it had not, the party charged the Union camp, only to discover it had recently been reinforced with an additional 200 men, bringing the total to 400. Under the cover of dark and a blanket of fresh snow, the raiding party was able to surprise and capture 150 men and horses of the recently arrived reinforcements.
Union officer Captain Bell was able to assemble his undressed men and began to advance on the raiding party with pistols and carbines drawn. Unable to withstand an assault by some 250 Union troops and hold 150 prisoners and horses, the raiding party broke off the attack, abandoning all of their prisoners except 50 horses and a dozen men. They made a quick retreat back to Woodgrove and disbanded, with the Federals unable to give meaningful chase in their unprepared condition.
John mobberly
John W. Mobberly, also known as John Mobley or Morbly, was a Confederate guerrilla who operated in the Loudoun Valley and Between the Hills region of Loudoun County, Virginia during the American Civil War. He also served as regular soldier in Elijah V...
on the Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
garrison at Lovettsville
Lovettsville, Virginia
Lovettsville is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The population was 853 at the 2000 census. The 2005-2009 American Community Survey estimated the population at 1187.-History:Following the 1722 Treaty of St...
in Loudoun County
Loudoun County, Virginia
Loudoun County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county is estimated to be home to 312,311 people, an 84 percent increase over the 2000 figure of 169,599. That increase makes the county the fourth...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
on January 17, 1865, during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The raid was tactically inconclusive. After surprising the sleeping garrison, the Confederates were driven away by superior force, taking with them only a few horses and prisoners. The raid is notable for being the last partisan action in Loudoun County involving Elijah V. White
Elijah V. White
Elijah Viers "Lige" White was commander of the partisan 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry during the American Civil War. His men became commonly known as "White's Comanches" for their war cries and sudden raids on enemy targets.-Early life:Elijah White was born in the area of Poolesville, Maryland...
's 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry
35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry
The 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, also known as White's Battalion, White's Rebels and the Comanches, was a Confederate cavalry unit during the American Civil War raised by Elijah V. White in Loudoun County, Virginia in the winter of 1861-62...
.
Background
At the end of 1864, the beginning of a very cold winter was setting in over northern VirginiaNorthern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
. Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Elijah V. White and his 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry were in winter quarters with the Confederate army in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
, watching their rations dwindle. White, facing the desertion and starvation of his ranks, managed to obtain permission to take the 35th back home to Loudoun County so that he might try to obtain forage and resume partisan activities against the Federal army occupying the county. The Federals too were settling into winter quarters, though with far greater rations and prospects for the spring campaign season. Around Christmas 1864, Col. Thomas C. Devin's cavalry brigade from the Harpers Ferry garrison, who regularly patrolled Loudoun, made camp northwest of the Unionist village of Lovettsville in the vicinity of George's Schoolhouse, just east of the Short Hill Mountain
Short Hill Mountain
Short Hill Mountain is a mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northwest Loudoun County, Virginia.- Geography :Short Hill rises sharply from the Piedmont countryside of the Loudoun Valley, northwest of Purcellville, as a low-lying ridge barely over above the surrounding area...
.
Upon returning to the county on January 3, 1865, White and his men witnessed the devastation in the Loudoun Valley
Loudoun Valley
The Loudoun Valley is a small, but historically significant valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in Loudoun County in northwestern Virginia in the United States.-Geography:...
from Phil Sheridan's Burning Raid
The Burning Raid
The Burning Raid was a Union military raid conducted in the Loudoun Valley of Loudoun and Fauquier counties in Virginia in November and December 1864 during the American Civil War...
and the toll from Federal incursions in the county. A little more than a week later, on January 12, members of the 35th were attending a party in Hillsborough, when they were surprised by the Unionist Loudoun Rangers
Loudoun Rangers
The Loudoun Rangers, also known as Mean's Rangers for their commander, Samuel C. Means, was a partisan cavalry unit raised in Loudoun County, Virginia, that fought for the Union during the American Civil War...
, leaving one dead and two captured. Colonel White became convinced not to spend the winter in the midst of the enemy without taking action. The Federals were wholly unable to disrupt communication between the partisan groups operating in the county, and White was able to bring together a raiding party of 80 or so men composed of members of the 35th, Mosby's Rangers
43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry
The 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, also known as Mosby's Rangers, Mosby's Raiders or Mosby's Men, was a battalion of partisan cavalry in the Confederate army during the American Civil War...
and John Mobberly's independent command.
The Raid
On the night of January 17, the raiding party, led by Mobberly, made its way up the Between the HillsBetween the Hills
Between the Hills is a small valley in northwest Loudoun County, Virginia, distinct from, but associated with the greater Loudoun Valley.-Geography:...
valley from Hillsborough to Neersville
Neersville, Virginia
Neersville is an unincorporated community in northwestern Loudoun County, Virginia, USA. It is located in the Between the Hills area of the Loudoun Valley on Harpers Ferry Road at the foot of Short Hill Mountain...
, where they crossed the Short Hill on a footpath known only to locals such as Mobberly. Upon reaching the eastern side of the mountain, the group sneaked up on the pickets of Devin's camp and captured them before they could sound an alarm. As they approached the reserve post on the Harpers Ferry-Lovettsville Road, they did not have such fortune, and the post could not be taken without gunfire. Believing their cover blown, although it had not, the party charged the Union camp, only to discover it had recently been reinforced with an additional 200 men, bringing the total to 400. Under the cover of dark and a blanket of fresh snow, the raiding party was able to surprise and capture 150 men and horses of the recently arrived reinforcements.
Union officer Captain Bell was able to assemble his undressed men and began to advance on the raiding party with pistols and carbines drawn. Unable to withstand an assault by some 250 Union troops and hold 150 prisoners and horses, the raiding party broke off the attack, abandoning all of their prisoners except 50 horses and a dozen men. They made a quick retreat back to Woodgrove and disbanded, with the Federals unable to give meaningful chase in their unprepared condition.