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Falls Church, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Living in Fear

Mosby's Falls Church Raid

 
 
Living in Fear Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Patricia Haman, March 23, 2013
1. Living in Fear Marker
Inscription. Confederate Col. John Singleton Mosby's Partisan Rangers (43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry) conducted raids on Falls Church through the summer and fall of 1864. On the night of October 17, a detachment of Mosby's command rode through the village down the Middle Turnpike (Broad Street) near where you are standing.

Mosby's men killed Frank Brooks, an African American member of the highly unusual interracial Falls Church Home Guard, after he sounded the alarm. The horsemen then stopped at the home of John Read (300 W. Broad Street), the abolitionist lay minister of Columbia Baptist Church, and captured Read and African American Jacob Jackson. Read had warned his wife, Charlotte Read, telling her "Wife, I think they are coming, We can hear horses' hooves, but I do not know who they are." The two men were taken near the vicinity of Hunter's Mill near Vienna. Read was killed; Jackson survived a gunshot wound but lost an ear. The next day Mosby sent a note to Charlotte Read assuring the safety of their daughter and sister-in-law as they went to recover Read's body. Mosby's men claimed that Read was a Union spy. Charlotte Read believed her husband was targeted for other reasons. In 1871, she wrote the "rebels around there had a great antipathy to him, [because he served in the Union Home Guard] and because he taught Sabbath school to
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the colored people, and befriended them. Many of them came in there hungry, and in a destitute condition, and we used to do what we could for them."
 
Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansChurches & ReligionWar, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical date for this entry is October 17, 1863.
 
Location. 38° 53.2′ N, 77° 10.62′ W. Marker is in Falls Church, Virginia. Marker is on West Broad Street (Virginia Route 7), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 44 West Broad Street, Falls Church VA 22046, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Hangman's Tree (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Virginia Training School (approx. 0.2 miles away); Cherry Hill (approx. 0.2 miles away); Falls Church Home Front (approx. 0.2 miles away); George Mason (approx. ¼ mile away); Mt. Hope (approx. ¼ mile away); Iraq War Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); Falls Church Area Veterans Honor Roll (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Falls Church.
 
Living in Fear Marker with modern buildings in background image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Patricia Haman, March 23, 2013
2. Living in Fear Marker with modern buildings in background
looking west across Broad Street from marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Patricia Haman, March 23, 2013
3. looking west across Broad Street from marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on March 24, 2013, by Kevin Vincent of Arlington, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,474 times since then and 47 times this year. Last updated on October 21, 2013, by Kevin Vincent of Arlington, Virginia. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on March 24, 2013, by Kevin Vincent of Arlington, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024