Mosby’s Herndon Station Raid

“My loss watching nothing.”

— Mosby's Confederacy —

Mosby's Herndon Station Raid Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, March 10, 2006

1. Mosby's Herndon Station Raid Marker

Inscription. On St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1863, Confederate Capt. John S. Mosby and 40 Partisan Rangers attacked the picket post of the 1st Vermont Cavalry guarding this station on the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad. The detachment commander Lt. Alexander G. Watson, had just been joined by Maj. William Wells and other officers to investigate charges that pickets were stealing from local citizens.

Arriving ahead of a Union relief force, Mosby and his men took the pickets by surprise with only one Vermonter wounded. The Union officers were having lunch at the home of Kitty Hanna, whose husband, Nat, ran the general store in the station. The officers were also captured after a brief struggle during which Wells fell through the attic ceiling but was not injured.

Mosby reported to Gen. J.E.B. Stuart that: Yesterday I attacked a body of the enemy's cavalry at Herndon Station, in Fairfax County, completely routing them . . . I brought off 25 prisoners—a major (Wells), 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, and 21 men, all their arms, 26 horses and equipments . . . My loss was nothing . . . In this affair my officers and men behaved splendidly.

Because

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

of Mosby's success in Herndon and northern Virginia, Union forces soon withdrew beyond Difficult Run closer to Washington, D.C. Wells later received the Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Battle of Gettysburg. He kept in touch with Mosby after the war, and Wells's daughter later invited Mosby to her wedding.

Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & Streetcars • War, US Civil • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Medal of Honor Recipients, the Virginia Civil War Trails, and the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Railroad series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1861.

Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 38° 58.226′ N, 77° 23.157′ W. Marker was in Herndon, Virginia, in Fairfax County. It was on Station Street north of Elden Street (Virginia Route 228), on the left when traveling north. This and two other markers face the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, which crosses Station Street at the markers. The old railroad station is across the street. A

Closeup of Map on Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, March 10, 2006

2. Closeup of Map on Marker

Click on image to see a clear copy full size.

free municipal parking lot opposite the old train station—now a visitor's center for the Town of Herndon—is a few steps from the markers and the trail. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 700 Lynn St, Herndon VA 20170, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in Northern Virginia.

It was also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Herndon Station (here, next to this marker); Tracks Into History (here, next to this marker); Herndon Station Raid (here, next to this marker); Southern Railway Whistle Post (a few steps from this marker); The W&OD Railway and Jim Crow Laws

Herndon Station With the Three Markers in the Foreground image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, March 10, 2006

3. Herndon Station With the Three Markers in the Foreground

Pavement is the 45-mile long Washington and Old Dominion Trail, which is on the former right of way of the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad from Alexandria to Purcellville. Station Street is between the markers and the station.

(within shouting distance of this marker); In Memory of George Moore (within shouting distance of this marker); This is W&OD Trail: Herndon! (within shouting distance of this marker); Herndon Dairy Farming (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Herndon.

More about this marker. One of the Mosby's Confederacy series of Virginia Civil War Trails markers.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This marker has been replaced by the linked marker.

Also see . . .
1. The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad. Book by Ames Williams available on Amazon.com (Submitted on May 7, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.

2. Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1847 - 1968. Book by Herbert Harwood available on Amazon.com (Submitted on May 7, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.

Additional keywords. Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, W&OD.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 12, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 10, 2006, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 6,040 times since then and 77 times this year. Last updated on June 7, 2020, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 10, 2006, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.