Warrenton

Warrenton. Home of the "Gray Ghost". , Although Warrenton was spared the ravages of major battles during the war, control of the town changed hands 67 times and many homes and churches housed soldiers or were used as hospitals. Warrenton was the home of several notable Confederates including Col. John Singleton Mosby, the "gray ghost of the Confederacy." He is honored by the statue at this site. Nearby, the Old Jail, in use during the war, includes Mosby exhibits., [Caption:] , This photo was taken in August 1862, near where you are now standing. The Court House in the photo was destroyed by fire in 1889 and replaced with the present, nearly identical, structure on the same foundation. The brick building on the left (15 Main St.) and several other buildings still stand. – Courtesy Fort Ward Museum, Other points of interest: , 1. The Warren Green Hotel (rebuilt after a fire in 1876) where Gen. George B. McClellan bade farewell to his officers on Nov. 11, 1862, after being relieved of command by President Abraham Lincoln at Rectortown on November 7., 2. The "California Building," built by William "Extra Billy" Smith, twice governor of Virginia and a general in the Civil War, from profits made in the California Gold Rush. Mosby practiced law here after the war., 3. 118 Culpeper St., the home of Capt. John Quincy Marr of the Warrenton Rifles Co., the first Confederate officer killed in the war. He died on June 1, 1861 at Fairfax Court House and is buried in the Warrenton Cemetery., 4. The Warrenton Cemetery where Mosby is buried near a monument to 600 Confederate soldiers. A map on the caretaker's house identifies the location of all Confederate graves. Another historic marker is at the gate., 5. 67 Waterloo St., the home of Gen. Eppa Hunton, who was captured at Sailor's Creek and imprisoned at Fort Warren. Following the war he served as a U.S. Congressman and Senator., 6. The Presbyterian Church at 4th and Main Streets shows the outline of bricks used to repair an opening cut to accommodate wagons when Federal troops used the ground floor as a stable and the upstairs sanctuary as a hospital., 7. 173 Main St. was Mosby's home following the war., 8. The railroad depot yard, now a rails-to-trails park, was a hub of activity during the war and the site of an attempt on Mosby's life following the war when he fell into disfavor for befriending Ulysses S. Grant., 9. The Warrenton-Fauquier County Visitor Center, open seven days a week, year-round, has Civil War Trails maps and additional historic material.