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The Road Back

For many years, Civil War buffs have been busy with research on that war. A wide variety of skills have produced an outpouring of books for avid readers. Some of the writers) such as Dr. Douglas Freeman and Kenneth P. Williams, author of Lincoln Finds a General, are men of great scholarship.

In contrast, the true story of the South in the years following the war has had too little research, and the period is in need of further study and scholarly research. A copious amount of source material is available.

One school of historian has been sweeping the dregs of Southern history under the rug for the past hundred years. The result is that this country abounds in liberal-minded and improperly informed newspaper editors and politicians who have very much the sound of Harriet Beecher Stowe trying to save Little Eva when they write or speak about contemporary southern problems. It might be well to lift the rug and examine some of these dregs of history by tracing the road back to recovery in Loudoun, one Virginia County.

This is not with the aim of rekindling old animosities. People today are passing through a very critical period of our nation's history, a period that requires certain very definite personal qualities. This sketch of the road back is given to show the kind of qualities needed by southern men and women in order to bear the trials and tribulations that came to them day by day for many years. But they bore them and they recovered-without the benefit of any Marshall Plan.

Following the war, travelers from the North came into the South like a swarm of locusts. What many of them knew of the South was based on Mrs. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. What they saw, they interpreted with the prejudiced viewpoint of Mrs. Stowe and the abolitionist press. Many of 'those who came were convinced that the economic ills of the southern Negro could be cured with "forty acres and a mule."

Much is said today about the redistribution of land in underdeveloped countries. It was tried in the South during reconstruction. Many of the travelers wrote voluminously about conditions in the South and many present day viewpoints are traceable to the writings of this group.

In order to see the post-war picture of Loudoun in the best perspective, it will be necessary to recall certain dates and review the existing conditions. General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General U. S. Grant on April 9, 1865. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated April 14, 1865 and Andrew Johnson succeeded him as President. Johnson wanted to continue Lincoln's policies with the South, policies based on the speediest possible way to secure reconciliation and the restoration of Federal authority with the least possible Federal intervention in the State concerned.

Congress was under the domination of radical Republicans and they did not intend to accept Lincoln's and Johnson's policies of moderation. Congress passed a series of Acts that were planned to place the South under Republican domination:

• (1) by disenfranchisement of a large portion of southern whites;
• (2) by granting suffrage to all Negroes regardless of qualification and limitations suggested by Lincoln;
• (3) by declaring the Southern States out of the Union until they would accept or ratify conditions laid down by Congress.

The four years of fighting had reduced the defeated South to various grades of poverty. These acts were to be the source of more bitterness and hatred than the four years of fighting.

Congress passed the much hated Reconstruction Act in 1867, and under its provisions Virginia became Military District No. I under the command of Major General John M. Schofield. Virginia was exceedingly fortunate in Schofield's selection as he appears to have followed Lincoln's attitude of moderation. However, he was powerless to protect the State from the vicious and retaliatory Acts passed by Congress.

General Eppa Hunton became a warm friend of Schofield and the two men seem to have regarded each other with mutual respect and friendship. Writing of Schofield in his autobiography, Hunton had this to say:

Fortunately for us, the commanders in this district were good men-not disposed to oppress us-and we had several years of fairly good military government in Virginia. Our military Judge was Lysander Hill. We had great apprehensions of him as our circuit judge when he took the place of Judge Henry E. Thomas of Fairfax, but Hill turned out to be a first-rate man and a fine judge. He was the best listener I ever addressed on the bench. He certainly was not influenced in the slightest degree by politics on the bench. Schofield tried in every way to mitigate the hardship of our situation and gave us the best government that was possible under the circumstances.

Six southern states were re-admitted to the Union in 1868. Alabama. Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina. Georgia, Mississippi, Texas and Virginia remained out of the Union until 1870.

General Grant became President in 1869 and in his first message to Congress called attention to the fact that Virginia was ready for re-admission to the Union and was ready for the action of Congress. However, General Butler, who was chairman of the Committee on Reconstruction, refused to countenance the admission until "further conditions were met". Virginia met the conditions, largely concerned with the rights of voters and office holders. By a close vote in both the House and the Senate, the State was finally re-admitted to the Union on January 26, 1870 by an Act of Congress. Military District No. 1 ceased to exist, and reconstruction of the state was complete.

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He Saved the County Records

Three courthouses have stood on this site in Leesburg since Loudoun was formed in 1757. The first was designated in a plat of Leesburg in 1759, and on the 12th of August 1776, the Declaration of Indpendence was read on the courthouse steps. The second was built in 1811 in brick in the Federal style, and it was to that structure that the Marquis de Lafayette visited on the 9th of August 1825 during his grand tour of the United States. The current building, designed by William C. West of Richmond in the Classical style, was constructed in 1894 by the Norris brothers of Leesburg. Photo June 2001

George K. Fox, Jr. is one of the unsung heroes of the Civil War in this County. This is the fascinating story of his rescue of the records of the Court of Loudoun County.

General John W. Geary and his troops of the 28th Pennsylvania Regiment came into Lovettsville on February 24, 1862. In anticipation of their occupation of Leesburg, the County seat of Loudoun, all the County records were loaded into a wagon and carried away to safety. It is well that they were removed, as Geary's troops occupied all public buildings and the Bank of the Valley ,(which sits across the street from the courthouse complex in the center of Leesburg.*) in March, 1862. Many counties in Virginia suffered severe damage to their records when the court houses and clerk's offices were occupied by federal troops. The records are not merely vital to lawyers and landowners, but also to historians as the documents contain the history of the County.

The story starts with a memorandum written by Fox in the County minute book in use at the time: "Owing to the continuance of the War, no court was held in the county from February 1862 to July 1865." Two former historians have given accounts of what happened. Harrison Williams stated that Mrs. Fannie Fox Mason, Fox's daughter, gave him this information:

The Loudoun Court, headed by Presiding Justice Asa Rogers, ordered County Clerk George K. Fox, Junior, to remove the records to a place of safety and to use his discretion about their preservation. Pursuant to these instructions, Mr. Fox loaded the records into a large wagon and with these drove south to Campbell County. For the next four years, he moved his precious charge about place to place as danger threatened each refuge in turn.

Mr. Harrison described the episode in this way: "The Clerk (of the Court) stated that at the outbreak of the War, all records of Loudoun County were removed to Campbell County pursuant to an order entered to that effect."

The fact of the matter is that no such order is on record. It would seem that Mr. Rogers gave the order verbally. If Rogers gave a written order, it is possible that the urgency of the moment prevented Fox from entering it in the Minute Book.

At one time, considerable discussion went on over where the records were taken. Some local residents, like Mrs. Mason, had always heard they were taken to Campbell County. Others maintained just as stoutly that they went to Albemarle County. Would that Mr. Fox had left a diary! Perhaps some fortunate record searcher may one day be able to trace Fox's travels from March, 1862 to July, 1865.

As soon as the newly-elected officers and justices met in July, 1865, after the necessary oaths were administered, their final order of business was recorded thus:

"That George K. Fox, Junior, as Clerk of this Court, having removed from this County the records of the Court under an order heretofore made, he is now ordered to return the records to the Clerk's Office of this Court as soon as possible at the expense of the County."

It is doubtful that Fox was even paid. The Justices went for at least two years without ever setting a levy.

The Democratic Mirror (published at Leesburg) for August 9 1865 carried this news story:

George K. Fox, Junior, Esquire, late Clerk of the Court, reached home Friday from the Devil's Kitchen with the Records of the County which were removed more than three years ago by Order of the Court. They were returned in good condition without the loss of a single paper, or so much as the rubbing of the bindings of the books. The office is now in good running condition except for a few minor papers which were left behind.

The State Highway Department has located the Devil's Kitchen as being close to Goshen Pass in Rockbridge County. The Court ordered Fox to return the records on July 10 and by August 9 he arrived in Leesburg. Doubtless, this was considered very prompt execution of the order, considering the distance and the condition of the roads.

The people of Loudoun seem unaware of their indebtedness to Fox. The County has a complete set of Deed, Will, and Order Books from the formation of the county in 1757, including all the Revolutionary War records. The Minute Books date from 1820 when the Assembly of Virginia provided for the discontinuance of Order Books and provided for Minute Books. The one obvious thing that is missing are early surveyors' books and these may be what was "left behind." For his extraordinary care and diligence in keeping safe Loudoun County's entire history, Fox truly deserves a plaque in the Clerk's Office.

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The Restored County Government

Several factors made recovery come to Loudoun with more ease and speed than was possible in some sections of the South. Among them were:

1. While Loudoun had suffered from Major General Wesley Merritt's burning raid, she had not been subjected to the scorched-earth policy that was part of the Union strategy in some parts of the South. Loudoun suffered severely, but she was not prostrated.

2. Before the war started, Loudoun was enjoying a flourishing agricultural economy. The products of Loudoun agriculture, wheat, corn, cattle, sheep, hogs and horses, did not require the use of as many slaves as were needed in the cotton and tobacco-growing counties. In I860, some 670 slave owners in Loudoun held 5,501 slaves, or an average of 8-plus slaves per owner. In Charlotte County, 659 slave owners held 9,238 slaves, or 14-plus slaves per owner; in Mecklenburg County, 760 owners held 12,420 slaves, or 16-plus slaves per owner. When the slaves were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, individual owners in Loudoun did not suffer the economic loss felt in some other places.

3. For the reason just given, the reformers and exploiters did not find Loudoun a likely place in which to operate, so Loudoun was saved the interference from Northern "carpetbaggers" and southern "scalawags" in local politics. This was the thing that hampered the transition into a new way of life in the South for several generations.

As the defeated and bedraggled troops began to return to their homes, they found the women and the old folks tired and exhausted. But some kind of effort had to be made to get their lives back into working condition, as far as this was possible.

One of the first necessary objectives was to get their County government back into operation. At the time, the affairs of a Virginia County were in the hands of a bench of "gentlemen justices" headed by a presiding justice. These justices had administrative as well as judicial duties. It was necessary to hold an election to select the justices and other officers of the restored government. Many of the County officers who had held office before the war had fought in the Confederate forces and for this they were disenfranchised. They could neither vote nor hold office.

Who could vote in the election? Among the Confederate sup- porters, those men who were too old to have borne arms could vote. All those who had not borne arms, such as the Quakers, could vote. All the men who had served in the Union forces and those sympathetic to the Union cause could vote. A majority of the eligible voters in Loudoun were those who were in favor of the Federal government.

It will be recalled, that in the referendum on secession held in Loudoun, the two precincts voting against secession were Waterford and Lovettsville. Generally speaking, the people in these areas remained loyal to the Union. It should be noted, however, that within each group were those who tried to maintain a neutral position. To-day, the popular word is "uncommitted." It was from this group that many of the officers of the restored government came. These people must be given the credit for easing the Reconstruction years in Loudoun. While those who had supported the Confederacy felt Some animosity towards them, the local County officers kept to a minimum the tensions and strife suffered in some places.

Several writers of Loudoun history have commented on Brigadier General Thomas Devin and his Federal Brigade that: occupied the Lovettsville area around Christmas, 1864. During the winter of 1864-65. Devin's troops occupied all sections of Loudoun County. In spite of all the strain and hatred that was usually shown occupation forces. Devin's troops seem to have had fairly good relations with the people of the County. There are indications that this officer demonstrated to those who were to be the future officers of the County how to show and attitude of compassion to a defeated people.

When Devin left Loudoun on February 24, 1865, the County had been occupied by Federal troops exactly three years to a day. General John W. Geary's forces had entered Loudoun on February 24, 1862.

The election of County officers was held on June 1, 1865 and the first post-war County Court was held July 10, 1865. The gentlemen justices who had been elected and commissioned by the Governor of Virginia, and who met at the Court House on that: July day, were George Abel, R. M. Bentley, Francis M. Carter, John Compher, Thomas Cost, John D. Deny, Enoch Fenton, Herod Frasier, Fenton Furr, Henry Gaver, John Grubb, Charles Manitin, Asbury M. Nixon, Basil Shoemalcer, John L. Stout, Mahlon Thomas. Lott Tavenner, Henry S. Taylor, Michael Wiard, John Woolford, Thomas Burr Williams, James M. Wallace and William H. Gray.

William H. Gray (1805-1880) was selected Presiding Justice. The fact that Gray was elected is rather remarkable, as he was a supporter of the Confederate government. It must be taken as a tribute to him and shows the esteem in which he was generally held.

Other County officials who were elected and who took office the same day were Charles P. Janney, clerk of the court, Samuel Luckett, sheriff; William B. Dowdey, commonwealth's attorney. The commissioners of revenue for the three districts were Samuel Ball, Hiram Tavenner and James T. Newman.

Charles P. Janney was a nephew of John Janney, one of Loudoun's representatives to the Secession Convention and the presiding officer of that important meeting. While an officer in 'the Presbyterian Church, Mr. Janney came of Quaker heritage and had taken no part in the war. He was one of those who, like his uncle, tried to maintain a neutral position. Something of his nature is revealed in the fact that he appointed as his deputy George K. Fox, Jr., who held the office before the war.

The records were back in the Clerk's Office, the County officials had been elected and the County government was back in operation.

On August 14, 1865, this order was recorded in the Minute Book:

J. Mortimer Kilgour, John S. Mosby and George A. Thacker, who have been duly licensed to practice the law, on their motions are permitted to practice in this court, whereupon they took the several oaths prescribed by law.

Colonel Mosby was not wasting much time setting back into the practice of law. He inserted this notice in the local paper: John S. Mosby
Attorney-at-Law
Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia
Practices in the Courts of Fauquier, Loudoun and Prince William
August 12,1865

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