HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL NR 2020-03-11 Civil War Walking Tour
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
March 11, 2020
Media Contact:
Leah Kosin, Assistant Public Information Officer
lkosin@leesburgva.gov 703-771-2781
Walking Tour to Highlight the Civil War in Loudoun County
The free, two-hour tour will examine the war and the effects it had on our area.
Leesburg, VA (March 11, 2020) – A Walking Tour of Civil War Leesburg with Rich Gillespie will
take place on Saturday, March 14, 2020. The walk will examine the surviving Civil War
townscape and the effect it had on Loudoun County.
In a circuit of the historic district, the emphasis will be on what the 1,500 residents of the town
would have seen at various places and what they would have experienced during 1861-65. The
two-hour chronological tour will provide ample spots to sit for the weary and will paint some
vibrant historic portraits to keep people enthralled.
Included in the tour will be three skirmish sites, outside stops at two churches, the courthouse
lawn, “the best street in town,” Harrison Hall where General Lee stayed, and the Episcopal
cemetery.
The tour will leave from the Thomas Balch Library parking lot at 10 a.m. For more information,
call 703-737-7195.
Richard Treat Gillespie, former Executive Director for Northern Virginia’s Mosby Heritage Area,
is a founding member of Loudoun’s Civil War Sesquicentennial Steering Committee. Before
joining the Mosby Heritage Area Association in 2004, he taught US History and Economics for 30
years at Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville, VA. A graduate of the College of William and
Mary in Williamsburg, he is a strong believer in melding the classroom, the community, and
historic sites through heritage education.
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