HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL NR 2022-03-01 Walking Tour to Highlight Civil War History of Leesburg
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
March 1, 2022
Media Contact:
Leah Kosin, Assistant Public Information Officer
pio@leesburgva.gov 703-771-2781
Walking Tour to Highlight Civil War History of Leesburg
Pre-registration is required.
Leesburg, VA (March 1, 2022) – On Saturday,
March 12, beginning at 10 a.m. at Thomas Balch
Library, Richard Treat Gillespie will lead a Civil
War Walking Tour of Leesburg.
With its key geographic location just two miles
from the Potomac Frontier that divided the
Confederate and United States, Leesburg was
bound to see a good deal of the Civil War. On this
walking tour examine the surviving Civil War
townscape and see how the war developed and
engulfed the county seat of Loudoun. 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
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,” and
Harrison Hall where General Lee stayed. Good walking shoes are recommended.
Pre-registration is required for this event. Please call 703-737-7195,
email balchlib@leesburgva.gov, or register online.
Richard Treat Gillespie, former Executive Director for Northern Virginia’s Mosby Heritage Area
(now known as Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area Association), 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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