Warrenton-Fauquier Heritage Day will lend understanding to area’s place in history

Warrenton-Fauquier Heritage Day will be held Saturday, Sept. 22,  from 9 a.m. to 3 p,m. in Old Town Warrenton.  This is the eighth year for the historical event. Admission is free. A second observance will be held at Buckland Farm from 3-6 p.m. providing the participants a very unique opportunity to see and experience 18th & 19th century America.  It will aid in the understanding of how the Old Dominion developed.

The historically sequenced parade will begin at 10 a.m. with John Cheatwood, announcing.  After the parade, see living history at the Warren Green Building where reenactor Roy Kennedy of the Mosby Players will portray Federal General George B. McClellan reciting his Farewell Speech from the balcony.

After President Lincoln relieved McClellan of his command with orders from the War Department, he relinquished his command of the Army of the Potomac on Nov, 9, 1862 to General Irving Burnside.  Immediately after the reenactment, the Colonel John S. Mosby statue will be rededicated after being recently reseated. Next will be a dancing demonstration by the Fredericksburg Colonial Dancers who will invite the audience to participate.  Following will be period music with Evergreen Shade in concert and join them as they play the Virginia Reel.

A Speaker’s Program entitled The Eve of Fredericksburg – The Federal Army in and around Warrenton – fall 1862 will be presented at the Warrenton Visitor’s Center.  The Heritage Day Speaker’s Program was created by Prof. James Flanagan to commemorate those events that happened in our community and to turn the clock back providing a portal of time to experience 19th century America. The lectures will help guests to recognize the unique heritage in Warrenton and show Fauquier’s place in history.  Warrenton marked a change of hands 67 times during the war years and there are 12 battlefields in the county.

John Toler at 8:30 a.m. will talk about “The Union Occupation of Fauquier County”.  At 11:30 a .m. Frank O’Reilly of the National Park Service will present “The Planning and Preparation of the Battle of Fredericksburg” at 11:30 followed by “The Civil War in Fauquier County” presented by Donald Tharpe at 1 p.m.  Gar. Schulin will speak about “Robert E. Lee’s Strategy and Defensive Plan in the Battle of Fredericksburg” at 2 p.m. with Prof. James Flanagan at 3 p.m. concluding with “The Confederate Artillery Star at Hamilton’s Crossing.”

Historic, heritage and civic informational tables will be set up from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. while period entertainment and dancing will be presented in Courthouse Square, at the Mosby House Grounds and the Warrenton Visitor’s Center where encampments will be set up.  Teachers will give chldren a taste of the past at the Children’s Corner Town tours will be conducted, living historians will be on site, and displays will tell the story of the area’s past. Civic organizations and Fauquier Community Thrift Store, will be set up on Culpeper St. with information tables. Bring a can of food to donate. The “Manassas Chanticleers” and “Voices of Confederacy” will debut.

Piedmont Model Railroaders, founded in Warrenton in 1995,will set up their HO scale model railroad displays in the John Barton Payne Building.  Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

All of the Warrenton museums will be open.  Liberty Heritage Museum located at 26 Main St. will contain an 1860s artifact display including General Turner Ashby’s captured saber and death photograph, the jeweled presentation sword of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, and the gold and silver sword of Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside. The 10 foot long painting of the “The First Maine Cavalry at Brandy Station, Va. June 9, 1863” is by Isaac Eaton and will be on display only for the day. The Warrenton Caboose will be open from 8 to 9:30 a.m. for tours and the Old Jail Museum will have a new display, children’s activities, and tours.

Rarely open to the public and exclusively for the event, Buckland Farm will illustrate Fauquier County’s history during the development of the Old Dominion.  Located at 6342 Pleasant Colony Lane in Warrenton, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the site of the “Battle of Buckland Mills” on October 19, 1863.  Confederate Generals J.E.B. Stuart and Fitzhugh Lee created a trap which resulted in a five- mile chase to Gainesville and Haymarket.  The Union defeat was subsequently called the “Battle of Buckland Races.”  The Black Horse Cavalry will perform a field demonstration in remembrance of that battle.  Nationally acclaimed civil war author and historian Robert Trout and Brandy Station President, author, and historian Joe McKinney will present lectures at Buckland Farm. Tours of the main house, which is one of the oldest and most significant houses in the area, will be given.

The event is supported by the Town of Warrenton and Fauquier County.  For more information, or to volunteer, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 540-341-7019.  The event registration form can be downloaded from http://www.mosbysplayers.com Pleas.e check back often for new additions to the event.