Saving History Saturday: First Maine Cavalry Honored at Middleburg
On June 22, 2019, over 70 people gathered at Mt. Defiance Historical Park in Middleburg, Virginia to dedicate a new Civil War monument – and to honor the men of the First Maine Cavalry.
Perched along the Ashby’s Gap Turnpike, Mt. Defiance was a key defensive position for the Confederates under Major General J.E.B. Stuart during the 1863 Battle of Middleburg. It was in part due to the First Maine Cavalry’s bold charge through the Confederate center on Mt. Defiance that led to the retreat of Stuart’s men from the field. The Mainers’ contribution to Union victory that day that led NOVA Parks to place the new monument on Mt. Defiance.
Made of solid gray granite, the monument “to the men of the 1st Maine Cavalry” has the names of 17 men who were killed during the battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville. Part of the larger efforts to screen Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and acquire valuable intelligence on enemy movements, these battles were some of the first of the bloody Gettysburg Campaign.
For more information on Middleburg and Mt. Defiance Historic Park, please visit NOVA Parks’ website.
Many thanks to the folks from NOVA Parks who hosted us from the 1st Maine Cav when we dedicated the stone in the summer of 2019. And thanks to the many contributions from the SUVCW, and the many Mainers from around the state who helped make this memorial a reality. The sacrifice of those Maine soldiers will be remembered as long as our country exists.
Looking for any info on the organizer’s of this project – I have a family member listed on the monument