The Burning Raid

"The Burning" in Loudoun County

Date	November 28 (1864-11-28) – December 2, 1864 (1864-12-03)
Location	The Loudoun Valley of Virginia
Result	Union victory

Belligerents

United States of America

Confederate States of America

Commanders and leaders

Wesley Merritt

John S. Mosby

Strength

3,000

unknown

Casualties and losses

none

Livestock slaughtered/driven off
5000-6000 heads of cattle
3000-4000 heads of sheep
500-700 horses
1000 hogs
Buildings Burned
230 barns
8 mills
1 distillery
Crops Burned
10,000 tons of hay
25,000 bushels of grain
Human casualties
12 prisoners

The Burning Raid was a Union military raid conducted in the Loudoun Valley of Loudoun and Fauquier counties in Virginia in November and December 1864 during the American Civil War. It was aimed at destroying the forage on which Confederate partisans operating in the area, specifically Mosby's Rangers, subsisted as well as at breaking the will of the citizens of the area for supporting the partisans.

During the Valley Campaigns of 1864, while General Philip Sheridan drove up the Shenandoah Valley he faced a significant threat to his rear and supply lines from Mosby's Rangers based east of the Blue Ridge in Loudoun and Fauquier. Subsequently, he was forced to dedicate a significant resources to protecting his rear. Furthermore, Mosby and other partisans in Loudoun routinely raided Union garrisons in Fairfax County and along the Potomac River in Maryland.

In order to limit this threat, General Grant wrote to Sheridan on August 16 suggesting

If you can possibly spare a division of Cavalry, send them through Loudoun County and destroy and carry off all the crops, animals, negroes and all men under fifty years of age capable of bearing arms. In this way you will get many if Mosby's men. All male citizens under fifty can be fairly held as prisoners of war, and not as citizen prisoners. If not already soldiers, they will be made so the moment the rebel army gets hold of them.

At the time, Sheridan was still battling Jubal Early for control of the valley and could not spare a large force for the task. On the 20th he dispatched 650 troopers of the 8th Illinois Cavalry into Loudoun to "break up and exterminate any bands or parties of Mosby's [Elijah V.] White's, or other guerrillas which may be met", but the troopers were unable to find and capture the elusive partisans.

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Wikipedia