Cherry Hill Farm in the Civil War

Although soldiers repeatedly overran and raided Cherry Hill Farm during the Civil War, this ca. 1845 farmhouse and the ca. 1856 barn behind it survived almost intact. William Blaisdell, of Massachusetts paid $4,000 for the 66-acre property in 1856. The migration of Northerners to this area resulted in a populace of mixed loyalties on the eve of the Civil War. Blaisdell and twenty-five others in the Falls Church District voted against secession in the statewide referendum held on May 23, 1861, while forty-four voted in favor.

The Blaisdells, like most families in town, felt the effects of both Confederate and Union occupation. Confederate forces occupied the village after their victory at Manassas on July 21, 1861. Most Northerners fled, leaving their houses vulnerable to looting and vandalism. The Blaisdells's nearest neighbor, Mary Clover, wrote of such an experience on November 11, 1861: "The rebels did not get our silver nor likenesses for we toock them with us. We toock our fether beds and our bedclothes. ... Everything that was left was taken away. [Most] Beaureau drores were taken off bot the frame was left."

In 1861, the Blaisdells lost 7 hogs, 3 cows, a carriage and two-thirds of their household furnishings to looters. Confederate troops departed on September 25, 1861, but then Union soldiers moved in. Farmers reported losses of crops, timber, and livestock. Artifacts recovered at Cherry Hill indicate that Union troops camped here.

By the war's end farmers in the area had recovered, and the nation's growing capital increased the demand for produce. Blaisdell sold Cherry Hill Farm for $7,000 in 1865.

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Show me all markers in:  Falls Church, VA  |  Stafford County  |  22046  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

Cherry Hill
Virginia Training School
Hangman's Tree
Big Chimneys
The Story of Big Chimneys
Living in Fear
Star Tavern
Town Hall
Rolling Roads
The Falls Church

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