The cavalry leads a charge during a re-enactment of Capt. John Mosby’s raid on the Town of Herndon. The town will host another re-enactment Sunday, March 17 downtown, which is the 150th anniversary of Mosby’s raid. Photo Contributed
Herndon — On St. Patrick’s day 150 years ago, Union soldiers from the First Vermont Cavalry were at the Town of Herndon depot and sawmill. They were expecting a group of reinforcements, but instead Confederate Capt. John Mosby and his unit arrived on a raid, sparking a brief skirmish.
On Sunday, March 17, the Herndon Historical Society and the Herndon Chamber of Commerce will present a re-enactment of that raid, featuring 50 cavalry members in Herndon’s downtown.
“The highlight of any cavalry raid is always when the cavalry makes their charge and just blasts away,” said Chuck Mauro, a local historian and re-enactor coordinator.
The skirmish has been re-enacted several times in Herndon before, in 1991, 2001 and 2003, but this year’s will have the most participants, members of the Black Horse Cavalry, a local group.
This year’s event will also feature two re-enactments, one at 11 p.m. and one at 2 p.m. The re-enactors themselves will be around telling their stories and speaking to audience members from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We tried to make this year’s events as in-depth as they’ve ever been,” Mauro said. “We’ll have an announcer narrating the battle from the second floor of the Green Lizard Cycling building, and we’ve got handouts with the remarks on them that we’ll be passing out so people can really follow along and know what they’re seeing.”
The raid will take place on Lynn Street near the Herndon Depot. Mauro said the best views will be the grassy area between Elden Street and Depot Street.
Nearby Herndon ArtSpace will be open, presenting their current exhibit, “Beyond the Blue and Grey: The VirginiavHomefront” and selling books and videos about the Civil War.
More information about the raid and the re-enactment can be found at www.herndonhistoricalsociety.org.