Warrenton, VA

Warrenton was a vital communication and supply center due to its location along the Warrenton Branch of the Southern Railway. The town was connected to the Orange and Alexandria Railroad in 1853 via a branch line. Given the rail line's strategic usage during the American Civil War, the Warrenton Branch was a target for attack twice. Because of this, the railroad was left largely abandoned and unusable by 1863.

Warrenton was also the site of important maneuvers before the battles of Sharpsburg and Second Manassas. The town was also the target of raids by Colonel John S. Mosby, also known as the "Gray Ghost". One notable raid was the Warrenton Junction Raid on May 3, 1863, where Mosby's Confederate guerrilla warriors attacked a Union cavalry detachment. Mosby later made his home and practiced law in Warrenton.

Warrenton was occupied by both Union and Confederate forces throughout the war.

 

July 14, 1862, Illustration of the Town of Warrenton by Edwin Forbes.

August 1862 stereograph of the railroad depot in the Town of Warrenton taken by Timothy H. O'Sullivan.