As dawn arrives, twenty-seven members of a Union cavalry unit, the U.S. Loudoun (Virginia) Rangers, are holed up inside the Waterford Baptist Church. The county of Loudoun is under Federal control, and local Union supporter Captain Samuel Means is in charge of the cavalrymen. The remainder of Means’ men are guarding the roads into town…
August is revival season among Baptists of the South. Each year from August through September, most Baptist congregations set aside a week or more for revival meetings. During this time, many churches acquire the bulk of their new members for the entire year, with many new converts joining by confession of faith and baptism. The…
The United States and Confederate States are now preparing for a long, drawn out war. Both are rapidly recruiting soldiers, seeking to gain a numerical advantage for the battles that lie ahead. In the South, the Confederate Conscription Act (military draft) is increasingly enforced, including the closing of some loopholes. Able-bodied white men, limited in…