The Battle of Loudoun Heights

     You won’t find any movies made about the Battle of Loudoun Heights, and I only know of a few books that even mention it.  As far as Civil War Battles go it could really only be considered a skirmish, but its outcome proved to be pivotal in the downfall of what was called Mosby’s Confederacy.  The battle took place on January 1, 1864 on a rocky slope just south of the Potomac River about 2 miles from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia at
approximately 3 am in

the morning.  Cole’s Cavalry was led by Major Henry A. Cole who enlisted recruits from Frederick, Maryland and the surrounding area.  They were stationed at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia but rarely spent any time there.  For the most part they spent long days and nights in the saddle trying to fulfill their primary mission which was to seek out and destroy John Singleton Mosby and his irregulars.
     The official designation for Mosby’s unit was the  43rd Battalion, 1st Virginia Cavalry but they were more commonly known as Mosby’s Rangers or Mosby’s Raiders.  Historians still debate the status of Mosby and his men, those leaning towards Confederate sympathies insist that Mosby’s force was technically a ranger unit made up of local volunteers.  Unionist scholars make the argument that since his men disbanded and returned to their civilian occupations in between raids they should be classified as guerillas who operated outside the control of organized Confederate command.  In either case, it did not seem to have much bearing on the fact that Cole’s Cavalry almost without exception came out on the losing end whenever the two units met in battle.
     Ostensibly Mosby decided to attack Cole at his camp on Loudoun Heights and put an end to his pursuer in answer to a recent raid made by Cole that penetrated deep into Mosby’s Confederacy.  Mosby, aka “The Grey Ghost” interpreted this action as a personal affront and decided to take revenge.  Mosby planned to execute a rare night attack on Cole's Headquarters with the object being to capture the Union Major and shoot the soldiers in his command while they slept in their tents.  This was a poor decision on Mosby’s part since it served little purpose other than convincing the Union Command that Mosby should be dealt with more forcefully.  Fortunately for Cole'
s Cavalry neither part of the plan succeeded.  Colonel Cole awoke at the sound of someone forcing their way into his headquarters, slipped out the window and ran to the camp where he began rallying his troops.  While Cole was making his way to the camp the sleeping troopers were awoken by the sound of firing and hastily formed a makeshift defensive line.  The Union officers soon realized that all Mosby’s force were mounted on horseback and began giving the orders to fire at anyone who was mounted.
     For about forty-five minutes a firefight raged until Mosby decided that he was in a bad position.  He could hear the bugle calls of other Union Cavalry units stationed in the area who had heard the firing and were coming to Cole’s aid.  Although the casualties were about the same for both sides, Mosby had lost many of his officers including the wounding of his brother “Willie.”
     For their efforts Cole’s Cavalry won many accolades and Cole himself was promoted to Colonel.  Both the progress of the war and the effects of losing so many of his best officers left Mosby no choice but to assume a more defensive posture for the remainder of the war.  Following this fight the term “Mosby’s Confederacy” could no longer be applied to the Northern Virginia Counties.  I have a personal interest in the “Battle of Loudoun Heights” since my great, great, great, grandfather William Aschemeier was a Sergeant in Company A of Cole’s Cavalry and helped to defeat the “Grey Ghost” and his men on that dark cold night on Loudoun Heights, and it was his greatest source of pride for the rest of his life.