“New Discoveries on the Lovettsville Civil War Winter Encampment”
Presented by Eric Hillebrand
Sunday, November 8, at 2:00 p.m.
St. James United Church of Christ,
10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville
On Sunday November 8, local resident historian and avid relic hunter Eric Hillebrand will be lecturing for the first time with the Lovettsville Historical Society. His talk will focus on local Civil War history, the 1864-65 Union Cavalry winter encampment at Lovettsville, and his 25 years of hunting history in our area. Eric will bring with him many relics from our area to include those he has found on sites of the 1864-65 winter camp.
In December of 1864 the Second Brigade U.S.Cavalry, under the command of General Thomas Devin, and by order of U.S. Cavalry Commander General Phillip Sheridan, made their winter encampment in and around the town of Lovettsville.
The Second Brigade composed of approximately 2500 soldiers from New York and Pennsylvania would spend the next two months guarding the town, roads and river crossing to Berlin, Maryland (today’s Brunswick). During this harsh winter the men would convalesce, mingle with the citizens of Lovettsville in the town and the local countryside,and fight off almost nightly attacks by local Confederate Partisans.
Eric has extensively researched this amazing part of our local history. He has spent countless hours in the field going over and uncovering the locations of the many regimental camp sites.
Hiking the hills and fields of Loudoun County is considered its own reward. Hike with Eric and his metal detector and you may uncover relics of our distant past. Those relics tell the stories of our history from the Colonial period through the Civil War and beyond!
Eric moved to Lucketts in 1988 and his love for history was sparked back in his elementary school days when he first saw a Civil War map of a divided United States. In 2003 while visiting a friend he noticed a metal detector leaning against his office wall. Eric asked if he would teach him how to use and one week later they were standing in a Union Civil War camp in Winchester,Virginia, where Eric dug his first relics and a life-long passion began.
In 2005 Eric began taking his relics on the road and giving history presentations to our local students. From there he has given lectures to many local clubs and groups around our metro region. Now, with his presentation to the Lovettsville Historical Society, this is a great opportunity to see our local history come alive!