Throughout Fairfax County and the surrounding area, churches often stood at the intersection of Union and Confederate activity. Some were requisitioned as hospitals and stables, while others were desecrated by foraging armies.

Adjacent to Fairfax County, today's glossy, cosmopolitan Arlington was a training ground for war—and a last line of defense for the Federal capital—150 years ago.

Prior to the Civil War, dangerously surreptitious scenes played out throughout the South as slaves fled for their freedom. The Underground Railroad, a chain of trails, safe houses and sympathizers, was their primary means of escape.

Situated on the line between North and South, Fairfax County, Virginia reveals both celebrated and little-told stories of the Civil War. So it's fitting we tell the tale of its most fearless and loyal soldiers — the animals.

As the winter of 1861 hit its stride in Fairfax County, Virginia, both Union and Confederate armies struggled to provide food for the men and hay for their horses and mules. Just five days before Christmas, both sides sent out foraging parties. As fate would have it, each converged in the same field, sparking what is now known as the Battle of Dranesville.

As many as 70,000 men formed a semi-circle four miles long in the Bailey's Crossroads section of Fairfax County, Virginia. A crowd of 20,000-30,000 civilians watched on as McClellan and Lincoln rode along the line of troops, greeted by the soldier's cheers.

If you dare listen, you'll hear distant marching…cannon fire…muffled cries. These are the ghosts of the Civil War, and some say they put the extra chill in October's air.

Once known as Earp's Corner, then Providence, then Fairfax Court House, the City of Fairfax has a long and colorful history dating back to the early 1700s. And one trip to the Fairfax Visitor Center and Museum will tell you that one of the most critical historic roles the city played was during the Civil War.

Major General Philip Kearny, son of a wealthy New York family, could have pursued any career. But after studying law at Columbia University, he chose to serve. And he eventually met his fate in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Initially viewed by many as a great adventure, a sobering reality set in that fateful Sunday when the Battle of First Manassas ultimately produced over 4,500 causalities and ended the innocence of a young nation. July 2011 brings with it Virginia's most significant commemoration of the Civil War's sesquicentennial to date.

In June 1861, nearly two months after the firing on Fort Sumter, the northern press and public were eager for the Union Army to capture Richmond and put an end to the secession movement once and for all. Subsequent Union incursions into Fairfax County, Virginia resulted in skirmishes, including one at Fairfax Court House that was the first land conflict of organized military units in the Civil War.

Over a month before the Civil War's first well-known battle at Manassas, Fairfax County, Virginia was already engaged in conflict. From the moment Virginia voters chose to secede from the Union on May 23rd, this region found itself in the unenviable position of being on the front lines of two nations about to clash.