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critical I was ever in.” During the same report to Brigadier General commanding the cavalry corps in Pleasonton, Custer referred to the engagement as,”The Battle Mountain Affair.” It is from this that Laurel Mills resident Danny Hitt came up for the title of his book, Battle Mountain Affair.
The 80-page book documents Civil War activities in Rappahannock County along with analysis and expansion on the part of Hitt. The original copy of the manuscript was selfpublished by Hitt in 1998 and has sold over 1,000 copies. Further research has prompted Hitt to self-publish yet another version of the text.
Described by Hitt as, “an expanded version,” the second copy includes several pictures of commanders, maps of where relics have been found and engagements fought, and of course more information. Discovering a diary account of a private in Custer’s command, Hitt said he was empowered to do even more research.
Since then he has discovered that two Congressional Medals of Honor were won at Newbys Crossroads which is the current day intersection of Route 729 and Route 618.
In his book, Hitt clearly differentiates between facts, which are printed in bold type, and his personal comments in regular type.
Raised only two miles from the site of Battle Mountain, Hitt explained he grew up hearing legends of skirmishes that took place in the area. In 1997 Hitt said he was inspired to learn more when he found out the skirmishes were in fact full fledged engagements. “That sent me down a trail of researching any angle I could find,” said Hitt. His research has uncovered a mountain of information about events that occurred throughout Rappahannock County. “Almost every little village has something to say about what happened during the war,” said Hitt.
According to Hitt a large engagement took place in Amissville in 1862, there were multiple skirmishes at Gaines Crossroads (now Ben Venue), Chester Gap, and Washington, Va., and the residents of Sperry-ville were at one point even forced to take an oath to the Union. On Dec. 23, 1863, a column of Union soldiers passed through Rappahannock on thenway to Page County to bum a tannery in Luray.
Ib purchase a copy of the book, Battle Mountain Affair, send $9.95 plus $1.25 for postage to Danny Hitt P.O. Box 351, Amissville, Va., 20106. At times copies can also be found at the Laurel Mills store and at Hackleys Store in Amissville.
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