Individual Details
Dallas FURR
(April 18, 1845 - August 6, 1903)
http://members.cox.net/johnahamill/aldie2.html
After the war, he resided at Aldie, Virginia, where he died on August 6th, 1903, and is buried in the Sharon Cemetery, Middleburg, Virginia.
Company A of the 43rd BATTALION VIRGINIA CAVALRY
As Union troopers rode beyond the village of Aldie, Virginia on June 17, 1863, they were assailed by a volley of shots fired over stone walls along the Snickersville pike. The horsemen of Major General Alfred Pleasonton had met Major General JEB Stuart's Virginia cavalrymen, and while seeking to uncover the whereabouts of General Robert E. Lee's infantry through this encounter, faced strong resistance as the Confederates made every effort to conceal the movement of their troops. The outcome of this meeting resulted in a clash that would be known as the Battle of Aldie centrally fought near a small, rural home owned by Mr. Dallas Furr. For Major Henry Lee Higginson who commanded a battalion of two squadrons led by Captains Lucius Sargent and John Tewksbury this would be the fiercest of all contests in which he and the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry would engage during the Civil War.
In the early stages of this battle, several units from Brigadier General (Hugh) Judson Kilpatrick's 1st Massachusetts Cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Greely Curtis charged the enemy, Sargent and Higginson taking the lead as they headed towards the Furr house. Riding up the road with sabers flashing, Higginson's men skirmished briefly with Lieutenant Alexander Payne's squadron from Colonel Thomas Munford's 4th Virginia Cavalry. Payne's men soon retreated and Higginson ordered his troops to halt, but Sargent desiring a more satisfying end to this match taunted and provoked the Virginians to finish the fight. A swift and savage combat between Payne's troops and a few members of Higginson's battalion left all five Federals severely wounded: Sergeant Martin slashed by a saber; and Captain Sargent, Lieutenant George Fillebrown of Sargent's platoon, and a private each pierced by gunshot. Major Higginson, who had crossed sabers with a foe, had been knocked out of his saddle a bullet lodged at the base of his spine; a saber gash across his right cheek. Unhorsed and wounded in the road, Higginson was struck on the head and told by his assailant that he would be taken prisoner. When the major informed his attacker that he believed he would not live, the man robbed him, leaving only his horse that had been shot several times.
Lieutenant Charles Parsons of Sargent's squadron acted quickly to reform the troops and successfully scattered Payne's men, but in driving back the enemy Parsons and his unit became cut off from their regiment. As Tewksbury struggled to support Parsons his squadron was assaulted by gunfire along the Snickersville pike, just before the Furr house. A third squadron of the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry under Captain Charles Adams grandson of President John Quincy Adams failed to charge in a planned attack with Tewksbury. While carrying out the command to dismount and take cover in a small patch of woods, Adams's men were decimated in a deadly crossfire.
Curtis now ordered the final squadron of the 1st Massachusetts under Lieutenant Charles Davis to advance with sabers drawn up the narrow road. As Davis's lead troopers reached the bend along the Snickerville pike, they found their path obstructed by a mass of dead and wounded men and horses; the barely living still writhing in agony. Before the troopers could slow to a halt they were ambushed mowed down by a stream of fusillade by Virginians who were lying in wait for them behind the stone walls. Unable to retreat, these men were trampled upon by their comrades who followed in suit.
Fewer than half of the 1st Massachusetts Cavalrymen remained following this nightmarish melee. Among the survivors of the four squadrons was Higginson's younger brother, Lieutenant James J. Higginson, who was taken prisoner.
In the final stages of the Battle of Aldie, additional Federal regiments entered the fray as the battle raged on across the fields. After a number of fervent attacks, the Confederates were successfully driven off the ridge they occupied and the battle ended, though at a great cost to the Union. As a result of this non-conclusive engagement in which neither side attained a true victory, there were 250 casualties.
After the war, he resided at Aldie, Virginia, where he died on August 6th, 1903, and is buried in the Sharon Cemetery, Middleburg, Virginia.
Company A of the 43rd BATTALION VIRGINIA CAVALRY
As Union troopers rode beyond the village of Aldie, Virginia on June 17, 1863, they were assailed by a volley of shots fired over stone walls along the Snickersville pike. The horsemen of Major General Alfred Pleasonton had met Major General JEB Stuart's Virginia cavalrymen, and while seeking to uncover the whereabouts of General Robert E. Lee's infantry through this encounter, faced strong resistance as the Confederates made every effort to conceal the movement of their troops. The outcome of this meeting resulted in a clash that would be known as the Battle of Aldie centrally fought near a small, rural home owned by Mr. Dallas Furr. For Major Henry Lee Higginson who commanded a battalion of two squadrons led by Captains Lucius Sargent and John Tewksbury this would be the fiercest of all contests in which he and the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry would engage during the Civil War.
In the early stages of this battle, several units from Brigadier General (Hugh) Judson Kilpatrick's 1st Massachusetts Cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Greely Curtis charged the enemy, Sargent and Higginson taking the lead as they headed towards the Furr house. Riding up the road with sabers flashing, Higginson's men skirmished briefly with Lieutenant Alexander Payne's squadron from Colonel Thomas Munford's 4th Virginia Cavalry. Payne's men soon retreated and Higginson ordered his troops to halt, but Sargent desiring a more satisfying end to this match taunted and provoked the Virginians to finish the fight. A swift and savage combat between Payne's troops and a few members of Higginson's battalion left all five Federals severely wounded: Sergeant Martin slashed by a saber; and Captain Sargent, Lieutenant George Fillebrown of Sargent's platoon, and a private each pierced by gunshot. Major Higginson, who had crossed sabers with a foe, had been knocked out of his saddle a bullet lodged at the base of his spine; a saber gash across his right cheek. Unhorsed and wounded in the road, Higginson was struck on the head and told by his assailant that he would be taken prisoner. When the major informed his attacker that he believed he would not live, the man robbed him, leaving only his horse that had been shot several times.
Lieutenant Charles Parsons of Sargent's squadron acted quickly to reform the troops and successfully scattered Payne's men, but in driving back the enemy Parsons and his unit became cut off from their regiment. As Tewksbury struggled to support Parsons his squadron was assaulted by gunfire along the Snickersville pike, just before the Furr house. A third squadron of the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry under Captain Charles Adams grandson of President John Quincy Adams failed to charge in a planned attack with Tewksbury. While carrying out the command to dismount and take cover in a small patch of woods, Adams's men were decimated in a deadly crossfire.
Curtis now ordered the final squadron of the 1st Massachusetts under Lieutenant Charles Davis to advance with sabers drawn up the narrow road. As Davis's lead troopers reached the bend along the Snickerville pike, they found their path obstructed by a mass of dead and wounded men and horses; the barely living still writhing in agony. Before the troopers could slow to a halt they were ambushed mowed down by a stream of fusillade by Virginians who were lying in wait for them behind the stone walls. Unable to retreat, these men were trampled upon by their comrades who followed in suit.
Fewer than half of the 1st Massachusetts Cavalrymen remained following this nightmarish melee. Among the survivors of the four squadrons was Higginson's younger brother, Lieutenant James J. Higginson, who was taken prisoner.
In the final stages of the Battle of Aldie, additional Federal regiments entered the fray as the battle raged on across the fields. After a number of fervent attacks, the Confederates were successfully driven off the ridge they occupied and the battle ended, though at a great cost to the Union. As a result of this non-conclusive engagement in which neither side attained a true victory, there were 250 casualties.
Events
| Birth | April 18, 1845 | Virginia | |||
| Marriage | December 10, 1868 | Prince William County, VA - Susan R. SULLIVAN |  | ||
| Death | August 6, 1903 | Loudoun County, VA |  | | |
| Burial | Sharon Cemetery, Middleburg, Loudoun County, VA | |
Families
| Spouse | Susan R. SULLIVAN (1845 - 1899) |
| Child | Dr. William Calhoun FURR (1869 - 1939) |
| Child | Henrietta Estelle FURR (1871 - 1960) |
| Child | Claude Dallas FURR (1878 - 1936) |
| Child | Florence Humphrey FURR (1881 - 1921) |
| Father | William Feagan FURR (1805 - 1873) |
| Mother | Emily "Emsey" GILLHAM (1812 - 1873) |
| Sibling | U. Ellen FURR (1835 - 1917) |
| Sibling | William Calhoun FURR (1842 - 1861) |
| Sibling | Johnson Richardson FURR (1846 - 1916) |
| Sibling | Susan Alise FURR (1850 - 1852) |
Notes
Death
LEESBURG, VA., Aug. 7.—Dallas Furr, of Aldie, one of the prominent citizens of this county, died Thursday, aged fifty- eight years, from a stroke of paralysis. Two sons, Messrs. Charles and Claude Furr and two daughters, Mrs. Irving Leith and Miss Florence Furr, of Aldie, survive him.Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia, August 8, 1903
Endnotes
1. Virginia Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935, database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Z1SQ-6V6Z : 22 June 2020).
2. Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia.
3. Loudoun Cemetery Database Lookup Record http://www.leesburgva.org/departments/library/cemeterylookup/default.a sp.