Background
On August 26, Captain Samuel C. Means moved his newly formed command, the independent Loudoun Rangers, to the unionist village of Waterford in Loudoun County, Virginia in preparation to conduct operations against the county's Confederate controlled territory. Means stationed 24 men on picket duty: 4 men on each of the 6 roads leading into the town. He then placed the rest of his command in the local Baptist church before retiring to his residence in the village, placing Lieutenant Luther Slater in nominal command of the unit.
Meanwhile, on the 25th, Captain Elijah V. White and his company of cavalry, some 100 strong, was granted permission by Gen. Richard S. Ewell to return to their native county to find forage and harass Federals operating in the county. The following day they reached the southern portion of the county whereupon they learned of the formation of the Loudoun Rangers a month prior and their presence at Waterford. That evening, with about half of his command, White tramped off the main roads through fields and forests to Waterford, evading the Ranger's pickets.
Read more about this topic: The Fight At Waterford
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