Civil War Winter Quarters

During the American Civil War, soldiers from both the Union North and the Confederate South built huts known as winter quarters to live in during the winter months, when fighting and troop movements were usually minimal. The Bull Run and Occoquan Rivers, forming the southern border of Fairfax County, were an area of great strategic importance during the war. During the winter of 1861/1862, southern forces occupied the Centreville area and lived in winter quarters. For the remainder of the war, except for a period right after the Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) in July/August 1862, the northern Union Army was the dominant force in the area, with large encampments and fortifications along the Bull Run and Occoquan rivers. Winter quarters were a large part of the experience of thousands of soldiers who called this area home for some period during the war. Confederate winter quarters were mostly built of wood. The Union Army, which was better supplied with tents, most often built a log base and used tents to make the roof of the hut. Both sides often built fireplaces and stoves into their huts, since this was the only source of heat. Living in very confined and overcrowded spaces, with poor hygiene and limited medicine, resulted in high rates of death from disease in Civil War camps.

Bull Run, Virginia · United States