Indicating clearly that the North remains alive and well in Virginia, as well as Maryland and Washington D.C., an elegant crowd of attentive listeners recently convened in to learn about The Battle of Middleburg from Childs F. Burden. Burden, who serves on the board of Middleburg Financial Corporation and as a director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the John Singleton Mosby Heritage Area Association, has been widely acclaimed as a worthy successor to Robert F. O'Neill as the region's resident expert on "The Cavalry Battles of Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville."

Organized by Jack Goehring and John Bennison to inaugurate their newly founded Union League of Middleburg, the evening sparkled with conversation about the both the pleasures and responsibilities associated with living in an area that is rich in history and Civil War lore.

"John and I came to Middleburg to open a practice as young lawyers after the Vietnam War," Goehring said. "When we purchased the old log building at the corner of Zula Road and the John Mosby Highway, we didn't immediately realize that The Battle of Middleburg had been fought on our ground."

"Although this is the first meeting of The Union League of Middleburg, we look forward to many more occasions when we can share stories and learn about the Civil War in our area," added Bennison.

Tutti Perricone, owner of The Backstreet Café, opened the evening by singing The Battle Hymn of The Republic. With no encouragement at all, the entire audience joined her in the chorus, and the evening was on