The Military Railroad Terminus
In Fairfax County, near Centreville, historic marker C-17 is located. C-17, or the Military Railroad Terminus, is placed at the end of the Centreville Military Railroad. The marker describes some basic information about the railroad for the first half and then undergoes a significant shift. For the second half of the marker, it discusses the execution of two Confederate privates. Specifically, two privates from the Louisiana Tigers who were executed on December 9th, 1862, for mutiny. The text of the marker is as follows:
“Half a mile west is the terminus of the Centreville Military Railroad, the first railroad in the world constructed exclusively for military purposes. Built by the Confederate army late in 1861 because of impassible roads, it supplied the soldiers in their winter camps at Centreville. Trains from Manassas Junction ran here until March 1862 when Confederate forces withdrew southward. Nearby on 9 Dec. 1862, Privates Michael O'Brien and Dennis Corcoran of Maj. Chatham R. Wheat's "Louisiana Tigers" were court-martialed for mutiny, executed by a firing squad from their own company, and buried. In 1979 their remains were reinterred at St. John's Episcopal Church cemetery in Centreville.”[1]
The purpose of this project is to investigate the Louisiana Tigers’ early time in Virginia with a focus on the execution of the two Privates. What are the circumstances around their execution, how were their bodies recovered, and where are their bodies now? There will then be an examination of what happened to the Tigers after the execution. Specifically, if there were any significant continuities or shifts in how the Tigers operated in Virginia.
[1] Department of Historic Resources, “Military Railroad Terminus,” Accessed November 21, 2022, https://vcris.dhr.virginia.gov/HistoricMarkers/.
Credits
Contributor - Garrett Brookie